Popular Formative Assessment Strategies by

Exit Tickets

2025-09-21 22:59:25 UTC

I love using exit tickets to allow students to anonymously submit their thoughts on a related topic. It allows me to gauge their understanding and clarify concepts they identify. My favorite format is 3,2,1 - 3 new things I learned today, 2 things I would like to learn more about, 1 questions I still have.

2025-09-22 03:56:14 UTC

I formally enjoy using Mentimeter for individual anonymized responses on course content reviews prior to exams. It gives me great insights on what concepts are clear vs challenging to the large majority of the group, without singling out individuals to their peers who are struggling.

For informal formative actions, I enjoy 'quickfire group voting' when I pose a 50/50 question to the class during theory (either a reflective question or 'educated guess'), and I have two students with separate answers. I then engage the class for raising hands voting for the 'person'/answer they feel is correct. Student engagement is wildly inconsistent, but offers a sliced insight to room energy alongside minimal disruption to theory pacing. Lighthearted banter about changing votes or asking an individual for reasons behind their choice allows short sidebar conversations to quickly develop.

“Stop and Predict” Demonstrations in Nursing Skills

2025-09-25 16:27:43 UTC

During a skill demo, I’ll pause and ask: “What’s my next step and why?”
This keeps students actively thinking instead of just watching.

It helps students:

Practice critical thinking and reasoning
Stay engaged and avoid passive learning
Build confidence in sequencing skills
Spot and fix knowledge gaps in real time

Nursing isn’t just about doing the steps, it’s about understanding why each step matters for safety and patient care.

Jeopardy

jcote3_1 — 2025-09-29 01:49:02 UTC

For all of my courses I have multiple Jeopardy Power Points created. My students enjoy teaming up and working together to compete against each other. This is a great low risk way to get them engaged. It helps the students that aren't the strongest by giving them exposure to critical theory, while also allowing the stronger students to prove they've been putting in work.

I'll often buy two different types of candies/chocolates or flavoured drink powders and have them randomly pick to determine what team they're on. Examples would be different Skittles flavoured water powders, or I'll buy Kinder Beuno's and the knock off Coco Bites from Dollarama then make two teams "The Budget Bites" vs. "The Bougie Beuno's".

Rapid Fire

2025-09-29 03:06:33 UTC

I like to use the Rapid Fire technique. It is essentially a review of the past learning material. The questions are short and students are encouraged to just shout out the answer. When I hear the correct answer, I ask another question, typically using the last answer to lead into the next.

The purpose is not only to review past material, but build up the energy in the room. It doesn't put people on the spot, or acknowledge incorrect answers, in an effort not to embarrass anyone who is trying to participate. It also allow the students to see the flow of material and allows them to use past knowledge to build on new knowledge.

formative assessments

2026-02-02 11:11:15 UTC

I have started using a variety of assessments in my teaching. I integrate MC questions into my presentations using Slido, as questions throughout to solidify the information provided. I have had good feedback from students regarding having virtual learning activities for them to work through. I have found many different virtual activities for the students to work through to align with the learning outcomes of a specific unit. There is no grade attached to these activities, but they can put their knowledge to work (so to speak).

Formative Assessments

2026-02-03 17:42:03 UTC

I like to use Think Pair Share as a formative assessment. A lot of our classes are project-based, so I will have students brainstorm what they are going to make, then pair up and discuss it with a classmate (eg. if the assignment is making a map, they can think about how they would like to make a map, then pair up with someone and discuss and compare their ideas--sometimes talking about an idea out loud and getting feedback helps).

Formative Assessments

2026-02-03 20:37:59 UTC

Kahoot and Factile are two well used games in my classroom. I find that students are inherently competitive and will put in a lot of effort for bragging rights, or some nerds clusters.

Another method I use is Carousel Brainstorming from TFL1's active learning strategies. Once students have completed the rounds, they summarize what they feel is the most accurate information and we go through it as a class. I'm able to correct any misconceptions and it provides me with insight into those misconceptions and a way to work with the students to get them on track.

One-Minute Paper

2026-02-03 20:59:28 UTC

At the end of every class, I ask the students to consider for one minute "what was the most interesting thing that they learned today through our in-class discussions and activities related to the topic of the week and share it with the larger class. The last step for this activity is to discuss up to two of the student responses for a couple of minutes altogether in the class.

Think-pair-share & Whiteboard

rspenst — 2026-02-03 21:17:33 UTC

I use think-pair-share but often extend that by having students create a response and or apply a concept in pairs on the board or chart paper. This gives me a chance to see their thoughts mapped out and jump into a dialogue about their learning.

Gamify

2026-02-04 16:02:31 UTC

I love learning, myself; however, not everyone loves learning and so we need to make the hard things fun - enter gamification. Seems many folks are already doing versions of this. I use Kahoot most often, but also Jeopardy, Family Feud, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Deal or No Deal, and I am always on the look out for more.

Self, Peer, Instructor

2026-02-04 16:28:11 UTC

For a resume and cover letter assessment, I have students self assess with the checklist and rubric in class, then have two peers assess each student's work with the same checklist and rubric in class and provide a feedback component, and finally, I do the summative assessment with the same checklist and rubric.

Gallery Walk

2026-02-04 19:51:10 UTC

I like using Gallery Walk as a formative assessment tool. It is interactive because students would display their work around the classroom and rotate in groups to respond to each other's ideas. This allows my students to have an active learning experience. It also allows me to have real-time evidence of their understanding.

Old ol' thumbs up or thumbs down

2026-02-05 19:17:42 UTC

Thumbs up, down, or in the middle is a quick formative assessment check to gauge student understanding in real time. All you have to do is ask a question about the lesson and the students respond with

Thumbs up = I understand
Thumbs down = I don't understand
Thumbs in the middle = I'm unsure

This method gives instant feedback to the teacher, signals to the teacher if they need to adjust their pace or reteach something. It encourages students to self-assess and its low pressure, quick and easy.

Collaborative Communication Strategy Lab

2026-02-06 18:26:12 UTC

I use the Collaborative Communication Strategy Lab to help my communication students practice choosing and applying different communication strategies in real time. I start by giving them a scenario that requires intentional communication, something like mediating a conflict, persuading a resistant audience, or reframing a message that was delivered poorly. I divide students into small groups and assign each person a specific strategy role, such as active listener, assertive communicator, empathic framer, persuasive strategist, or conflict de‑escalator. I ask them to run the scenario using only the strategy they were assigned, which forces them to think about how tone, phrasing, and approach shape the outcome. Then I have them rotate roles and repeat the scenario so they can feel how different strategies change the interaction. Afterward, groups compare their work with another group’s notes, refine their interpretations, and identify which strategies were most effective and why. I end with a class debrief where we connect their observations to communication theory and reflect on how to intentionally choose strategies in real-world situations.