Diversify Your Assessment-O-Tron
As a teacher, you probably have a few go-to formative assessment strategies, like write/pair/share, fist to five, and exit tickets. It’s efficient to stick with the same ones day after day, but in doing so you might miss indicators of student understanding that your current methods don’t measure. So how can you diversify your repertoire?
With the Diversify Your Assessment-O-Tron (DYAOT), of course! It’s a tool that allows you to explore the full range of possible formative assessment structures derived from three types of assessment: binary choice, multiple choice, and short answer.
To begin, click through the menu buttons to explore the different options for each in the DYAOT. You will end up creating assessments like this one: “As an individual, write an answer to an open-ended question and have two peers extend it.” Incidentally, you might recognize this strategy as Kagan’s Write Round Robin structure.
You can use the tool to adapt your current go-to formative assessments. For example, if you tend to rely on individual open-ended writing prompts, you could adjust it to a group writing prompt, or to individuals verbalizing an answer to a binary-choice question.
Another way to use the tool is simply to click the Randomize button, which will combine the assessment components into strategies you might not have thought of before—but which may prove beneficial to you and your students.
Student-Group Level
Artifact Type
Answer Type
Collaboration Level
Peer Review Level
As a group, As an individual, write verbalize present an answer to a fill in the blank promptan answer to a sentence steman answer to a binary choice questionan answer to a multiple choice questionan answer to an open-ended questiona summarya question asking for clarification about a concepta question to review a concept to a neighbor. to a small group. to the whole class. to a neighbor. to a small group. to the whole class. .and have 1 peer and have 2 peers and have 1 group and have 2 groups review.critique.add to it.Definition: A sentence that needs one or more words added in the blank space.
Example: A _______ triangle has three equal sides.
Strength: Provides quick clear feedback
Definition: A sentence that needs an explanation or example.
Example: On page 32, Sven felt depressed because ____.
Strength: Requires inference and evidence
Definition: A question that requires students to select one of two presented options.
Example: Which would you rather do first, go outside or eat lunch?
Strength: Provides quick clear feedback
Definition: A question that requires students to choose a response from three or more presented options.
Example: The American Civil War was fought between: a) The Union and Confederate States b) The Sharks and Jets c) The Capulets and Montagues
Strength: Measures recognition and can promote analysis
Definition: A question that cannot be answered with a simple response.
Example: What would you do to improve Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major?
Strength: Can require higher-order thinking
Definition: A brief statement about the main points of learning material.
Example: Summarize the main idea of the article.
Strength: Requires reflection
Definition: Questions meant to elicit clarifying information from a teacher or peer.
Example: I’m not sure why we combine these terms in the equation. Could you explain that?
Strength: Promotes reflection and evaluation
Definition: Questions that reference information gained from prior learning.
Example: What are the three types of plate boundaries?
Strength: Indicates depth of content knowledge
Definition: The student receives a comment from a peer reviewer.
Example: After reading your partner’s paper, add a sentence at the bottom explaining something you learned from it.
Strength: Students learn from other perspectives
Definition: The student receives qualitative responses about exemplary elements and errors from a peer reviewer.
Example: As you read your partner’s paper, mark any punctuation or spelling errors you see.
Strength: Requires analysis and evaluation
Definition: The student’s ideas are extended by a peer reviewer.
Example: After you complete your list, have two peers extend it with one item each from their lists to yours.
Strength: Students learn from other perspectives
Definition: Students create a written artifact of their responses.
Example: Write your answers to the following questions:
Strength: Flexible scope of assessment and student-created artifacts for grading
Definition: Students verbalize their responses to their peers or teacher.
Example: With your partner, verbalize the definitions for two of the vocabulary words.
Strength: Promotes speaking and listening skills
Definition: Students create and then share artifacts of their responses.
Example: Each group will present their opinion of the following statement:
Strength: Students revisit concepts multiple times and create artifacts for grading