Kelly's Chapter 3 Post

I was astonished by the projected results from teachers using lessons that included effective use of formative assessments and checking for understanding. It sounds so straight forward and simple but the difference that it makes is staggering. There would be 20 to30 times as much positive impact on learning than most popular current initiatives? They are about 10 times as cost-effective as reducing class size, it would add between 6 and 9 months of additional learning growth per year, students would learn four times as fast as a result of this consistent use, three years of effective teaching will catapult students in the lowest quartiles into the third or even fourth quartile, and effective teaching with the use of formative assessments and checking for understanding could eliminate the achievement gap in about five years. WOW!! . It sounds so straight forward and simple but the difference that it makes is staggering.
I recall in PBIS training, the presenters keep reiterating the importance of, “check for understanding”. Don’t ask a close ended question, Do you understand what I am saying. Have students explain or tell you what they understand you to be saying. It makes sense, how are we supposed to expect students to learn what we are teaching them if they don’t understand? We make the huge mistake and just assume that the students comprehend what we are teaching, then ineffectively check for understanding and assess based off you assumptions. Let me end by saying, we all know what assumption can lead to…..