Techniques for formative assessment

Here are a couple more tools you can use for formative assessment (activities that provide you with information about how to design future learning activities).

Analogy Prompt
Occasionally, when you are eliciting information from students about how well they understand the material you are teaching, get them to complete this sentence: "(a designated concept, principle, or process) is like ___ because ___."

3-minute Pause
The 3-minute Pause gives students an opportunity to stop and reflect on new knowledge recently acquired. Get them to complete the following statements:

• I changed my attitude about ... because ...
• I became more aware of ...
• I was surprised by ...
• I felt ...
• I empathized with ...

Ticket to Leave
This is a closing activity where students respond in writing or verbally to short assignments before they leave the room.