What are some effective strategies to check for understanding during backward design?

A popular example of formative assessment in the elementary grades is using the "thumbs' up/thumbs' down" strategy to show understanding. I've heard teachers tell the class a basic statement such as, "Give me a thumbs' up or a thumbs' down if you can identify adjectives in a sentence." When prompted this way, the teacher is solely relying on the students' self-assessment. A more effective way of using this strategy (I learned from a conference) is to ask the question matched to an example. When questions are matched to examples the teacher has evidence to back their assessment instead of guessing. This small tweak makes a huge difference!

Another tool I've enjoyed using while working remotely is a white board and the online platform called Miro. These tools allow for more engagement from participants because they can add texts, pictures, color, draw, and provide feedback in a fun way.

I'm a huge fan of using personal response systems in my biology, anatomy and physiology, and chemical engineering classes. The key to using them effectively is to make use of all of the features described above, not just for multiple choice. When there are multiple correct answers or students have to enter a numerical answer to a problem it makes these types of questions much more powerful for assessing learning. These questions should also build on what happens before class. If you have students read the book ahead of time, have the in-class questions be applications of what they read, not just a re-hash of facts from what they read. In the end, be creative and have fun with students response systems, they really do work!

In my experience, intentionally using student response systems is one of the easiest ways to check for students' understanding, while promoting equity and inclusion. They show the class that all voices are valued and they promote high learning expectations for everyone. Another benefit of these types of systems is the ability to differentiate based on your students and the many options there are to choose from.

Concept maps are also a great way to aid students with critical thinking toward a subject. For history, some students get stuck on a singular event as an isolated idea and need help seeing the interconnectedness of events, concepts and ideas. Concept maps help students process ideas and understand how historical events can create cause and effect and are also a great tool for students who struggle to start writing projects or narrow in on a topic of focus.

One controversial idea is that if a student is able to reach the end goal of mastering a standard, all the grades previously related to that standard should be raised to meeting expectation. For example, if a student had below passing scores previous to the final assessment, then they should have their grades changed if their final assessment showed mastery.

Rubrics, checklists, and success criteria are also another way to have students work backwards towards a learning target via self-assessment.