What are the best ways to teach formative assessment to a teacher mentee?

2 Model the process

One of the best ways to teach formative assessment is to model it yourself. You can use formative assessment strategies during your coaching sessions, such as asking open-ended questions, eliciting evidence of learning, providing feedback, and setting goals. You can also invite your teacher mentee to observe you or another teacher using formative assessment in a real classroom context. You can then debrief with your teacher mentee and discuss what you or the other teacher did, why, and how it affected student learning.

3 Provide tools and resources

Another way to teach formative assessment is to provide your teacher mentee with tools and resources that they can use in their own practice. You can share with them some examples of formative assessment techniques, such as exit tickets, quizzes, polls, rubrics, checklists, or portfolios. You can also recommend some books, websites, or online courses that offer more information and guidance on formative assessment. You can help your teacher mentee select and adapt the tools and resources that suit their context, objectives, and students.

4 Support implementation

Once your teacher mentee has learned the basics of formative assessment, you need to support them in implementing it in their classroom. You can help them plan and design formative assessment activities that align with their curriculum and learning outcomes. You can also observe them in action and provide constructive feedback on their strengths and areas for improvement. You can encourage them to reflect on their formative assessment practice and identify what worked well and what needs to be changed.

5 Promote collaboration

Finally, you can teach formative assessment by promoting collaboration among your teacher mentee and their peers. You can create opportunities for them to share their formative assessment experiences, challenges, and successes with other teachers. You can also facilitate peer observation, feedback, and coaching among them. You can foster a culture of inquiry and learning where formative assessment is valued and practiced by everyone.

Formative assessment is not a one-time event, but a continuous cycle of learning and improvement. By following these best practices, you can teach formative assessment to your teacher mentee and help them enhance their teaching and student learning.