How can technology assist in formative assessment

Technology-Assisted Formative Assessment. Falvo Eds. IGI Global. Irving, Karen E. Falvo, Available In. DOI: Current Special Offers. No Current Special Offers. Abstract Reliable just-in-time assessments are the foundation of informed teaching and learning. Modern electronic technologies assist in the formative assessment process by supporting classroom environments that allow students and teachers to assess learning and providing mechanisms to present information about student learning during instructional sequences.

To implement formative assessment practices, students and teachers benefit from rich educational tasks that invite students to share information about their understanding of the lesson while the lesson is occurring in order to nurture productive learning by both teacher and student. Likewise, if they are assigned tasks that are too easy, they are unlikely to progress as they should. Technology can be used for instant assessment in many different ways, such as tracking student progress over time.

Here are just some of the ways that edtech can be used to aid learning and assessment in the classroom:. As you may have seen during lockdown, cloud-based learning provides increased flexibility, as pupils access and complete online assessments at a time that best suits their individual learning style and needs. All they need is an internet-ready device and a web-based or virtual environment.

With personalised learning shown to motivate students into becoming investors in their own education, such student-led approaches are becoming increasingly popular here in the UK. Cloud-based edtech, such as ClassFlow, allows teachers to assess student comprehension in the moment of learning, with real-time assessments and instant polling. By immediately identifying and addressing any gaps in knowledge, educators can then tailor their lessons to the real needs of each pupil.

Research into supported assessment has also highlighted some potentially interesting insights for further development. One such example involves the use of automated feedback to help students with written assignments. Early studies have shown that students were able to identify overlapping and missing core concepts.

This encouragement of self-reflection and curiosity for feedback develops a growth mindset which improves their intelligence, ability and performance. As everyone learns a little differently, teachers have long strived to meet the needs of all their pupils, painstakingly setting and photocopying different assessments for different students depending on their abilities.

Implementing digital tools in the classroom for formative assessment can be beneficial for both teachers and students. Dynamic formative assessment allows teachers to use real-time data to guide their instruction and get students back on track.

Formative assessment technology features the four key elements mentioned above that help improve teacher instruction and student learning. Digital tools are well-suited for dynamic formative assessment. Also, the real-time nature of data capture and reporting with digital tools offers teachers timely updates. HMH offers Waggle , a digital tool designed for effective formative assessment.

The tool provides students a safe, positive environment with scaffolded instruction, in-the-moment feedback, and personalized pathways to practice. Students can choose from their assigned goals and educational games and decide what to work on next.

Therefore, learning goals are clear. In particular, Waggle aligns learning tasks to learning goals at appropriate levels of challenge, including those that require typing in text, graphing, and open response.

Technology, such as Waggle , that offers specific, timely, and substantive feedback helps students approach the problem differently—instead of revealing the answer. If they want, students can tackle problems again. Also, students can track their progress on their dashboards and get hints and explanations until they understand the skill. Based on student progress, specific lessons and assignments are recommended.

Teachers can also search for instructional, practice, and assessment content.