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Plickers is a powerfully simple tool that lets teachers collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices

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Plickers is a powerfully simple tool that lets teachers collect real-time formative assessment data without the need for student devices

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Check them out here:

https://plickers.com/

We love them!

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For other useful pieces of information, click on the links down the sides of this blog.

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For other useful pieces of information, click on the links down the sides of this blog.

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Have you enjoyed our blog? Comment below or send us a message on Facebook (Renovating Formative Assessment) to share your best formative assessment experiences.

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Keep growing.
When the learners have finished they should set themselves 3 improvement points.
A little motto I love to use in my classroom is 'don't just read it, react to it!' Cheesy, yes, but it works!

Now return to stage 2 and repeat the cycle until the learners have 'mastered' the topic and you're ready to move onto a new one.

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Practice makes permanent.
Now ask learners to 're-do' the first activity they did, but taking into account all the work they have done since and all of your feedback comments. Ask them to focus on achieving the aims/goals they have set. Walk around the room while the learners are 're-doing' their pieces. Try giving out 'compliment sandwiches' regularly- two comments about what they are doing well with a constructive improvement point in the middle. When some learners have finished you could select some small examples of good practice and read them out to the class (always ask the learners first).

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Share your skills.
Now's the time we get to feel a bit more like teachers again for a few minutes.
Give the learners constructive feedback about the activities they have completed. Ask them to comment on what they thought went well and not so well. Give model examples to demonstrate best practice for the topic they are learning (try analysing them as a group). Set some aims/ goals together, ask learners to write them down.

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Sharing's caring.
Now learners need to work together (in groups or pairs) to share their knowledge and skills and learn some of the new topic. Break down the task into smaller tasks and set them one at a time. Tasks that ask learners to convert the material into something new (i.e. giving them written paragraphs which they need to represent visually) ensure learners have understood the information as opposed to just regurgitating it. You should set the groups and make sure they have a mixture of abilities and possibly split friendship groups up. Try giving each member of the group a different role (for example; time keeper, team leader, etc) and explain that they will all need to feel confident enough with the content to be able to explain it to somebody else. Then ensure they do just that- let them teach each other and learn from one another.

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See what they know already.
Checking what the learners know already is important before beginning to teach them a new topic.

Good initial assessment activities include 'quick write' exercises whereby you set a short amount of time and ask them to just write without talking (try to pick a topic you know will interest your learners).

Example: when teaching creative writing you could ask learners to do a quick write about the best day they have ever had on a holiday and tell them to make it as interesting to read as possible.

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Sell your stuff.

Before introducing any new topic, you need to make sure your learners buy into it- they need to WANT to learn it.

Top tips:

Use a starter activity which is engaging, fun and interactive (using digital technology always helps!) which demonstrates the usefulness of the topic you are about to introduce.

Talk to them about real-life situations that they may encounter where the knowledge of that topic would be needed- the more closely linked the examples are to the lives of your learners, the better!

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                                                             The 6 Stage Model for Formative Assessment

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                                                             The 6 Stage Model for Formative Assessment

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The ‘perfect’ formative assessment cycle means being able to effectively measure how much of a topic your learners have mastered and which parts they haven’t, on a regular basis.

The formative assessment model below is effective and can be easily adapted to suit the teaching of any topic. I couldn’t believe how much better my lessons were after I started building my lessons around this model.

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Dedicated Improvement and Reflection Time
From Jackie Rossa

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Use Technology that actively immerses the student in their learning. Use interactive games, quizzes and collaborative teaching tasks.

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Use Technology that actively immerses the student in their learning. Use interactive games, quizzes and collaborative teaching tasks.

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Standardised approach to the marking of English in vocational areas

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Standardised approach to the marking of English in vocational areas

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Learners should react to their feedback. Improve writing by focusing on one element at at time. 

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Learners should react to their feedback. Improve writing by focusing on one element at at time. 

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Transformative Teaching using ideas from Jackie Rossa 

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Transformative Teaching using ideas from Jackie Rossa 

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Collaborative Learning Processes where learners discover solutions and make learning links for themselves

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Collaborative Learning Processes where learners discover solutions and make learning links for themselves

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Generate the right attitudes to learning and assessment