Assignment 4: One-Hour Instructional Technology Workshop

How to Create and Use Formative Assessments with Your Students Workshop
Submitted by: Lisa Flicker

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, teachers will be able to:
1. Apply what they have learned to create content based assessments that will give the
teacher real time access to what their students know or misconceptions they are having.
2. Create, through the addition of outside resources provided through the Formative site,
at least three different types of assessments to use with their students.
3. Assemble and manage their own classes within the Formative site for the purpose of
releasing assessments, live feed, and data tracking.

ISTE/NETS Teacher Standards Addressed:

ISTE Standards for Coaches

1. Visionary Leadership. Technology Coaches inspire and participate in the development and
implementation of a shared vision for the comprehensive integration of technology to
promote excellence and support transformational change throughout the instructional
environment. Technology Coaches:

a. Contribute to the development, communication, and implementation of a shared vision for

the comprehensive use of technology to support a digital-age education for all students

2. Teaching, Learning, & Assessments. Technology Coaches assist teachers in using technology
effectively for assessing student learning, differentiating instruction, and providing rigorous,
relevant, and engaging learning experiences for all students. Technology Coaches:
g. Coach teacher in and model effective use of technology tools and resources to continuously
assess student learning and technology literacy by applying a rich variety of formative and
summative assessments aligned with content and student technology standards
h. Coach teachers in and model effective use of technology tools and resources to
systematically collect and analyze student achievement data, interpret results, and
communicate findings to improve instructional practice and maximize student learning
4. Professional Development & Program Evaluation. Technology coaches conduct needs
assessments, develop technology-related professional learning programs, and evaluate the
impact on instructional practice and student learning. Technology Coaches:

b. Design, develop, and implement technology-rich professional learning programs that model
principles of adult learning and promote digital-age best practices in teaching, learning, and
assessment
c. Evaluate results of professional learning programs to determine the effectiveness on
deepening teacher content knowledge, improving teacher pedagogical skills and/or increasing
student learning

Survey to evaluate specific needs of the staff and faculty:

Formative Pre-Workshop Survey

Workshop Location and Time:

Holcomb Bridge Middle School/Lisa Flickers Classroom (404)
Workshop held on November 9, 2017, at 8:00 a.m.

Promotional Materials:
1) Flyer sent via school mail to all faculty and staff at Holcomb Bridge Middle School. Calendar
invite sent. Follow-up emails and calendar reminders sent as workshop date neared. A copy of
one of the emails sent to faculty and staff is below.
Step-by-Step Instructional Process:

Welcome, hand out resource packet, direct participants to initial directions on projector
(If teacher has not already set up an account, ask them to please set one up. QR code
provided on board to directly link teachers to Formative site)
If already have an account, teachers may preview the resource packet provided to them
before we begin the workshop.
Hook (5 minutes):

We will delve in to the definition of formative assessments, as given by W. James

Popham (2008):

Formative assessment is a planned process in which assessment-elicited evidence of

students' status is used by teachers to adjust their ongoing instructional procedures
or by students to adjust their current learning tactics.

Ask, how does this relate to where we are as a school, or in our classes, or where we
want to be? Does this envelop all that Formative is? Would you add anything? (5
minutes)
Step-by-Step Instructional Process:
Whole-Group Instruction (25 minutes):

Share format for the workshop, including links to the Weebly I created with
additional resources. Examples of resources are in the handouts, including step-by-
step instructions. Furthermore, there are additional resources found on the site, and
video links to create more engaging and meaningful assessments.
Formative Workshop Weebly
Based on the evaluation results, the group attending the training were, for the most
part, unfamiliar with using Formative. Therefore, I made sure everyone had an
account created and walked them through the steps of creating their classes
(including the different ways to enroll students).
Using the prepared PowerPoint, I will go through the various design options and
tools available to create meaningful assessments for teachers and their students.
This includes, but not limited to, adding a map or graph that you can add questions
to, adding video or audio, importing a calculator feature, whiteboard for students,
and sorting.
I will show my Formative account, the various types of assessments I have in there,
explain how Formative assessments can be shared and how you may link your
standards to each individual question.
 We will go over the ways to check for progress during an assessment, analyze the
answers, and allow students to become nameless when pulling up class results.
I will explain how you can gather the data together from an assessment and then
upload it to a PDF format.
Modeling (15 minutes):

I will model the creation of a 4 question assessment utilizing the various features I
had explained in the instructional section of the workshop. I will show them how I
would link my standards, add an audio to support students requiring or needing
this modification, and upload an image to add questions to.
My participants will become my students for the assessment as they enroll in the
class I created and take the assessment I just made. We will watch and discuss in
live time, and I will share how I would use this information in my own class,
answering questions, showing the live feed up on the projector.
Independent Practice (10 minutes):

Allow teachers time to create an assessment using some of the new tools that
they have been introduced to during this workshop. Assist teachers, as needed,
with linking standards or uploading maps or other images to their assessments.
Remind teachers they can also upload video and link audio to their assessments.
Randomly ask questions during this time, and as participants practice with
Formative, on the various tools offered by Formative. Give participants who
answer the swag stickers that I was sent from Formative.

Closing (5 minutes):

Answer any questions participants may have.

Direct teachers to the various resources available, including the Weebly I created
and the handouts they may take with them.
Thank participants for coming and remind participants to please take the post-
workshop evaluation survey before leaving.

Instructional Materials:
1) Handouts provided to participants and also linked within the Weebly created for this
workshop:
Formative Create and Design Handout.docx
Formative Enhancements Handout.docx
Manage Student Results Handout.docx
Formative tool for student growth.pptx

2) Weebly link:
Formative Workshop Weebly

3) I had ordered Formative Swag Stickers to give out as door prizes during my workshop

Evaluation Materials:
1) Workshop Pre-Service Needs Survey:
Formative Pre-Workshop Survey
2) Post-Workshop Evaluation Survey:
Questionnaire includes questions related to the following levels of Guskeys Five Critical Levels
of Professional Development Evaluation.
1) Level 1: Participants reaction
2) Level 2: Participants learning
3) Level 5: Student learning outcomes

Formative Post-Workshop Evaluation

Evaluation:
Implementation Narrative:
The workshop was conducted in my middle school classroom. Twelve teachers attended the
workshop, plus one administrator, the language arts coach, and one instructional assistant. The
teachers who attended were from grades 6-8. The administrator who attended was our new
administrative assistant and the instructional assistant was one who floats between the 7 th and
8th grades.
Once the participants entered my room, I gave them the handouts I had created for them. If
they had not yet created a GoFormative account, I showed them the QR code to link them to it.
We went through the hook, and discussed how the definition provided applies to our classes,
our school and our particular needs.
The instructional portion moved along nicely. My only issue with that occurred when a couple
of the teachers wanted to focus more on setting up their class lists and I knew I needed to take
the remaining time to really focus on what this assessment tool can do for both our students
and the teachers. I explained to them that this was something that I would definitely go over
with them in another session and/or one-on-one. We were then able to move on.
The teachers were excited about the idea of making their assessments visually appealing.
Formative provides the options of adding images, videos, and audio. I went over how to do this
by showing them some of the Formatives I have already created and administered in my own
account.
I then moved on to the modeling portion in which I quickly created a four question assessment,
adding in the various options I felt would be most important to show at this time. I had my
participants enroll in to the assessment and I showed the live version of the screen as they took
the assessment. Therefore, allowing them to see both the teacher version and the student
version during this workshop session.
The workshop took the entire time I had allocated. I answered questions and I felt that teachers
were looking forward to creating their own formatives and trying this with their own students. I
reminded teachers to please complete the Post-Workshop Evaluation Survey before leaving.
Teachers who were also in the 8th grade were able to stay after with me as we had morning
planning that day. Therefore, I was able to work with those teachers, as needed. One of the
teachers who stayed after was one of the teachers who was concerned about creating their
class lists, and I helped her to get that portion completed.
Results:
Participants were asked to complete a Post-Evaluation Workshop Survey. Responses for the
Formative Workshop were used to determine the results of the workshop. There were 15
participants who attended, 12 completed the survey. The language arts coach, administrative
assistant and assistant did not complete the survey. All three had to leave early for morning
duty positions.
Based on the survey results the workshop was either very relevant or relevant to the needs of
the educators who participated. They felt that this was a worthwhile tool for them to use and
implement in their class.

The participants strongly felt that this workshop enhanced their understanding on how to
create a formative assessment. Offering the Weebly, the handouts, and the modeling
components to the workshop allowed participants to have various resources and opportunities
to further their understanding of this tool and to gain greater insight.
Participants gave this a strong rating as they were given the chance to see both the teacher and
the student view. Furthermore, they were also given the opportunity to work on this tool for a
few minutes to allow them time to have an instructor present as they worked within the
program.

Participants rated this strong because they were given a handout as well as access to a Weebly
that had the PowerPoint they were presented and additional videos to view on the tools they
can use in their own formatives.
Participants scored the being able to see both the teacher and student versions of Formative
and having the opportunity to practice on Formative during the workshop the highest. Next
came the live view and options available for enhancing formatives. The resources packet scored
the lowest.

While all participants wither strongly agreed or agreed that Formative was a valuable
instructional assessment tool to be utilized in their classroom. Almost 64% of the participants
strongly felt that way and were very much looking forward to using this with their students.
Most of the participants felt that at this time, they are confident enough to create formatives
on their own and to be able to try them out with their students. Only one wished to set up an
additional one-to-one training session. The others who needed additional information on
setting up classes either stayed after the workshop as I had planning or said they would use the
handouts and Weebly and if they needed additional information, they would email me for help.

Reflection:
I was very pleased with the workshop, as a whole. Most of the workshops I had been
conducting this past year have been on choice boards or iTunes U, so this was a pleasant
change for me. I was a little nervous, as this is a relatively newer technology tool for me and I
wanted to make sure that I was as fluent in all that this program offered and as prepared as
possible for the various types of questions I may be asked. I also wanted to make sure that my
resources were valuable and relevant.
The turnout was good and I even had an additional guest or two with the administrator who
had come. However, I did not ask the administrator, coach or assistant to complete the survey
as they all had to leave early for morning duty positions.
My one little issue took place early on when I was going through my initial set-up discussion. A
couple of the teachers were very concerned about class set-up and were worried that they
were not going to be able to get their students on once they left and were on their own. Once I
assured them that I would help them after the workshop was over, they were relieved. I knew
that with all I had to share and the limited time in which to do so, I could not spend too much
time on making sure everyone set-up their own classes on Formative. Especially since once they
realize they have the option to give their students an access code and the students can do this,
themselves, they will understand that it is not as complicated as it seems.
I felt that showing the teachers my sample Formatives was helpful and especially since I had
made sure to create one that utilized all of the tools I was trying to demonstrate to them within
the workshop. It was good that we had discussed the various forms assessments can take.
Therefore, teachers will hopefully keep this in mind when trying to think of the various
applications and forms this tool can take in their classrooms. I reiterated that Formative is also
great for ticket in the doors as well as ticket out the doors.
If I were to do this again, I would make sure to have a second session time set up for those who
would like to meet again for follow-up or just for additional assistance. I think this would be
helpful and something I may end up emailing out to the participants who had stated they may
need additional help in the near future. I will also make sure that this is definitely a one hour
course and that I have some type of planning time available afterwards to be able to work with
those teachers who are able to stay. I may also consider scheduling this during a teacher
workday, if possible. Furthermore, the Formative Swag Stickers to give out as door prizes
during my workshop were a big hit, and it was fun to see the competitiveness come out
between the teachers as they tried to be the first to answer the questions, and all to get the
stickers that I was sent from GoFormative. I must remember to do that again, no matter what
the tool or program I am working with!
For the participants who attended, they felt that this tool was beneficial towards supporting the
digital learning initiative in our school. They felt that the tool was easy to use, had lots of bells
and whistles, and they very much enjoyed the live version. I would like to follow-up and see
how many of the teachers who had attended my workshop will continue to use this tool and
add it to their own repertoire on a regular basis.
 References
Popham, W. J. (2008). Transformative assessment. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision
and
Curriculum Development. doi:11/12/2017