Assessment Chat

Digital Advances Reshaping Formative Assessment

Assessment expert Margaret Heritage and high school principal Alice DeWittie discussed the promises and realities of technology-enabled formative assessment.

Digital Advances Reshaping Formative Assessment

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Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET
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Chat: Digital Advances Reshaping Formative Assessment

(03/18/2014)

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10:14

Stacey Decker:
Good morning! I hope you are looking forward to today’s chat, Digital Advances Reshaping Formative Assessment, sponsored by Amplify. I’ve opened the chat up for questions, so please submit any you have for our guests below.

We will be back at 2 p.m. ET with Margaret Heritage and Alice DeWittie. See you then!

Tuesday March 18, 2014 10:14 Stacey Decker

1:51

Stacey Decker:
We will be starting our chat in 10 minutes. Please feel free to submit your questions to our guests.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 1:51 Stacey Decker

2:00

Stacey Decker:
Hello and thank you for joining us for today’s chat, sponsored by Amplify. I’m handing the chat over to today’s moderator, Benjamin Herold. Take it away, Ben!

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:00 Stacey Decker

2:00

Benjamin Herold:
Good afternoon, and welcome to today’s chat!

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:00 Benjamin Herold

2:00

Benjamin Herold:
For background on our topic, please check out Education Week’s recent profile of Summit High School in Bend, Oregon, which has been experimenting with a variety of different approaches to ed-tech and formative assessment.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:00 Benjamin Herold

2:00

Benjamin Herold:
Here’s the link: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/13/25personalized.h33.html

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:00 Benjamin Herold

2:01

Benjamin Herold:
We’re thrilled to have with us today the principal of Summit High, as well as a leading national expert on formative assessment. Alice and Margaret, can you introduce yourselves?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:01 Benjamin Herold

2:01

Alice DeWittie:
Hi all,

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:01 Alice DeWittie

2:01

Alice DeWittie:
I’m Alice DeWittie, Principal of Summit HS in Bend, Or. We are just starting a 1:1 iPad deployment, while implementing blended learning and on-line options.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:01 Alice DeWittie

2:02

Margaret Hertiage:
Hello - I’m Margaret Heritage, Assistant Director for Professional Development, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, UCLA.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:02 Margaret Hertiage

2:02

Benjamin Herold:
Thanks!

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:02 Benjamin Herold

2:03

Benjamin Herold:
We’re going to start things off with a question from Claire. Margaret, I’m hoping you can take this one.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:03 Benjamin Herold

2:03

[Comment From ClaireClaire: ]
What is the advantage of using formative assessments over traditional assessments? And should they be used in conjunction with one another?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:03 Claire

2:03

Margaret Hertiage:
Just looking for Claire’s question!

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:03 Margaret Hertiage

2:04

Benjamin Herold:
Margaret, Claire wanted to know about the advantages of formative assessment vs. other types of assessment.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:04 Benjamin Herold

2:05

Margaret Hertiage:
Formative assessment is really a process rather than an assessment event. It’s about gathering evidence (lots of different ways to do this) of learning during the course of instruction so that teachers can keep learning on track to meet lesson goals. The more evidence teachers have of where students are in a lesson, the better they can respond to student needs. Assessment for summative purposes is more evaluative – making judgment about what students have achieved.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:05 Margaret Hertiage

2:06

Benjamin Herold:
Alice, in the story, you said the core principle of formative assessment is “looking at student work, and based on that, changing what comes next in your instruction.” You also said technology is making that easier for teachers to do. What kinds of changes have you seen this year at Summit HS?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:06 Benjamin Herold

2:07

Alice DeWittie:
Technology has enable teachers to “assess on the fly” meaning they can look at all student work and make determinations about how well students understand the material and what comes next based on student understanding...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:07 Alice DeWittie

2:07

Alice DeWittie:
also, we use an app called Airplay which allows the teacher to show a students work to all students and discuss the thinking involved.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:07 Alice DeWittie

2:08

Benjamin Herold:
Alice, here’s a related question from Steve:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:08 Benjamin Herold

2:08

[Comment From SteveSteve: ]
What devices/technologies do schools need to have to go digital with formative assessments?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:08 Steve

2:09

Alice DeWittie:
We are in a 1:1 deployment process currently using iPads, however other devices such as Chromebook, or other tablets work as well. There is also “clicker” technology out there which some schools have used successfully for a couple years...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:09 Alice DeWittie

2:09

Alice DeWittie:
prior to our 1:1 deployment we had multiple uses of students with their own devices. For instance, Socrative was commonly used with student devices very effectively prior to this year.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:09 Alice DeWittie

2:10

Benjamin Herold:
Margaret, maybe you can help us with a big-picture answer to this question from John:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:10 Benjamin Herold

2:10

[Comment From JohnJohn: ]
In what way(s) has digital advance reshaped formative assessment? Process? automated templates? Standardized questions or surveys?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:10 John

2:12

Margaret Hertiage:
I think digital advances can be very helpful in giving teachers questions to ask, helping them to interpret student responses and then take next steps..

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:12 Margaret Hertiage

2:12

Benjamin Herold:
Margaret, I quoted you in the story as saying: “It’s not about giving teachers digital tools. It’s about helping them embrace a different way of teaching.” What did you mean by that, and why are you skeptical of how much ed-tech is going to change teachers’ formative assessment practices?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:12 Benjamin Herold

2:12

Margaret Hertiage:
..Herb Ginsburg has done some very interesting work with clinical interviews in this regard

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:12 Margaret Hertiage

2:13

Margaret Hertiage:
If formative assessment is to be implemented effectively, it means giving students a lot more involvement in the process..

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:13 Margaret Hertiage

2:14

Margaret Hertiage:
.. through being aware of learning intentions - performance criteria
and self assessment and peer feedback. STudent involvment is at the heart of FA and can mean a big change in how teachers teach and how students learn..

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:14 Margaret Hertiage

2:14

Benjamin Herold:
Alice, there is quite a bit of interest from our audience today about professional development. I’m going to give you two questions from our guests on this topic:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:14 Benjamin Herold

2:14

[Comment From GuestGuest: ]
I’m interested to hear about professional development needs for teachers as formative assessments are implemented. How do you recommend supporting teachers throughout this process?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:14 Guest

2:15

Margaret Hertiage:
..digital tools alone will not change practice!

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:15 Margaret Hertiage

2:15

[Comment From JanJan: ]
After the “professional development day” is over, how does a school or school district go about the process of moving teachers continuously in the direction of doing formative assessment digitally and creating a culture that accepts and consistently implements this approach?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:15 Jan

2:15	Are you a: Teacher ( 12% ) Administrator ( 9% ) Policymaker ( 3% ) Student ( 0% ) Other ( 76% ) Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:15

2:16

Alice DeWittie:
We provide a lot of freedom to our teachers to explore and collaborate with various processes. In that way they provide a collegial and collaborative opportunity for each other. The excitement of finding out something that works well - gets spread to others in the department and creativity takes off...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:16 Alice DeWittie

2:17

Alice DeWittie:
however, we do traditional PD follow-up opportunities, but I would emphasize that the teachers have been fabulous in keeping each other moving forward in addition to what we may formally provide.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:17 Alice DeWittie

2:17

Benjamin Herold:
Alice, here’s another question on getting teachers ready for this kind of work:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:17 Benjamin Herold

2:17

[Comment From ElaineElaine: ]
Alice, what kind of preparation did the faculty have in advance of the 1:1 iPad deployment and, more specifically, for the purposes of assessment. Please feel free to answer this when and if it fits in.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:17 Elaine

2:18

Alice DeWittie:
Wow, Elaine, that’s a great Q! I wish I could say that we did a terrific job, but actually to a degree we just plunged in...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:18 Alice DeWittie

2:19

Alice DeWittie:
just as students drive their own learning, our staff has taken off into areas of creativity and problem solving within their own teams. With some input from district and school in terms of PD, our staff has owned this process and continually explore ways to improve.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:19 Alice DeWittie

2:19

Benjamin Herold:
Margaret, here’s a question from Stuart Kahl.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:19 Benjamin Herold

2:19

[Comment From Stuart KahlStuart Kahl: ]
Margaret, do you worry that much that is done with technology tools in formative assessment evidence gathering might be focused on lower level knowledge and skills as opposed to deeper learning?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:19 Stuart Kahl

2:20

Margaret Hertiage:
Hi Stuart! I worry about all kinds of evidence not leading to deeper learning..

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:20 Margaret Hertiage

2:20

Benjamin Herold:
Alice, please feel free to jump on Stuart’s question also!

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:20 Benjamin Herold

2:21

Alice DeWittie:
Stuart, that’s a great question since it’s so simple to gather baseline data. However, what we’re learning is now that we can formatively assess pretty instantly we can delve better into student thinking...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:21 Alice DeWittie

2:21

Margaret Hertiage:
If the technology is well doen, questions or other tasks are alinged to standards that call for deep learning then I think technology has the potential to support teachers in gathering quality evidence..

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:21 Margaret Hertiage

2:21

Alice DeWittie:
and address issues right away. I would say this was a surprise to us, but definitely the thinking processes are our primary concern in formative assessment.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:21 Alice DeWittie

2:21

Margaret Hertiage:
..if not, the technology is useless!

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:21 Margaret Hertiage

2:22

Benjamin Herold:
Alice, can you provide a specific example or two on how your staff has tried to move from collecting baseline information to something deeper?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:22 Benjamin Herold

2:23

Alice DeWittie:
Well, typically in math students are working in groups and discussing problems and processes. The teacher goes from group to group and gathers information on their thinking...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:23 Alice DeWittie

2:24

Alice DeWittie:
at some point the teacher might see a common thread of either truly different problem solving, or where the thinking might lead them astray. The teacher can address both (either by putting up for everyone , or just shared at the table) before students go home and practice something incorrectly, their thinking is challenged in the moment.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:24 Alice DeWittie

2:25

Benjamin Herold:
Margaret, much of the discussion in ed-tech these days is about adaptive software and personalized learning. Here are a couple questions from Jaime about how that fits with formative assessment.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:25 Benjamin Herold

2:25

Alice DeWittie:
I’ve seen teachers do this type of formative assessment more than just gathering baseline on what they know…we are interested in how they are thinking about it and gather that information as quickly as possible to move students forward.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:25 Alice DeWittie

2:25

[Comment From Jaime GoldfarbJaime Goldfarb: ]
How do you see the balance between personalized learning balanced against collaborative learning environments, and what role will digital formative assessment play?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:25 Jaime Goldfarb

2:25

[Comment From Jaime GoldfarbJaime Goldfarb: ]
Do you believe adaptive learning engines can live up to their promise?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:25 Jaime Goldfarb

2:26

Margaret Hertiage:
I think we need to be clear what we mean by personalized learning - to me it means that students get what they need when they need it and effective formative assessment can help both teachers and students do that...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:26 Margaret Hertiage

2:27

Margaret Hertiage:
Collaborative learning environments often times enable students to get what they need from working with others...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:27 Margaret Hertiage

2:28

Margaret Hertiage:
...this is important in learning and is well represented across the CCSS. I do not see any conflict in personalized learning and collaborative environments - we know student need to work together to learn.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:28 Margaret Hertiage

2:29

Benjamin Herold:
Margaret & Alice - I’m seeing that sesame of our guests are worried about technology being used as a stand-in for good classroom practice. Maybe each of you could respond to the next two questions?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:29 Benjamin Herold

2:29

Margaret Hertiage:
I think one of Alic’es examples re the app where students can look at each other’s work and discuss is a good e.g. of how digital tools can support collaborative learning

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:29 Margaret Hertiage

2:29

[Comment From GuestGuest: ]
Margaret, I wonder if teachers rely on technology tools as their formative practice rather than delving into the process.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:29 Guest

2:29

[Comment From LaurieLaurie: ]
As the thread continues, I am still worried about the focus being placed on the “tool”, “technique”, “test” or “instrument”. This reinforces my concern about the need for professional development about the process. Again, I’m wondering if it would be best to focus on professional development about the formative assessment process in the first release of resources in the digital library. Perhaps a recorded webinar from Ms. Heritage :) and/or others: Dylan Wiliam, Paul Black, Susan Brookhart, Connie Moss, John Hattie, James Popham etc. Ms. Heritage, your thoughts???

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:29 Laurie

2:30

Margaret Hertiage:
Teachers have to understand that tools are an aid to the process and not the process itself.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:30 Margaret Hertiage

2:30

Alice DeWittie:
I don’t think digital tools replace good teaching - good teachers are always at the center of instruction….

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:30 Alice DeWittie

2:31

Margaret Hertiage:
To become effective in FA requires a lot of commitment, ongoign reflection, working with coleaagues etc in the way Alice had described. Tools can assist but they can’t be the end in themselves

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:31 Margaret Hertiage

2:31

Alice DeWittie:
however, digital tools can greatly assist teachers in adjusting their instruction based on student need. My teachers who understood and did formative assessment well prior to digital tools are able to do them better and more efficiently with them. So you do need a foundation in formative assessments and instructional practices, but the tools enable teachers to go beyond in other areas.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:31 Alice DeWittie

2:32

Benjamin Herold:
Alice, here’s a question from Cheryl about what tools can support the type of practice you and Margaret are describing:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:32 Benjamin Herold

2:32

[Comment From CherylCheryl: ]
The questions a teacher asks are critical to probing deeper and affecting a student’s learning. This skill takes time to acquire, yet it is at the basis of formative assessment. Are there any tech tools available to help teachers move in this direction? This type of tool would not be for in the moment use, more for when a teacher preps a lesson I think.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:32 Cheryl

2:32

Benjamin Herold:
And another from Susan:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:32 Benjamin Herold

2:32

[Comment From Susan TierneySusan Tierney: ]
Can you provide one specific example (besides a “clicker”) in which a digital tool(s) have enabled teachers to gather formative feedback quickly?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:32 Susan Tierney

2:33

Alice DeWittie:
Cheryl and Susan, there are more tools out there than I can possibly remember or name. A few that we use consistently are Socrative, Googledocs, and google forms, Notability. The software we use for on-line instruction in our hybrid classes also includes data gathering tools.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:33 Alice DeWittie

2:33

Margaret Hertiage:
I’m sure Alice has lots of examples, but the best I’ve seen is the clinical interview that I believe Amplify has developed with Herb Ginsburg. I appreciate the fact that there are questions focused on the quality of questions in FA

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:33 Margaret Hertiage

2:34

Alice DeWittie:
Just another note…only Notability is an app, the others are on-line. So teachers and students can use their own technology, no need for a 1:1.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:34 Alice DeWittie

2:34

Benjamin Herold:
Margaret, I know you focus a lot on student involvement in formative assessment. here’s a question from Elizabeth on that :

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:34 Benjamin Herold

2:34

[Comment From Elizabeth costaElizabeth costa: ]
While the technology enables gathering evidence, does it help students with feedback about how to improve?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:34 Elizabeth costa

2:35

Margaret Hertiage:
I’ve also seen teachers use video effectively - iPad - students video themselves and then critique an oral presentation or a read alound for example. We need to make sure that FA isn’t all about the teacher

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:35 Margaret Hertiage

2:36

Margaret Hertiage:
Mostly what I’ve seen isn’t feedback that supports students to take next steps on their own - maybe others have?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:36 Margaret Hertiage

2:36

Alice DeWittie:
Just a quick comment. Some of the questions are focused on gathering evidence, what we are seeing is FA has shifted to seeing the evidence during the class and changing instruction based on live and current data.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:36 Alice DeWittie

2:36

Benjamin Herold:
Alice, can you describe how Socrative and Airplay are used in Summit’s math classes?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:36 Benjamin Herold

2:37

Alice DeWittie:
Ben, Teachers may deliver some form of activity or information then ask students to feedback their current understanding in Socrative (or any number of apps). Then either specific student or global responses are shared with the class via Airplay. This is becoming quite common in our classrooms.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:37 Alice DeWittie

2:37

Margaret Hertiage:
I agree with Stuart’s comment on feedback - one of the most powerful influences on student learning - and best from the teacher

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:37 Margaret Hertiage

2:39

Benjamin Herold:
Summit is a high-performing school in a relatively wealthy community. Jan has a question about other types of schools:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:39 Benjamin Herold

2:39

[Comment From JanJan: ]
How do schools with limited technology and limited technology dollars accomplish the same goals of effective formative assessment?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:39 Jan

2:40

Margaret Hertiage:
Jan, they have to be very judicious in how they spend money and make sure that the technology is not about bells and whistles but will give them what they and the students need to support ongoing teaching and learning/

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:40 Margaret Hertiage

2:40

Alice DeWittie:
Actually my previous school was high poverty and high diversity, so we practiced FA in paper/pencil fashion (exit tickets, quick quiz, popsicle sticks, etc). So that same idea of gather student information to change instruction was there, the digital tools facilitate a more immediate process...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:40 Alice DeWittie

2:40	What’s the bigger barrier to better formative assessment? Lack of tech ( 7% ) Teacher training ( 93% ) Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:40

2:41

Alice DeWittie:
the second thing to consider Jan, is the possibility that students bring a lot of technology (they did as well in my previous school) and these can be used for instruction and assessment as well.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:41 Alice DeWittie

2:42

Benjamin Herold:
Margaret, several of our guests wonder about how formative assessment fits with other types of assessment. Here’s a question from Ryan:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:42 Benjamin Herold

2:42

[Comment From Conall RyanConall Ryan: ]
How important is it for formative assessments to be integrated with interim and summative?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:42 Conall Ryan

2:43

Margaret Hertiage:
All forms of assessment need to be based on the same model of learning - ie. progression towards standards. they cover different time frames in student learning and offer different grain sizes of information..

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:43 Margaret Hertiage

2:44

Margaret Hertiage:
..but they need to connect to push learning is in the same direction

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:44 Margaret Hertiage

2:44

Benjamin Herold:
Margaret and ALice, here’s a great question from one of our anonymous guests:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:44 Benjamin Herold

2:44

[Comment From GuestGuest: ]
Margaret and Alice - What is your take on the value of “embedded” formative assessments that are fully integrated with a core curriculum program? Do you see educators gravitating towards this kind of model, or do you still see demand for stand-alone formative programs that are separate from daily instruction? If so, would you expect to see this integrated approach become more common as instructional content becomes increasingly digital?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:44 Guest

2:45

Margaret Hertiage:
Assessment needs to be integrated with curriculum - formative assessment cannot stand alone. Again, the utlitity of these assessment depends on the quality fo the evidence they provide and whether they give teachers an insight into where students are and where they need to go next..

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:45 Margaret Hertiage

2:46

Alice DeWittie:
Some of our blended learning classrooms, such as Patrick’s, utilize embedded FA to determine next steps and future direction...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:46 Alice DeWittie

2:46

Margaret Hertiage:
..there’s a strong possibility that they may become more common with digital tools. Remember - FA cannot be separate from daily instruction!

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:46 Margaret Hertiage

2:47

Alice DeWittie:
it is not exhaustive and is limited to data gathered after the fact, but does inform future direction. Typically I’ve seen my teachers incorporate that information along with the more informal information gather in class

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:47 Alice DeWittie

2:47

Benjamin Herold:
As you can see from the results of our poll, most of our audience is very worried about teacher training. Alice, here are two questions on that topic:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:47 Benjamin Herold

2:47

[Comment From ElaineElaine: ]
Perhaps you didn’t have any “resisters”...but if you had how would that be handled? Secondly, how is the quality of what is happening in teaching/learning/assessment being evaluated in the day-to-day and over time?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:47 Elaine

2:48

Alice DeWittie:
Hi Elaine,

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:48 Alice DeWittie

2:48

[Comment From Elizabeth costaElizabeth costa: ]
Feedback is essential for all learners (students and teachers) and professional learning for teachers and administrators is necessary to shift practice. I am wondering how much professional development is usually required, over what length of time. Also, do you find teachers generalize the FA practice to other subject areas?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:48 Elizabeth costa

2:48

Alice DeWittie:
I don’t know that we had “resistors” as commonly understood, we had some passive non-participants. That said, the staff drove the movement and most folks joined in at the level they were comfortable with...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:48 Alice DeWittie

2:49

Alice DeWittie:
I and the staff have provided on-going PD, much of it informal, and at this point all staff is participating at their own level….

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:49 Alice DeWittie

2:50

Alice DeWittie:
in terms of quality, I couldn’t be more ecstatic! This somewhat hands-off approach has benefited my high-flyers, who have then brought others along in their wake. I’m often in classrooms, just looking and observing, I don’t evaluate on implementation of this project.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:50 Alice DeWittie

2:51

Benjamin Herold:
Alice, can you give us a breakdown of how widely these new tools are being used at Summit? Is it isolated, or school-wide?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:51 Benjamin Herold

2:52

Alice DeWittie:
Ben, I would say that different departments have taken off and their leadership has helped other departments. If we were to visit all classrooms, would we see some form of FA? Yes...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:52 Alice DeWittie

2:53

Alice DeWittie:
Would we see everyone using digital tools for FA? Probably not, but certainly they are on a journey and moving in that direction. How widely used? I would say 80%+ from what I’ve seen and from teacher feedback.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:53 Alice DeWittie

2:54

Benjamin Herold:
Alice and Margaret - I think several of our guests would be curious to hear you each weigh in on how students respond to tech-enabled formative assessment?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:54 Benjamin Herold

2:55

Alice DeWittie:
According to Patrick who is working in a blended classroom, students find it challenging from an organization/time management perspective - this is in reference to embedded assessments. …but they appreciate the flexibility of instant feedback...

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:55 Alice DeWittie

2:55

Margaret Hertiage:
In my experience students respond positively - technology is part of their lives after all. But it’s up to the teacher to make sure it’s a quality experience - I’ve seen students respond positively to stuff that I wouldn’t put in that category

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:55 Margaret Hertiage

2:56

Alice DeWittie:
for our non blended classrooms, students have become very comfortable in sharing their thinking with classmates and having an open discussion - credit goes to teachers for creating a learning environment where learning is the emphasis.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:56 Alice DeWittie

2:56

Benjamin Herold:
Frank (and others) would want to know about finding resources:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:56 Benjamin Herold

2:56

[Comment From Frank San FeliceFrank San Felice: ]
Given the I vast array of digital tools, is there a resource whereby teachers, who are novices regarding the use of digital tools in Formative Assessment, of the best tool given the circumstances and desired outcomes?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:56 Frank San Felice

2:57

Margaret Hertiage:
I don’t know of one perhaps Smarter Balance’s digital library will be a repository for this kind of information

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:57 Margaret Hertiage

2:58

Margaret Hertiage:
Laurie has also posted a link to digital tools

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:58 Margaret Hertiage

2:58

Benjamin Herold:
One of our guests has also posted a link:

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:58 Benjamin Herold

2:58

[Comment From LaurieLaurie: ]
Here is a link to 33 digital tools available: http://www.nwea.org/blog/2014/33-digital-tools-advancing-formative-assessment-classroom/

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:58 Laurie

2:59

Alice DeWittie:
Frank, Several of our teachers initially had the same question…they Googled and then took the search from there, along with working with our district IT team. Having district support for this type of shift is imperative! Beyond that there are several educational/technology groups that you might look at: IntegratEd, ISTE - their website is a good place to start.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 2:59 Alice DeWittie

3:00

Benjamin Herold:
OK, I see we are running out of time. Last question to each of you: What would you like to see more of when it comes to digital tools and formative assessment?

Tuesday March 18, 2014 3:00 Benjamin Herold

3:00

Margaret Hertiage:
Students using the tools to engage in self and peer assessment

Tuesday March 18, 2014 3:00 Margaret Hertiage

3:00

Alice DeWittie:
We have found that the digital education community is very supportive and helpful and any entry point gets you lots of information with people very willing to share.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 3:00 Alice DeWittie

3:01

Alice DeWittie:
I like what Margaret said, students taking their own learning to the next level. And then further equipping teachers to try out new approaches and find what best informs them of student learning.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 3:01 Alice DeWittie

3:02

Margaret Hertiage:
Until we have students more involved in their own learning, we are not supporting college and career readiness

Tuesday March 18, 2014 3:02 Margaret Hertiage

3:03

Benjamin Herold:
Wonderful! Thanks to Alice, Margaret, and all of our guests today. That will do it for this chat. Stacy will llet you know how to find the archived version of this for future reference.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 3:03 Benjamin Herold

3:03

Stacey Decker:
Thanks to Benjamin and our guests Margaret and Alice for a great conversation today. We’ll have a transcript of this chat available on this same page later today.

Tuesday March 18, 2014 3:03 Stacey Decker

3:04

Margaret Hertiage:
Thanks, everyone!

Tuesday March 18, 2014 3:04 Margaret Hertiage

3:04

Alice DeWittie:
Thanks everyone!

Tuesday March 18, 2014 3:04 Alice DeWittie

3:04

Digital Advances Reshaping Formative Assessment

Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET
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Real-time feedback on student learning, fingertip access to tailored instructional resources, and more personalized learning for students: Ed-tech promises to shake up the classroom feedback loops that educators call assessment.

But is the hype warranted?

Education Week chatted with assessment expert Margaret Heritage of UCLA and Alice DeWittie, the principal of Oregon’s Summit High School, the subject of a Technology Counts profile. They discussed the promises and realities of technology-enabled formative assessment.

Guests:
Margaret Heritage, assistant director for professional development, National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing, UCLA
Alice DeWittie, principal, Summit High School, Bend, Ore., a high-performing school in the midst of a digital conversion

Benjamin Herold, staff writer, Education Week, moderated this chat. (@BenjaminBHerold)

Related Story:

• Testing Digital Tools to Improve Formative Assessments (March 10, 2014)