Formative assessment easily becomes a burden. It\u2019s something you know you should do, but have limited time available. Other priorities bump it down your to-do list. <\/p>\n\n\n
That\u2019s where your Wacom pen tablet can help. We\u2019ve found five ways you can use it to embed formative assessment effectively in your teaching. <\/p>\n\n\n
What is formative assessment? <\/p>\n\n\n
Formative assessment has had several name changes over the years. You might know it as \u2018assessment for learning\u2019 or \u2018ongoing assessment\u2019. First suggested in the 1960s it became popular in the 1980s and has become a central part of teaching through the work of Dylan Wiliam<\/a> and others. <\/p>\n\n\n Formative assessment covers all the ways you evaluate what your students have understood, any barriers or misconceptions, and what they need to learn next. This assessment is ongoing and informal compared to structured summative assessments which give you quantifiable data. <\/p>\n\n\n There\u2019s no one correct way to use formative assessment. Some of the most popular methods include: <\/p>\n\n\n So how can you use Wacom to help you with ongoing assessment? Check out these simple ways to simplify the process and reduce your workload. <\/p>\n\n\n 1: Supporting self-assessment <\/p>\n\n\n We know feedback is more effective when it comes from the student rather than you. But learners find it hard to improve their work. Often, they stare at a finished piece, unable to see what to do to make it better. <\/p>\n\n\n That\u2019s where Wacom comes in. Use your pen tablet to underline, highlight or circle the exact area you want them to improve. You can even handwrite questions to help them identify problems. <\/p>\n\n\n Your pen tablet can show effective work too. Change colour with one click to point out what they\u2019ve done well. <\/p>\n\n\n 2: Capturing class responses <\/p>\n\n\n Questioning is a straightforward way to find out how individuals or groups of learners are doing. In a few minutes, you can see what they\u2019ve learnt and where misconceptions lie. <\/p>\n\n\n But isn\u2019t it irritating\u00a0trying\u00a0to capture those responses?\u00a0You\u00a0can\u00a0type as you\u00a0talk,\u00a0but it\u00a0makes the conversation slow and\u00a0stilted. The alternative is handwriting and typing up notes.\u00a0But\u00a0you\u2019re too busy to waste time doing work twice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n Use\u00a0your pen tablet to\u00a0eliminate\u00a0the need to type\u00a0responses.\u00a0Create\u00a0effortless\u00a0mind maps\u00a0and\u00a0other\u00a0visual thinking tools<\/a>\u00a0directly on the screen. Use your sniping tool\u00a0to add them\u00a0to planning or\u00a0print to\u00a0stick in\u00a0exercise\u00a0books\u00a0and\u00a0display on classroom walls.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n 3: Annotating planning <\/p>\n\n\n You\u2019ll frantically scribble down notes about student progress during the lesson. But, to be honest, how often do you take the time to type it up and add these reflections to your longer-term planning? When you teach the unit the following year, you\u2019ve forgotten the useful insights and make the same mistakes again. <\/p>\n\n\n Capturing ongoing assessment on your planning lets you: <\/p>\n\n\n Using Wacom, you can write and draw directly onto lesson planning documents. It\u2019s compatible with all the common programs you\u2019ll use, like Word and PDFs. This makes it quick to capture your formative assessment notes and keep them for the future with no need to retype your planning. <\/p>\n\n\n 4: Marking work <\/p>\n\n\n Marking essays takes ages and often doesn\u2019t impact learning. Students struggle to understand your comments and apply them to their work. What a waste of your time. <\/p>\n\n\n Using a pen tablet makes it simple to write, highlight and edit directly onto student\u2019s work with no need for awkward comment boxes. Colour coding makes it easy for them to understand. Keeping feedback as close as possible to the work, reduces cognitive load<\/a> and helps them identify exactly where they need to improve. <\/p>\n\n\n 5: Reading essays <\/p>\n\n\n When you\u2019re assessing a batch of essays, how do you mark them? Do you display the work on your PC and handwrite notes to type up later? It adds considerable time to the process. <\/p>\n\n\n Or maybe you keep different tabs open and flick between screens? Laptops have limited space to work with and it\u2019s cumbersome to move between different documents. <\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2020\/12\/SmilingTeacherWriting-1-890x593.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n