Monitoring: An Essential Classroom Practice

cc flickr photo by shareski

We have spent some time discussing learning goals and the importance of helping students develop a clear understanding of what they will be learning, and why it is important.  For a quick refresher of what we have discussed, you might review these posts from our professional learning community blog:

• What is the Purpose?
• A "Flipped" Faculty Meeting
• Learning Goals and Scales

While ensuring that students know what they will be learning is important, it is absolutely essential that we monitor lessons/activities to ensure that they are having the intended effect.  Without consistent, and ongoing, formative assessment there is no way of knowing if our instructional methods are effective (until it is too late...after summative assessments).

At our upcoming faculty meeting, we will be spending some time examining the concept of monitoring, developing an understanding of the different goals of monitoring, and sharing techniques for ongoing monitoring (and formative assessment) of student learning.

In order to prepare for this Thursday's faculty meeting, please complete the following, brief, activities:

1.  Take a few minutes to review this presentation in VoiceThread.  As you progress through the slides, you should be able to hear a voice-over with a few of my thoughts about monitoring.  You can also zoom in on various portions of the slide by moving the cursor over the presentation.  If you have trouble accessing the VoiceThread, you can also view the presentation (without listening to me) HERE.
The VoiceThread does allow comments, either by voice, or by typing (just click on the comment button at the bottom of the slide).  If you have any thoughts, or comments, please feel free to add them and engage in a virtual discussion.

2.  Read this blog post on the Edutopia: Do You Check for Understanding Often Enough with Students?  As you read, please jot down a response to the following:

• What is one quote, or concept, from the article that stood out to you?  Why?
• Make a quick list of the formative assessment/monitoring strategies you use to get frequent "snapshots" of student understanding?
• As you consider the idea of frequent formative assessment, what obstacles make this a classroom challenge?
• What questions do you have about monitoring for student understanding?

Please bring your responses to Thursday's meeting and be prepared to discuss.  

Thank you for taking the time for collaborative professional development, and modeling the concept of life-long learning.