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I feel I have made some growth in student feedback but I am still trying things on for size. I am comfortable trying things, though, and am working towards something that will fit my style.

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This course has provided me with the solid foundation of understanding I needed to bring these practices together.  I think I used "bits and pieces" of formative assessment practices but not necessarily effectively nor consistently.  Even naming the ways of acquiring evidence, made it a more explicit process in formative assessment.  So, the course has solidified many ideas for me, and I believe that my teaching will be much stronger because of this.

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The key to implementing effective formative assessment is being intentional about it.  By creating lessons or adjusting existing lessons to include minor by significant pieces that engage the students and give them a voice to provide feedback to one another, this creates a classroom of effective learning that goes beyond the classroom walls.  Allowing the students to lead the discussions and stepping out of the way as a teacher, empowers them and provides a platform for them to see their potential.  By implementing small changes to my lessons and teaching style, I won't be too overwhelmed and hopefully see the tremendous benefit of what formative assessment can do for each student in my class.

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I'll admit to be equally open-minded and skeptical when starting this course. I've been pleasantly surprised with how my opinions have changed, with how I've developped and progressed as a teacher. It's not simply a questions of having more accurate data and ideas about my students knowledge of the Learning Goals and Success Criteria. I find that they are more engaged, that there are even less behavior problems. I particularly enjoyed the last module that dealt with self and peer-assessment. I love the tie in with the other modules and it really satisfied my curiousity and questions about it that I've had for years.

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What a ride it has been!  I have always been a true believer in students owning their own learning, which perhaps prior to this course, meant that they were actively engaged, did their work accordingly, and asked questions freely. Now I realize what student ownership really is about and how I as the teacher, can truly facilitate students being proactive learners by leading and modeling learning independence. I am so excited about using student generated Learning Goals and Success Criteria.  The dialogue piece between students has been so powerful, rewarding and enlightening.  The evidence piece to identify student learning as well as to drive instruction of future lessons, is like pure gold.

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I feel that I am more purposeful about how I assess my students, and am providing more opportunity for feedback. The formative assessments allow me to make changes in the learning plan because I am using the data from the assessments during the class – in real time. I have incorporated many of the strategies into my teaching practice. I know I have more work to do, but feel that I have a good start.

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I am now more deliberate about how I assess my students. I am not waiting until the end of my lesson to assess them.  I am assessing them throughout my lesson. I thought that this would be very time consuming but I was wrong.

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Upon entering this course I was not sure what to expect.  I have to say I was really excited that I learned so much, even through the online format of the course.  The variety of activities kept me engaged, and there were many opportunities to reflect on my own learning.  This experience in and of itself will help me to transfer the practice of formative assessment into my daily instruction in my classroom.  I have acquired a lot of great tools for my teachers toolkit, and look forward to the great work ahead!  Thank you again for a great course!  I would highly recommend it!

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I've enjoyed learning about new ways to get students actively engaged in learning and making them what it is all about. Having students become a larger part of the process is my new goal and I'm happy to have all of these resources to do so!

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I have enjoyed taking this class as it helped me to expand my professional knowledge. In previous classes, formative assessments have been glanced over as something we should magically know about. Taking this course helped me to refine the importance of formative assessments in designing my students' curriculum. It also helped me to realize the value of involving my students' input and reflections, which has improved our relationship in the classroom. I am not an expert yet but I am excited to have this knowledge to help me improve myself as a teacher.

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I am so glad I took this course.  I has really helped me put all of the components together for common core.  I now see the big picture of helping students think about their thinking.  Being intentional with my instruction and setting learning goals and success criteria has been very rewarding for both me and my students.  I like that they take an active part in the learning process and have collaborative discussions with one another to further their learning.  I have not mastered all of the components of formative assessment by any means, but I am so fired up and excited to be implementing this in my classroom and am continually working on improving my skills.

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I used to be intimidated by formative assessment and unsure of my abilities as a teacher to effectively implement something like this on a day to day basis.  I have not only learned how to implement the feedback loop and incorporate formative assessment, but have seen tremendous change and growth in my students.
-It used to be that I would provide a goal and I would tell them what we were going to focus on.  Now we (together) construct our goals and success criteria, and keep referring back to them and incorporating peer and self assessment.
-We used focus on paying attention to the teacher instruction.  Now together we explore, discuss, and engage in learning and activities that elicit evidence and gaps of learning, and provide opportunities to grow and learn together.
-I used to think it was my responsibility to get my students to learn and absorb information and be successful.  Now, together, my students are taking responsibility for their learning and the learning of their peers.

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Through out the course, especially when the formative assessment lesson plans came to be, I began to think what are the learning goals, and possible success criteria of this standard. More over, I started to realize how important learning goals/success criteria are in allowing scholars to be the ones responsible their learning.

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I started out thinking I knew more about Formative Assessment than I really did. Not being in the classroom, I have been challenged to figure out how I can model these strategies at training sessions, meetings, etc. at the district level. I am much more deliberate in planning sessions and in looking at purposeful questions, providing time to reflect on each other's learning during the session, and also time at the end for self-reflection and next steps. It's a different way of doing things but definitely one that will guide me as I continue to work on curriculum and instruction, technology and assessment across the district.

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It's been a definite enjoyable learning experience that has helped me grow tremendously in my knowledge and understanding of both the role of the teacher and student(s) in Formative Assessment. My challenge now is to go forth and begin to implement levels of my learning in ways that are possible for me at the district level. There have been times when I was challenged and had to work hard to overcome my own shortcomings as I worked through the modules. Becoming a student again and reflecting on my own learning and that of others was highly beneficial to me. I'd like to see stakeholders in my district begin to experience this process through my efforts and then see them trickle down into the classroom. I'm going to strongly recommend this class to others in my sphere of influence. Thank you so very much...everyone.

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I realized in this course that my students need to have a much more active role in their learning.  I think that by changing to formative assessment rather than the old way with one big assessment at the end, my students will be able to self-correct and feel empowered to change.  Having one big assessment at the end creates a feeling of helplessness whereas formative assessment throughout encourages them to keep trying and see little successes along the way.  Also, by having their peers assess them they will get more than my perspective.  (Photo below from Mary Kay G-Pinterest)

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The big idea I came away with is that Formative Assessment is something I need to deliberately implement with my students; it is not something that I alone do to my students. C. Rudolf

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On this pilgrimage toward instructional perfection, this teacher has an epiphany--the destination will be reached but will the student remember the journey, the vistas, the struggles, the companions, the moments of enlightenment? These contain the true learning. The great goal for this teacher is to pilgrim alongside the students and help them witness and experience and retell the living of it--that is the way of formative assessment.

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Not only has my idea of formative assessment changed, but the way I plan to teach has changed.  I no longer think that formative assessment is something I do at the end of a lesson or unit, but something I plan for as I am teaching.  I am finding that the more time I spend in the planning phase, the better/more successful my lessons are when I teach them.

I know I still have a lot of growth to make, especially in student feedback, but I feel like it is manageable now.  If I continue to build on what I am doing, it will come together for increased student success.

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I have been using the feedback loop to reflect on my own learning in this course. I feel like I still have some gaps in my own learning and am constantly reflecting on how I can do better. I was so grateful for our last web meeting to hear that it can take up to 3 years to really do a "good" job with assessment.

There are so many strategies that I innately perform in my class on a daily basis and this course has made me really break down why I make the decisions that I make to gather evidence about my student's learning. I have been able to polish many of my strategies, but also employ better and more useful strategies to help students on a more individual basis.

I am more careful about questions and feedback. I am more diligent about peer feedback. I am learning how to work in self-assessment tools.

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This course has really helped me to see the power of formative assessment.  I am much more intentional in using it in my classroom and understanding how to give meaningful feedback and elicit evidence from my students that really help them to learn.

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This course has opened my eyes to methods that will allow students to be more proactive in their own learning process. I love the idea of having student be part of their own success.  This has also opened y eyes to how differently my idea  of formative assessments was not what they truly were.  I is yet another teaching tool to help make every student successful.

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I have really learned a lot about what needs to be done in planning--and that was really to have my students tell me what they needed by their creation of success criteria and watching and listening to them work.  I have been going slow to go fast--I have retaught almost every aspect of our AVID tutorials these past 2 quarters to really ensure and measure student success so now they do feel like Practitioners and experts when they reflect.

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I just finished by final reflection, only to come to the wall and see so many others with similar responses, feelings and insights. Perhaps the most powerful insight I share with some of you is how my weaknesses as a teacher have now been self exposed in a way that leads me forward stronger than ever. I no longer write lesson objectives as lesson titles, or provide so much ego driven feedback. My classroom is so much more organic and alive with learning now that more students are co-constructing meaning and progress with each other and myself.

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How to assess, how I receive feedback, what I allow students to do is changing. How I teach is ever changing. Quite often, the lack of maturity present in my students limits their ability to be honest with me and themselves. This makes their “thinking out loud” difficult because many are just learning to present their thoughts. By this time of the school year the painful sharing is beginning to melt away and they students individual maturity is helping each make bigger steps. Throughout the school year I model with mistakes, most students are now feeling confident enough to point out the obvious. 75% of my students take responsibility for their learning; that quarter left just simply are not ready or just learning what their peers learned and connected with months ago. Now, I loved seeing how students were being the teacher. I have just a small handful of students able to take on this role. I do use/ can use:

1. students as teachers with feedback

2. teamwork & feedback

3. mini self assessment / assessment of peers and sharing

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It is the end of a course and a beginning of a journey.  This course has given me a good foundation of Formative Assessment and yet I have a lot to continue to learn and implement.  I look forward to seeing the changes in my students during the journey.  Thank you for all of the videos of different classrooms and styles.  It was an efficient way to do classroom visitations and observations without taking time away from my students.  Thank you for the new tools in the tool bag.

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This class has really helped me to become more effective.... 

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This class has really helped me to become more effective.... 

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After so many years in education I love that like my students I am always learning ways to be more effective at learning.

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More than anything, this course has taught me to think differently about student learning and my own teaching. I have so much more to learn as a teacher in order to help my students become more effective learners. I'm excited for all I can now incorporate into my teaching and how much more I still need to process and figure out.

My one take away: NO feedback is better than ego feedback. I am rethinking how I praise my students and learning to be more content/skill specific instead of just saying "Good job."

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Thank you for providing the course. I know it has strengthed my own teaching practices. For me the big driver has been to plan and look for evidence of learning through the shared success criteria.

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Students take responsibility for their own learning

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Students take responsibility for their own learning

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Since using student to student  feedback more frequently, the students have more confidence in expressing their ideas and comments to each other and to me as well.  They are more open to "task" feedback and can take their learning further.

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I thought I knew what formative assessment was...I didn't.  I had an idea...but this course has provided me with a global view as well as a look at the very details that make formative assessments valuable to both teachers and students.
This will drive my teaching in a new way and make both my students and I better learners for it!

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Before I took this course, I saw formative assessment as checking on students' understanding.  Now, I understand that both the teacher and learner need a clear understanding of the goals and criteria for success.  I'm planning lessons with time to elicit evidence across the experience, and engaging students in reflection against clear criteria.  It's been a challenge to implement this learning in my current position at the district level, but one I hope will serve as a model for teachers.

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...but now I realize that this doesn't take much time, and it actually makes the overall flow of the class feel more natural. Students assess their own learning, which in turn should force them to take more responsibility for it. I assess my students learning, which will only benefit them (and me). I think this will eliminate some of those times when I feel like I'm beating my head against a wall, as well as those days where I feel like I had accomplished nothing. I plan on working on a myriad of little techniques over the summer, making copies of FA activities, and putting them in lesson folders before that first day of school even arrives for next year. Looking forward to my "new and improved" way of teaching!

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...but I've realized it doesn't really need to be with Formative Assessment. This isn't rocket science, it's just taking a temperature on the class as a whole and on individual students. If it's off, then I make some tweaks, I revisit a concept, or try something new. It makes me a better teacher, the students better learners, and everyone is happy (hopefully).

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Students are responsible for taking ownership of their own learning! 

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Students are responsible for taking ownership of their own learning! 

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I agree with most of the posts that are posted currently. Thank you for providing this course, which shed more insight into formative assessment. There were a couple of new formative assessment strategies that I was able to take a part of and implement it in my classroom. This course will drive more for my students to take charge of their own learning and I am there to assist in deepening their understanding.

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The information provided from this course is priceless!

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I though I didn't' have time but with Formative Assessment I have more time.  I'm not the only one talking and giving feedback anymore.  Students take responsibility for their own learning and they embrace it.  I see Formative Assessment as a valuable tool.

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I am excited to implement what I have learned from the beginning of the school year and see the impacts it has on my students. Just watching the impact it has had in just the course of a semester really has ignited a spark for next year. This summer will include a lot of modifying of units and lessons. Thank you for the tools and resources!

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I have definitely seen the benefit of using the Formative Assessments in the classes I teach by myself and I am looking forward to using them from the beginning of the year to see the additional growth that can happen in school year.  However, I am challenging myself on how to use this information with my two co-teachers.  One teacher I work with is very willing to try new things that I suggest, while the other is not as much.  I will be looking at ways to  continue the formative assessment process with both teachers whether it is a joint endeavor or just doing it by myself within their classroom.

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This has been an extremely worthwhile professional development experience.  It has given me several areas where I can work to become more effective as a teacher and increase student learning.  It has given me the tools to take my teaching to the next level!

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I have learned a lot in their course and plan on continuing to apply it in my classroom.  I think that this will help make my students more focused on their learning and where they are at in the learning of the objectives.  This course has opened my eyes to new ways of looking at things and I know that I have a great group of teachers to ask questions of and get great feedback on my lessons.

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I am really excited to continue building in expeditionary learning protocols for my classroom to dovetail with the formative assessment insights I have gained and to build a classroom environment of learners that value each other and help each other grow.

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Here is where my students put their work for peer and self-review, and portfolio best ofs...

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I have learned so much more than I expected.  Before I took this course, I had in my head what I thought formative assessments were, and now they are so much more.  Throughout this course I have learned so many useful strategies.  

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I have learned so much more than I expected.  Before I took this course, I had in my head what I thought formative assessments were, and now they are so much more.  Throughout this course I have learned so many useful strategies.  

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Michelle C.

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I think the biggest part of this class was learning how to effectively implement formative assessment with purpose and fidelity.  

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I think the biggest part of this class was learning how to effectively implement formative assessment with purpose and fidelity.  

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is something that I have developed over the years.  I have previously struggled with a variety of aspects of my teaching.  This course has made me realize that reflection is an essential and integral part of any teacher's profession.  Without it, teachers would stagnate in their practice.  Formative Assessment is a tool to better inform instruction but it is also a way of approaching teaching and instruction that changes very nature of a classroom environment.  It gives students some control and some authority over their learning.  The key is that you have to develop a classroom culture of support and safety so that students can truly be leaders of their learning.  Once students feel safe, they are better able and more willing to take the risk of trying without fear.  I will continue to be a reflective teacher and because of this course, reflection is now a part of my students' life too.

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How wonderful it feels to have learned something so practical, functional, purposeful, educational, collaborative, sequential, and meaningful after all of these years of teaching!  I am excited for where this new knowledge will lead me and my students.  I plan on reviewing and using these course materials often and I am so grateful that I had this opportunity to learn.

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I have realized that I have developed some great learning tools.  I have many more methods to use and learn.  Implementing is a continuous process.

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I have realized that I have developed some great learning tools.  I have many more methods to use and learn.  Implementing is a continuous process.

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Valerie G.

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is an idea that holds a high expectation from teachers by teachers and other leaders I work with.I try to stay focused on helping teachers learning and peer to peer learning. Moving forward, I have a good idea and better sense of the tyoe of leader i want to be to moveformative instructionin my school. The greatest benefit will be to students but equally as rewarding to great educators!

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I am so excited for Formative Assessment Now...

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I am so excited for Formative Assessment Now...

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It seemed like such a  daunting idea when i started, however I see the huge benefit it makes and it has been great to bring these ideas back to my team and to see the growth and success of our students!

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I have to say I feel I was extremely clueless.... But now I feel informed and want to take action! All information was relevant to student success!!

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I have learned so much during this course. I am sad because I got behind in the class. However, it's good that I understand this practice and incorporate it into my classes.

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I am so pleased that I took this class. I feel like this was one of the most helpful, insightful and USEFUL professional development classes I have ever taken. I feel like I am better prepared to lead my students to become more effective and responsible learners. I also feel like I have already grown in being more mindful when I plan, and when I teach. I am so excited for the future!
-S.V.