Formative Assessment

How can I respond to students in ways that improve their learning?

A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODULE

Introduction
Mathematicsteachingassumesthatstudentsdonotarriveatsessionsasblankslates,butasactively
thinkingpeoplewithawidevarietyofskillsandconceptions.Researchshowsthatteachingismore
effectivewhenitassessesandusespriorlearningsothattheteachingmaybeadaptedtotheneedsof
students(Black&Wiliam,1998).Priorlearningmaybeuncoveredthroughanyactivitythatoffers
studentsopportunitiestoexpresstheirunderstandingandreasoning.Itdoesnotrequiremoretesting.For
example,itcantaketheformofasinglewrittenquestiongivenatthebeginningofasessiontoelicita
rangeofexplanationsthatmaythenbediscussed.Thisprocess,oftenreferredtoasformativeassessment,
maybedefinedas:

allthoseactivitiesundertakenbyteachers,andbytheirstudentsinassessingthemselves,which
provideinformationtobeusedasfeedbacktomodifytheteachingandlearningactivitiesinwhich
theyareengaged.Suchassessmentbecomesformativeassessmentwhentheevidenceisactually
usedtoadapttheteachingworktomeettheneeds.(Black&Wiliam,1998)

Thismoduleconsidersthedifferentwaysthiscanbedoneandfocusesonthefollowingquestions:

Howcanproblemsbeusedtoassessperformance?
Howcanthisassessmentbeusedtopromotelearning?
Whatkindsoffeedbackaremosthelpfulforstudentsandwhichareunhelpful?
Howcanstudentsbecomeengagedintheassessmentprocess?

Activities
ActivityA:Introducingformativeassessment.............................................................................................3
ActivityB:Teachersownexperiencesofformativeassessment................................................................4
ActivityC:Principlesforformativeassessment..........................................................................................6
ActivityD:Analyzestudentsresponsestoproblemsolvingtasks.............................................................8
ActivityE:Observeformativeassessmentinaction..................................................................................10
ActivityF:Planandreportbackonanassessmentlesson.........................................................................11
ActivityG:Considertheeffectsoffeedbackonstudentlearning..............................................................12
FurtherMaterials:MAPFormativeAssessmentLessons..........................................................................14

Acknowledgement:
Inpreparingthismaterial,weacknowledgethepermissionsgivenbytheBowlandCharitableTrusttoadapttheprofessional
developmentresources,BowlandMaths,thattheyhadpreviouslyfundedustoproducefortheUK.Thisincludesmanyofthe
handoutsandmostofthevideoextracts.AdditionalresourceswerealsoadaptedfromImprovingLearninginMathematics,a
governmentfundedprogramintheUK.Theoriginalsourcesare:
Swan,M;Pead,D(2008).Professionaldevelopmentresources.BowlandMathsKeyStage3,BowlandTrust/Departmentfor
Children,SchoolsandFamilies.ObtainableintheUKfrom:http://www.bowlandmaths.org.uk.

Draft Feb 2012 2012 MARS, Shell Centre, University of Nottingham

Swan,M;(2005).ImprovingLearninginMathematics,challengesandstrategies,DepartmentforEducationandSkillsStandards
Unit.ObtainableintheUKfromhttp://tlp.excellencegateway.org.uk/pdf/Improving_learning_in_maths.pdf

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 2

 Related research to help your planning for this module.

Black,P.,&Wiliam,D.(1998).Insidetheblackbox:raisingstandards
throughclassroomassessment.KingsCollegeLondonSchoolof
Education.
NowpublishedbyGLAssessment:http://shop.glassessment.co.uk

Thisshortbookletoffersasummaryoftheextensiveresearch
literatureintoformativeassessment.Itshowsthatthereisclear
evidencethatimprovingformativeassessmentraisesstandards,and
offersevidenceshowinghowformativeassessmentmaybe
improved.Thisbookletisessentialreadingforallteachers.

Black,P.,&Harrison,C.(2002).Workinginsidetheblackbox:Assessment
forlearningintheclassroom.KingsCollegeLondonSchoolof
Education.
NowpublishedbyGLAssessment:http://shop.glassessment.co.uk

Inthisbooklet,theauthorsdescribeaprojectwithteachersinwhich
theystudiedpracticalwaysofimplementingformativeassessment
strategiesandtheeffectthishadonlearning.Thesectionon
feedbackandmarking(pp.89)areparticularlyrelevanttothis
module.

Black,P.,Harrison,C.,Lee,C.,Marshall,B.,&Wiliam,D.(2003).
Assessmentforlearning:Puttingitintopractice.Buckingham:Open
UniversityPress.

ThisbookgivesafulleraccountoftheearlierbookletsInsidethe
blackboxandWorkinginsidetheblackbox.Itdiscussesfourtypes
ofaction:questioning,feedbackbymarking,peerandself
assessmentandtheformativeuseofsummativetests.Thesectionon
feedbackandmarking(pp.4249)isparticularlyrelevanttothis
module,whilethesectiononpeerandselfassessment(pp.4953)is
relevantforthenextCPDmodule.

Hodgen,J.,&Wiliam,D.(2006).Mathematicsinsidetheblackbox.Kings
CollegeLondonSchoolofEducation.NowpublishedbyGL
Assessment:http://shop.glassessment.co.uk

ThisbookletappliestheabovefindingsspecificallytoMathematics.
ItconsiderssomeprinciplesforMathematicslearning,choiceof
activitiesthatpromotechallengeanddialogue,questioningand
listening,peerdiscussion,feedbackandmarking,andselfandpeer
assessment.Thisbookletisessentialreadingforallmathematics
teachers.

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 3

 Activity A: Introducing formative assessment
Minimumtimeneeded:10minutes.

The different types and purposes of assessment.

Inviteparticipantstodiscussthefollowingissues:

Whydoyouassessstudents?
Whatdifferentpurposesdoyourassessmentsserve?Makealist.

Theirlistofreasonsmightinclude:todiagnosedifficulties;tocelebrateachievement;tomotivate
students;toselectstudentsforclasses;tomaintainrecordstokeepteachersandparentsinformedof
progress;toassessteachingmethods.

Tosummarize,therearetwomainpurposesofassessment:
Summativeassessmenttosummarizeandrecordoverallachievementattheendofacourse,for
promotionandcertification.Mosthighstakestestsandexternalexaminationsaredesignedfor
thispurpose.Summativeassessmentisalsousedtoevaluatetherelativeeffectivenessofa
particularcourse,teachingmethod,orevenaninstitution.
Formativeassessmenttorecognizeachievementsanddifficultiesatthebeginningorduringa
course,sothatteachersandstudentscantakeappropriateaction.Thistypeofassessmentforms
anintegralpartofalllearning.

The potential of formative assessment to improve learning.

Brieflymentiontheresearchevidencethatsetsoutthecaseforformativeassessment.Thisissummarized
byBlackandWiliaminseveralaccessiblepublicationsforteachers(seep.2).Theseresearcherssetoutto
findoutwhetherornotimprovingformativeassessmentimproveslearning.

Wecheckedmanybooksandnineyearsworthofmorethan160journals,andearlierreviewsof
research.Thisprocessyielded580articlesorchapterstostudy.Wepreparedareviewusingmaterial
from250ofthesesources.Allstudiesshowthatstrengtheningformativeassessmentproduces
significant,andoftensubstantial,learninggains.Thesestudiesrangeoverages,acrossseveral
schoolsubjects,andoverseveralcountries(BlackandWiliam,1998).1

Thismodulewillexaminetheimplementationofformativeassessment,basedonthisandotherresearch.

1Black,P.,&andWiliam,D.(1998).AssessmentandClassroomLearning,AssessmentinEducation,March1998,pp.774.

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 4

 Activity B: Teachers own experiences of formative
assessment
Minimumtimeneeded:10minutes.

What do teachers know about their students and what

consequential action do they take?

Askparticipantstoworkinpairs,consideringthefollowingquestions.

Thinkoftwostudentsinyourclass,onewhoisparticularlystrongandonewhoisfindingthe
workverydifficult.Takeitinturnstodescribethestudentsstrengthsanddifficultiestoyour
partner,inasmuchdetailaspossible.
Howdidyoubecomeawareofthesestrengthsanddifficulties?Onwhatevidencedoyoubase
yourjudgments?Testresults?Memoriesoforalresponsesduringlessons?Observationsof
thestudentworking?Writtenwork?
Inwhatwaysdoyourassessmentsofthesestudentsaffectyourlessonplanning?
Giveexamples.

What diffi culties do teachers encounter?

IssueparticipantswithcopiesofHandout1.

Howfararethecriticismsonthehandoutvalidinyourcontext?
Ifanyare,thenwhatmaybedoneaboutthem?

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 5

Handout 1: Diffi culties in formative assessment Draft Feb 2012

Handout 1: Difficulties in formative assessment

The research literature suggests that formative assessment practices are beset with problems and difficulties.
These are summarized in the extensive review by Black and Wiliam (1998)1 as follows:

Effectiveness of learning:

Teachers tests encourage rote and superficial learning.

The questions and methods used are not shared between teachers, and they are not critically
reviewed in relation to what they actually assess.

There is a tendency to emphasize quantity of work and to neglect its quality in relation to
learning.

Impact of assessment

The giving of scores and the grading function are overemphasized, while the giving of useful
advice and the learning function are underemphasized.

Approaches are used in which students are compared with one another, the prime purpose of
which seems to them to be competition rather than personal improvement; in consequence,
assessment feedback teaches low-achieving students that they lack ability, causing them to
come to believe that they are not able to learn.

Managerial role of assessment

Teachers feedback to students seems to serve social and managerial functions, often at the
expense of the learning function.

Teachers are often able to predict students results on external tests because their own tests
imitate them, but at the same time teachers know too little about their learning needs.

The collection of marks to fill in records is given higher priority than the analysis of students
work to discern learning needs; furthermore, some teachers pay no attention to the assessment
records of their students previous teachers.

1 Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Inside the black box: raising standards through classroom assessment. London: Kings
College London School of Education.

Handouts for Teachers Formative Assessment H-2

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 6

 Activity C: Principles for formative assessment
Minimumtimeneeded:20minutes.
IssueparticipantswithacopyofHandout2.Theideaspresentedherearealldrawnfromresearchinto
formativeassessment.

BearinginmindthedifficultiesdiscussedinActivityB,howwouldyousuggestthatyour
formativeassessmentpracticesbeimproved?
DiscusstheprinciplesoutlinedonHandout2.
o Whichofthesedoyoucurrentlyuseinyourownteaching?
o Whichdoyoufindmostdifficult?Why?
Whatotherprinciplesdoyouthinkareimportant?

IssuecopiesofHandout3.

"It'sallverywelltellingustoassessourstudents,buthowcan
abusyteacherknowwhatisgoingoninside30individual
heads?"
Howwouldyouanswerthisteacher?
Whatstrategiesdoyouhaveforfindingoutwhat
studentsarethinkinginyourlessons?
DiscussthetwosuggestionsshownonHandout3,
andwatchthetwoActivityCVideos:Mini
WhiteboardsandPosterstoseetheseinaction.
Suggestsomefurtherstrategiesformakingreasoning
moreevident.

ThetwostrategiesdescribedonHandout3andillustratedintheActivityCVideosmayhelptomake
reasoningmorevisible.

Miniwhiteboardsareanindispensableresourceforthefollowingreasons:
Whenstudentsholdtheirideasuptotheteacher,itispossibletoseeataglancewhatevery
studentthinks.
Duringwholeclassdiscussions,theyallowtheteachertoasknewkindsofquestion(typically
beginning:Showmeanexampleof....).
Theyallowstudentsto,simultaneously,presentarangeofwrittenand/ordrawnresponsestothe
teacherandtoeachother.

Postersarealsoapowerfulwayofhelpingstudentstoexternalizetheirthinking.Thisusedoesnot
requirepolished,complete,attractiveproductsbutrathertheyshouldbeseenasworkingdocuments.
Perhapsthesimplestwayofusingaposterisforstudentstosolveaproblemcollaboratively,explaining
thethoughtprocessesinvolvedateverystep.Aseconduseofpostersistofindoutwhattheyalready
knowaboutagiventopic.InthediagramshownonHandout2,theteacheraskedstudentstowritedown
alltheyknewabouty=2x6.Asaclass,thediagramwasdevelopedonthewhiteboard.Studentswere
thengivenavarietyofequations(thelevelofchallengewasvariedappropriately)andwereaskedto

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 7

producetheirownposter.Thediscussionenabledtheteachertoassesshowmuchlearnersknewabout
equationsandhowwelltheywereabletolinktheideastogether.

Handout 2: Principles for formative assessment Draft Feb 2012

Handout 2: Principles for formative assessment

Formative assessment may be defined as:

! all those activities undertaken by teachers, and by their students in assessing themselves, which
provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they
are engaged. Such assessment becomes formative assessment when the evidence is actually used to
adapt the teaching work to meet the needs. (Black & Wiliam, 1998)

Make the objectives of the lesson explicit

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Assess groups as well as individual students

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Watch and listen before intervening

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,. &2( ' &6$%1%' %$4 ,2%18&&

Draft Feb 2012

Handout 3: Making reasoning visible. Handout 3: Making reasoning visible

Use questioning with mini-whiteboards

Handouts for Teachers Formative Assessment H-3
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Ask students to produce posters

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Handouts for Teachers Formative Assessment H-5

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 8

 Activity D: Analyze students responses to problem-solving
tasks
Minimumtimeneeded:20minutes
Handout4presentsthreeproblemstogetherwithfourstudentresponsesoneach.Thetasksare:Counting
Trees,CatsandKittens,SecurityCameras.

Thesetasksuseavarietyofmathematicalcontent,butallthreefocusontheproblemsolvingand
modelingskillsdescribedintheCommonCoreStandardsforMathematicalPractice.Often,suchtasks
provemoredifficultthantheindividualelementsofmathematicalcontentwouldsuggest,asstudentsare
requiredtochooseandcombinetechniquesinnonroutineways.Traditionalsummativeassessmentsoften
focusonisolatedcontentstandardsandfailtotesttheseprocessskills.Formativeassessmentisan
effectivewaytoensurethatstudentsaredevelopingthesepractices.

Thefollowingphasesofproblemsolvingareausefultooltoanalyzestudentsworkonthesetasks:

A. Formulatequestions,chooseappropriaterepresentationsandtechniques.
B. Reasonlogically,constructhypothesesandarguments,
computeaccurately.
C. Interpretandevaluateresultsobtained.
D. Communicateandreflect.

ThesearecloselyrelatedtothephasesofthemodelingcycledescribedintheCCSSHighSchool
standardsformodeling,butalsorelatetolanguagefoundthroughoutthepracticesandaregenerally
applicabletomostproblemsolvingactivities.

Readthroughallthreetasksthenchooseonetaskthatwillbemostsuitableforaclassyou
willsoonteach.Ifyouareworkingonthismoduleinagroup,itwillbehelpfulifeach
participantchoosesthesameproblem,asthiswillfacilitatethefollowupdiscussion.

Considerthefourstudentresponses.Whatdoeseachstudentsresponsetellyouabouthisor
hercapacitytouseeachofthephasesofproblemsolving:formulate,reason,interpretand
evaluate,communicateandreflect?

Handout5offerssomecommentsonstudentsresponsestoeachofthetasks.

Ifyouweretheteacherofthesestudents,whatfeedback
wouldyougivethemtohelpthemimprovetheir
responses?Trytoframethishelpintheformoforal
questionsyoucouldaskintheclassroom.Youmayfindit
helpfultorefertothegenericquestionsgivenon
Handout6.

WatchActivityDVideo:TeachersDiscussing
Feedback.Thisshowsthreeteachersdiscussingthe

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 9

 feedbacktheygaveonthethreeproblems.

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 10

 Handout 4: Assessment tasks Handout 5: Improving
and sample responses students responses
through questioning Draft Feb 2012

Handout 5: Improving students responses through questioning

Counting Trees
!
Sample response: Laura
!
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+0!' #6- !<,. 28!!

What questions could you ask Laura that would help her improve her response?

Sample response: J enny

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. ' 3 !&%' ' *8!

What questions could you ask J enny that would help her improve her response?

Sample response: Woody

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6+1$( . *E!&+!0,. 2!#. !' *&,( #&' !+0!&- ' !&+&#1!. $( / ' %8!!

What questions could you ask Woody that would help him improve his response?

Sample response: Amber

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What questions could you ask Amber that would help her improve her response?

!
Handouts for Teachers Formative Assessment H-16

Handout 6: Suggestions for questions

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 11

 Activity E: Observe formative assessment in action
Timeneeded:15minutes.
Inthisactivity,youareprovidedwithvideoextractsofAndrew,DominicandAmyexploringhow
formativeassessmentmaybeusedtopromotestudentslearning.Theyareusingthethreetasksfrom
ActivityD.

Inanearlierlesson,theseteachershadaskedstudentstositindifferentplacesandattemptoneofthetasks
individually,withnohelp.Theythencollectedintheirstudentsresponses,assessedthework
qualitativelyandpreparedwrittenfeedbackintheformofquestions.Thefilmclipsyouareabouttosee
aretakenfromthefollowuplesson.Studentshavereturnedtotheirnormalplacesandmosthave
solutionsthataredifferenttothoseoftheirpartners.

WatchActivityEVideo:ObservingFormativeAssessment
andconsider:

Whatdifferentkindsofassessmentcanyousee?
Whatisthepurposeofeachkindofassessment?
Whatdoboththeteachersandstudentslearn?

Inthevideo,youwillsee:

Andrewexploringhowstudentsrespondtohisfeedbackonthecountingtreesproblem;
Amylisteningto,thenquestioningindividualsastheytrytosharetheirideasandproducejoint
solutionstothesecuritycameraproblem;
Dominiclisteningtopresentationsfromstudentsontheirmethodsandreasoningforthecatsand
kittensproblem;
Amyconcludingherlessonbyaskingstudentstodescribehowtheyhaveusedherfeedbackto
improvetheirwork.

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 12

Activity F: Plan and report back on an assessment lesson
Minimumtimeneeded:30minutesbeforethelesson.
20minutesfortheprelessonassessment.
30minutestopreparefeedback.
60minutesforthelesson.
15minutesforreportingback.

Planning the lesson

Planyourownlessonusingoneoftheproblems.

Planatimeforstudentstotackletheproblemontheirown
withouthelp.
Planhowyouwillassessthiswork,givefeedbackand Andrewslesson
conductafollowuplesson.
Collectsamplesofstudentsworktoshowhowtheir
thinkinghaschanged.Thesewillbediscussedduringthe
followupsession.
Dominicslesson
Tohelpwithyourplanning,youmaynowliketowatchoneofthe
three10minuteActivityFVideosshowingAndrew,Dominicand
AmyteachingthethreeproblemsfromActivityD.Theyareeach
followingthelessonplanonHandout7.
Amyslesson

ThepatternofactivitiesonHandout7isasfollows:
Givetheproblembeforethelessonandaskstudentstoattemptit. Handout7:Aformative
(20minutes) assessmentlessonplan Draft Feb 2012

Handout 7: A formative assessment lesson plan

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Handouts for Teachers Formative Assessment H-20

Afteryouhavetaughtthelesson,reflectonwhathappenedwithagroupofcolleagues.

Takeitinturnstosharestoriesoftheassessmentstrategiesyouused.
Howdidyoucollectandassessevidenceofyourstudentswork?
Whatdidyoulearnfromthisevidence?
Whatdidstudentslearnfromthefollowuplesson?

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 13

 WhatarethemoregeneralimplicationsforyourMathematicsteaching?

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 14

 Activity G: Consider the effects of feedback on student
learning
Timeneeded:20minutes.
Sofarwehavefocusedontheteachersroleinprovidingassessmentfeedbacktostudents.Inthisactivity
wewillconsidertheusestudentsmakeofdifferenttypesoffeedbackandtheimpactthishasontheir
learning.

WatchActivityGVideo:StudentsViewsshowing
Andrewsstudentsastheydiscusstheimpactofassessment
feedbackontheirlearning.
Whichoftheircommentsstrikeyouasparticularly
perceptiveandimportant?
Whataretheimplicationsoftheircomments?

Handout8presentssomeresultsofresearchfromBlackandWiliamintotherelativemeritsoffeeding
backassessmentinformationtostudentsindifferentforms.Inparticularitcomparestheeffectsoffeeding
backquantitativeinformationintheformofmarks,levelsandrankingswiththeeffectsofoffering
qualitativeinformationintheformofspecific,contentfocusedfeedback.

ComparethestudentscommentswiththeresearchquotesgivenonHandout8.

The dangers of giving marks, levels, rewards and rankings

Whataretheimplicationsofthisforyourpractice?
Whatwouldhappenifyoustoppedgivingmarksorlevelsonpupilswork?
Whyaresomanyteachersresistanttomakingthischange?

The advantages of giving clear, specific, content-focused feedback

Whataretheimplicationsofthisforyourpractice?
Doesthiskindoffeedbacknecessarilytakemuchlongertogive?

Researchshowsthatstudentsbenefitmostfromfeedbackthat:
Focusesonthetask,notongradesorscores.
Isdetailedratherthangeneral.
Explainswhysomethingisrightorwrong.
Isrelatedtoobjectives.
Makesclearwhathasbeenachievedandwhathasnot.
Suggestswhatthestudentmaydonext.
Offersspecificstrategiesforimprovement.

ConcludethismodulebydiscussingsomewaysofapplyingwhatyouhavelearnedinthisPDmodule
totheothermathematicslessonsthatyouteach.
Howcouldyouinvolvepupilsinimprovingyourassessmentpractices?

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 15

Handout 8: The effects of feedback on student learning Draft Feb 2012

Handout 8: The effects of feedback on students' learning

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Handouts for Teachers Formative Assessment H-24

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 16

 Further Materials: MAP Formative Assessment Lessons
TheMathematicsAssessmentProjecthasproducedasuiteof
Having Kittens Teacher Guide Alpha Version August 2011

Modeling: Having Kittens

FormativeAssessmentLessonsbasedontheprinciplesdiscussedhere.
1

2 Mathematical goals

Eachlessonprovidesmaterialsandcomprehensiveguidancefor
3 This lesson unit is intended to help you assess how well students are able to:
4 Interpret a situation and represent the constraints and variables mathematically.
5 Select appropriate mathematical methods to use.
Make sensible estimates and assumptions.

teachingalessononaparticulartopic.
6
7 Investigate an exponentially increasing sequence.
8 Communicate their reasoning clearly.
Common Core State Standards

10 This lesson involves a range of mathematical practices from the standards, with emphasis on:
11 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
12 2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

Conceptdevelopmentlessonsaimtostrengthenstudentsunderstanding
13 3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
14 4. Model with mathematics.
15 5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
16 This lesson also asks students to select and apply mathematical content from across the grades, including the

ofaspecifictopicandhelpthemconnectitwiththeirother 17
18
19
content standards:
N-Q:
F-LE:
Quantities.
Linear, Quadratic, and Exponential Models
S-IC: Making inferences and Justifying Conclusions.

mathematicalknowledge.Problemsolvinglessonsfocusonimproving
20

21 Introduction
22 This lesson is designed to help students develop strategies for solving a modeling problem.

studentsabilitytoapplymathematicalpracticesastheyworktogether 23
24
25

Before the lesson, students attempt the problem individually. You then review their work and
formulate questions for students to answer in order to improve their solutions.
At the start of the lesson, students individually answering your questions about the same problem.
Students are then grouped, and engage in a collaborative discussion of the same task.

toimprovetheirinitialresponsestoaproblem.
26
27 In the same small groups, students are given sample solutions to comment on and evaluate.
28 In a whole-class discussion, students explain and compare the alternative solution strategies they have
29 seen and used.
30 Finally, students review what they have learned.
31 Note that a video of this lesson is available in the professional development materials.
32 Materials required

Atypicallessonunitcomprises: 33
34
35

Each individual student will need a calculator and a copy of the assessment task Having Kittens, and
the questionnaire How Did You Work?
In the main lesson, each student will also need a mini whiteboard and an eraser,
Each small group of students will need copies of the Sample Responses to Discuss, and a large sheet of

Anassessmenttaskforstudentstoattemptbeforethemain
36
37 paper for making posters and felt tipped pens.
38 Graph paper should be kept in reserve, and used only when requested.
39 There are also some projector resources to help you with whole-class discussions.

lesson
40 Spreadsheet software might also be helpful if available.
41 Time needed
42 Approximately twenty minutes before the lesson, a ninety minute lesson, and ten minutes in the next lesson (or

Teachernotesdescribingcommonissuesseeninstudentwork
43 for homework). Timings given are only approximate. Exact timings will depend on the needs of the class.
44 2011 MARS University of Nottingham 1

ontheassessmenttaskandsuggestingformativefeedbackin Having Kittens Teacher Guide Alpha Version August 2011

Before the lesson

theformofquestions
45

46 Assessment task: Having Kittens (20 minutes)

47 Have the students do this task in class or for homework, a day or more before the formative assessment lesson.

Collaborativelearningactivitiestohelpstudentsdeveloptheir
48 This will give you an opportunity to assess the work, and to find out the kinds of difficulties students have with
49 it. You will then be able to target your help more effectively in the follow-up lesson.
H a v in g K it t e n s S t u d e n t M a t e r ia l s A lp h a V e r s i o n

Give out the task Having Kittens. H a v i n g K i tt e n s

understandingofthemathematicscontainedinthetaskandto
H e r e i s a p o s t e r p u b l i s h e d b y a n o r g a n i z a t i o n t h a t lo o k s a f t e r s t r a y c a t s .

This is a poster made by a cats charity,

encouraging people to have their cats spayed so
they cant have kittens. The activity is about what

exposeandchallengecommonmisunderstandings.Typical
happens if you dont have your cat spayed and
C ats cant ad d bu t
whether the statement on the poster is correct.
t h e y d o m u lt ip l y !
Is it realistic that one female cat would produce
2000 descendants in 18 months? In j u s t 1 8 m o n t h s , t h i s f e m a le c a t

activitiesinclude:
c an h av e 2 0 0 0 d e sc e n d a n ts.

You are given some facts about cats and kittens

that will help you decide.

o Classifyingmathematicalobjects&challenging
W o r k o u t w h e th e r th is n u m b e r o f d e s c e n d a n ts is r e a lis tic .
H e r e a r e s o m e fa c t s th a t y o u w i ll n e e d :
M a k e s u r e y o u r c a t c a n n o t h a v e k it t e n s .

definitions
o Interpretingmultiplerepresentations 50
2 0 1 1 M A R S U n iv e r s it y o f N o t t in g h a m S -1

o Evaluatingconjecturesandassertions
51 It is important that students are allowed to answer the questions without assistance, as far as possible.
52 Students who sit together often produce similar answers, and then when they come to compare their work, they
53 have little to discuss. For this reason, we suggest that when students do the task individually, you ask them to
move to different seats. Then at the beginning of the formative assessment lesson, allow them to return to their

o Modifyingsituations&exploringtheirstructure
54
55 usual seats. Experience has shown that this produces more profitable discussions.

56 Assessing students responses

o Critiquingsuppliedexamplesofotherstudentswork
57 Collect students responses to the task. Make some notes on what their work reveals about their current levels of
58 understanding, and their different problem solving approaches. The purpose of doing this is to forewarn you of
59 issues that will arise during the lesson itself, so that you may prepare carefully.
We suggest that you do not score students work. The research shows that this will be counterproductive, as it

Afollowupassessmenttask,closelyrelatedtotheoriginal
60
61 will encourage students to compare their scores and will distract their attention from what they can do to
62 improve their mathematics.
63 Instead, help students to make further progress by summarizing their difficulties as a series of questions. Some

task,inwhichstudentsreengagewiththeoriginalchallenge.
64 suggestions for these are given on the next page. These have been drawn from common difficulties observed in
65 trials of this lesson unit.
66 We suggest that you write a list of your own questions, based on your own students work, using the ideas
67 below. You may choose to write questions on each students work. If you do not have time to do this, just select
68 a few questions that will be of help to the majority of students. These can be written on the board at the

Having
KittensUniversity of Nottingham
2011 MARS Student
2 Materials Alpha Version August 2011

Eachlessoncomeswithacomprehensivelessonplanincludingwhole Sample Responses to Discuss: Wayne

classintroductionsanddiscussions,groupandindividualworkand
furthersuggestionsforprobingquestionsandformativefeedback.

Thethreetasksinthismoduleappearinthelessons:
Modeling:HavingKittens (HighSchool)
Estimating:CountingTrees (MiddleSchool)
Optimizing:SecurityCameras (MiddleSchool)

Thelessonunitsareavailable2fromhttp://map.mathshell.org/ What has Wayne done correctly?

What assumptions has he made?
How can Waynes work be improved?

Moreaboutthepedagogicalissuesarisingfromtheselessonscanbe
foundinPDmodules2and3.

2011 MARS University of Nottingham S-3

2 HavingKittensandCountingTreesarecurrentlyavailabletoMathDevelopmentCollaborativepartners,butwillbepublicly
releasedinearly2012.SecurityCamerasisunderdevelopmentandwillappearlaterin2012.

PD Module Guide Formative Assessment 17