Piaget’s Developmental Theory – An Overview

What is learning?
Learning can be commonly defined as the act, process, or experience of gaining knowledge or skill. In psychology and education,
learning refers to a process that brings together cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences and experiences for acquiring,
enhancing, or making changes in one’s knowledge, skills, values, and world views (Illeris, 2000; Ormorod, 1995, cited in wikipedia).
For some theorists learning is a change in behavior. For others, it’s an internal mental process (including insight, information
processing, memory, perception). Learning as a process focuses on what happens when the learning takes place. Explanations of
learning as a product or as a process constitute learning theories.

What is a learning theory?

A learning theory is a body of principles advocated by psychologists and educators to explain how people and animals learn, thereby
helping us understand the inherently complex process of learning. Learning theories provide us with vocabulary and a conceptual
framework for describing, explaining and interpreting the instances of learning that we observe. Learning theories also guides us to
look for solutions to practical problems.

Learning theories
There are three major categories of learning theories:
•Behaviorism,
•Cognitivism,
•and Constructivism.
These theories do not give us ready-made solutions. However, but they guide us to those variables that are crucial in finding
solutions. The philosophical frameworks behind these learning theories try to describe or explain how people learn and under what
conditions.
•Behaviorism focuses only on the objectively observable aspects of learning.
•Cognitive theories look beyond behavior to explain brain-based learning.
•Constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts.

Behaviorism
A Description of Behaviorism
Behaviorism is a learning theory which considers anything an organism do as a behavior. According to the behaviorist, these
behaviors can be scientifically studied regardless of what happens in the mind (psychological constructs such as thoughts, feelings…)
As a theory behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors and contends that there are no philosophical differences between publicly
observable processes (such as actions) and privately observable processes (such as thinking and feeling.)
Behaviorism main figures were:
•Ivan Pavlov, who investigated classical conditioning,
•Edward Lee Thorndike,
•John B. Watson who rejected introspective methods and sought to restrict psychology to experimental methods,
•and B.F. Skinner who conducted research on operant conditioning
Behaviorists believe in three basic assumptions:
1.Learning is manifested by a change in behavior.
2.The environment shapes behavior.
3.The principles of contiguity (how close in time two events must be for a bond to be formed) and reinforcement (any means of
increasing the likelihood that an event will be repeated) are central to explaining the learning process.
For behaviorists, learning is the acquisition of new behavior through conditioning.
 
Classical Conditioning
J. B Watson, the father of Behaviorism, defined learning as a sequence of stimulus and response actions in observable cause and
effect relationships. For example in the case of Pavlov’s conditioning experiments on dogs, behavior becomes a reflex response to
stimulus. In conducting the experiment, Pavlov noticed that the dog would salivate (response), upon hearing the ringing of a bell.
This occurred because the dog had learned to associate its unconditional stimuli (normally feeding), with the neutral stimuli of the
bell ringing simultaneously with the feeding process. Watson, believed that the stimuli that humans receive may be generated
internally (for example hunger), or externally (for example, a loud noise).

Operant Conditioning (Radical Behaviorism)

B.F. Skinner expanded on the foundation of Behaviorism, established by Watson, and on the work of Edward Thorndike, by
focussing on operant conditioning. According to Skinner, voluntary or automatic behavior is either strengthened or weakened by the
immediate presence of reinforcement or punishment. New learning occurs as a result of positive reinforcement and undesirable
behavior is discarded through negative reinforcement.

Teaching and Behaviorism

When applying the tenets of Behaviorism to education, Skinner contends that teaching is the arrangement of contingencies of
reinforcement under which students learn. Of course students learn without being taught in their natural environments, but when
teachers arrange special contingencies, this accelerates learning. That is these contingencies will  speed up the emergence of behavior
which would otherwise be acquired slowly or make sure the desired behavior would appear, which otherwise would never occur.
(Skinner, 1968, p.64)

Examples of the applications in teaching

Here some of the applications of behaviorism in education:
•Directed instruction (a teacher is provides the knowledge to the students either directly or through the set up of “contingencies”)
•The use of exams to measure observable behavior of learning.
•The use of rewards and punishments in our school systems.
•The audiolingual approach to language teaching.
•and the breaking down of the instruction process into “conditions of learning” (as developed by Robert Gagne)

Criticism of Behaviorism
•Behavioral theories do not account for free will and internal influences such as moods, thoughts, and feelings.
•As a learning theory, Behaviorism doesn’t take into account important internal processes that take place in the mind.
•Language acquisition was one type of learning Skinners learning theory cannot account for. Chomsky for example, responding
to Skinner’s Verbal behavior, shows that language acquisition occurs because of some innate abilities that children are endowed
with which explains that they can produce an indefinite number of utterances they have never heard.
•There are many instances of learning that occurs without the use of reinforcements or punishments.
•People and animals are able to adapt their behavior when new information is introduced, even if a previous behavior pattern has
been established through reinforcement.
•Behaviorists focus on the target, desirable behavior, that is the product. They fail to explain how humans learn, the process
through which the learning takes place.
•For a behaviorist what occurs between the stimulus and the response (the black box) is of little importance. The very meaning of
the learning process is banned from any scientific analysis in the behavioristic approach (the black box shouldn’t be opened.)

Conclusion
As a learning theory Behaviorism focuses on the observable behavior which they claim must be the subject of a scientific study.
Although this type of study will yield measurable results, and can be applicable to a number of  cases, such as in treatments for
human disorders including autism, anxiety disorders and antisocial behavior, it fails to account for the learning process and how the
mind and the affective domain interfere in the processing of information. New learning approaches and theories appeared in the 20th
century as a response to these shortcomings. Cognitivism and constructivism are the major trends of this movement.

Description of Cognitivism
Description of Cognitivism
Cognitivism is a learning theory that focuses on the processes involved in learning rather than on the observed behavior. As opposed
to Behaviorists, Cognitivists do not require an outward exhibition of learning, but focus more on the internal processes and
connections that take place during learning. Cognitivism contends that “the black box” of the mind should be opened and understood.
The learner is viewed as an information processor.  Knowledge can be seen as schema or symbolic mental constructions and learning
is defined as change in a learner’s schemata. Some important classroom principles from cognitive psychology include meaningful
learning, organization, and elaboration.
Cognitivism as a reaction against Behaviorism
Cognitivist theory developed as a reaction to Behaviorism. Cognitivists objected to behaviorists because they felt that behaviorists
thought learning was simply a reaction to a stimulus and ignored the idea that thinking plays an important role. One of the most
famous criticisms addressed to Behaviorism was Chomsky’s argument that language could not be acquired purely through
conditioning, and must be at least partly explained by the existence of some inner abilities. Behaviorism for example falls short to
explain how children can learn an infinite number of utterance that they have never heard of.

The role of the learner

The learners according to cognitivists are active participants in the learning process. They use various strategies to process and
construct their personal understanding of the content to which they are exposed. Students are not considered anymore as recipients
that teachers fill with knowledge, but as active participants in the learning.

Notable cognitivists
A few of the cognitivists who have contributed to developing the cognitive theory are the following:
•Piaget
•Bloom
•Bruner
•Ausubel

Constructivist Theory
This post is about Jerome Bruner’s constructivist theory. Jerome Bruner was one of the most influential constructivists. He was
influenced by Piaget’s ideas about cognitive development in children. His ideas have been widely discussed among educators and
teachers. Some of Bruner’s theoretical principles focus on these ideas:
•Nature of Learning and learning process.
•Instructional scaffolding
•The intellectual  development of the learner

Learning according to the constructivist theory

Learning for Bruner is an active process. The  learning process includes according to Bruner:
•selection and transformation of information,
•decision-making,
•generating hypotheses,
•and making meaning from information and experiences.
Learners are able to construct new knowledge based on their current or past knowledge.
Bruner focuses on the importance of categorization in every aspect of learning. This is done through the interpretation of information
and experiences by similarities and differences.
The focus is on the significance of categorization in learning. “To perceive is to categorize, to conceptualize is to categorize, to learn
is to form categories, to make decisions is to categorize.” Interpreting information and experiences by similarities and differences is a
key concept.

Effective instruction
Bruner emphasized four characteristics of effective instruction that emerged from his theoretical constructs.
1.Personalized: instruction should relate to learners’ predisposition, and facilitate interest in learning,
2.Content Structure: content should be structured so it can be most easily grasped by the learner
3.Sequencing: sequencing is an important aspect of the presentation of material
4.Reinforcement: rewards and punishment should be selected and paced appropriately.
Bruner also contends that any child can be instructed any subject in some intellectually honest form any stage of development. This
notion led Bruner to present his concept of the spiral curriculum which states that a curriculum should revisit basic ideas, building on
them until the student had grasped the full formal concept.

Instructional scaffolding
Based on Vygotsky‘s ideas about the Zone of Proximal Development, Jerome Bruner and other educational psychologists
developed the important concept of instructional scaffolding. This refers to the process through which able peers or adults offer
supports for learning. This assistance becomes gradually less frequent as it becomes unnecessary, as when constructing a building a
scaffold is removed.
Intellectual development
Bruner postulated three stages of intellectual development in his constructivist theory.
1.Enactive
A person learns about the world through actions on physical objects and the outcomes of these actions.
2.Iconic
Using models and pictures to obtain learning.
3.Symbolic
Developing the ability to think in abstract terms.
According to Bruner, when the learner is faced with new knowledge, a combination of concrete, pictorial, and symbolic activities
will lead to more effective learning. This holds true even for adult learners. These stages are not necessarily neatly delineated. They
are, however, modes of representation that are integrated and only loosely sequential as they “translate” into each other.

Learning to learn

Scaffolding and the construction of learning

What is Scaffolding?
In its literal meaning scaffolding is the use of a temporary metal or wooden framework that is used to support workmen and materials
during construction. Likewise, scaffolding in education refers to a temporary structure which provides assistance to learners when
needed in the construction of their learning. It makes it possible for learners to accomplish a challenging task that necessitates help.
The rationale behind scaffolding comes from theoretical arguments as well as from practical reasons. In fact, Based on Vygotsky‘s
ideas about  the Zone of Proximal Development, Jerome Bruner and other educational psychologists developed the important
concept of instructional scaffolding which they think fades away gradually as this scaffolding becomes unnecessary. Practically,
scaffolding is a helpful technique to involve less able learners in the learning process. It is useful for learners to feel safe as support is
provided whenever needed. Starting from prior material and step-by-step building new knowledge  with the help of a teacher who is
aware of the difficulties of the learning and is ready to throw a just-in-time lifeline.

The role of the teacher

In the light of the definition of scaffolding as explained above, the role of the teacher is no more that of a transmitter of knowledge,
but that of an assistant in the construction of knowledge. This view of education has many positive implications. First, while
knowledge transmitted is easily forgettable, the learning achieved through a process of construction is memorable and useful.
Second, the transformation of the provided data to build new knowledge, many cognitive processes take place. From the reception of
the input, through the transformation of this input, to the production, learners are assisted to build hypotheses, test them and adopt the
best solutions for themselves. It is a very personalized way of teaching. No learner is left behind. Everyone is given the possibility to
accomplish the task at hand.

How to scaffold
Different ways can be used to scaffold:
•A very useful strategy is to start from prior knowledge of the students.
•Offering a context which will set the foundations for the construction of the new knowledge.
•Providing appropriate resources can be of great help to learners.
•It would be also useful to break a difficult task into easier discrete steps that would assist some learners to achieve the desired
goals.
•Modeling is another way to scaffold as when showing students an example of the target work.
•Providing cues or hints to solve a problem.
•Using graphic organizer, historical timelines…
•Providing templates,  outlines and guides.
•Teaching key vocabulary and asking focus questions before the accomplishment of a task.
Finally, a key feature of scaffolding is that it is available for just-in-time learning, is skippable by those who don’t need it and fades
away when it is not needed anymore as students become more able.
Approaches to language autonomy in language learning
Autonomy in language learning
The main idea behind learner autonomy is that learners should be able to take charge of their own learning. Being dependent on the
teacher wouldn’t help the learning process. Students should be encouraged to construct knowledge from direct experience through
hypothesizing, experimenting, acquiring, transforming and transferring learning. Ideal autonomous learners are people who:
•are willing to take risks,
•have insights into their learning styles and strategies,
•and are willing to revise and reject hypotheses.
Approaches To Learner Autonomy In Language Learning

Assessment Strategies
Assessment Strategies: Formative, Summative and Alternative
Assessment
Teachers use formative and summative assessment to test their students progress. Formative assessment is used to evaluate students’
progress and understanding in order to identify learning needs and adapt teaching appropriately. Summative testing, however,
evaluates student learning according to a benchmark, for example at the end of an instructional unit.  There is however anther type of
assessment which does not fall into the categories of tests mentioned above. This is called alternative assessment.
In this article on Edutopia, Todd Finley introduces Alternative formative assessment (AFA) and says that these strategies:
can be as simple (and important) as checking the oil in your car — hence the name “dipsticks.” They’re especially
effective when students are given tactical feedback, immediately followed by time to practice the skill. My favorite
techniques are those with simple directions, like The 60 Second Paper, which asks students to describe the most
important thing they learned and identify any areas of confusion in under a minute.
He also provides a downloadable list of 53 ways to check for understanding. Here is the link to the article:
Dipsticks: Efficient Ways to Check for Understanding
And here is the link to the:
Downloadable list of 53 ways to check for understanding

Dipsticks: Efficient Ways to Check for

Understanding
Through alternative formative assessment, teachers can check for student understanding without
falling back on the tedious or intimidating pop quiz.
What strategy can double student learning gains? According to 250 empirical studies, the answer is
formative assessment, defined by Bill Younglove as “the frequent, interactive checking of student
progress and understanding in order to identify learning needs and adjust teaching appropriately.”
Unlike summative assessment, which evaluates student learning according to a benchmark,
formative assessment monitors student understanding so that kids are always aware of their
academic strengths and learning gaps. It also helps teachers improve the effectiveness of their
instruction. “When the cook tastes the soup,” writes Robert E. Stake, “that's formative; when the
guests taste the soup, that’s summative.” Formative assessment can be administered as an exam. But
if the assessment is not a traditional quiz, it falls within the category of alternative assessment.
Alternative formative assessment (AFA) strategies can be as simple (and important) as checking the
oil in your car—hence the name “dipsticks.” They’re especially effective when students are given
tactical feedback, immediately followed by time to practice the skill. My favorite techniques are
those with simple directions, like The 60 Second Paper, which asks students to describe the most
important thing they learned and identify any areas of confusion in one minute.
You can find another 53 ways to check for understanding toward the end of this post and as a
downloadable document.

OBSERVATION: A KEY PRACTICE IN ALTERNATIVE FORMATIVE

ASSESSMENT
A fundamental element of most AFAs is observation. Rebecca Alber writes there is much to
learn by taking observational notes as students work in groups. “However,” she clarifies, “if it is
quiet during this talk time, and they are watching you watch them, they are most likely lost.” Elena
Aguilar has witnessed “a fantastic first grade Sheltered English teacher” who directed his students
to respond to a story by making hand gestures and holding up picture cards: “In this way, the
teacher was able to immediately see who was struggling with the concepts and provide corrective
feedback.”
By methodically watching and recording student performance with a focused observation form, you
can learn a lot about students’ levels of understanding in just a few moments. For example, math
teacher Taryn Pritchard uses an observation sheet to assess students’ mastery levels in only 10
seconds. Pre-planning methodical observations allow instructors to efficiently and effectively
intervene when it counts most—in the instant students start down the wrong path.

New to Alternative Formative Assessment? Start Slow

The National Capital Language Resource Center recommends the following when introducing
alternative assessment for the first time:
• Integrate alternative assessments gradually, while still using the traditional assessments.
• Walk students through the rubrics and discuss expectations when you introduce assignments.
• Learn to score alternative assessments yourself, and then gradually introduce students to
self-evaluation.
• Teach students how to thoughtfully give each other feedback as you introduce them to peer-
response.

A Simple Way to Gain Information From Your Students: Ask Them

When preservice teachers are confused as to why their students perform poorly on an assignment, I
gently say, “Did you ask them why?” Having learners articulate why they’re stuck can be
profoundly useful for identifying where to target support.
According to the American Institute of Nondestructive Testing, the simplest tool to encourage
student self-assessment is evaluative prompts:
• How much time and effort did you put into this?
• What do you think your strengths and weaknesses were in this assignment?
• How could you improve your assignment?
• What are the most valuable things you learned from this assignment?
Learners can respond to those prompts using Padlet, a virtual corkboard where many computer
users can simultaneously post their responses; follow up with a focused whole-class discussion of
those answers. The instructor doesn’t always have to develop prompts—students can invent and
submit one or more potential exam questions and answers on relevant content. Tell them that you’ll
include the best contributions on a forthcoming quiz.
Portfolios are a more complex form of ongoing self-assessment, one that can feature in student-led
conferences. James Mule, principal of St. Amelia Elementary School in New York, describes how
children benefit from the student-led conferences that occur at his institution: “With the student in
charge and the teacher acting as a facilitator, the authentic assessment gives students practice in
self-evaluation and boosts accountability, self-confidence, and self-esteem.”
The biggest benefit of integrating AFAs into your practice is that students will internalize the habit
of monitoring their understanding and adjusting accordingly.

53 Ways to Check for Understanding

53 Ways to Check for Understanding
This big, printable list of assessment strategies will help you identify new ways to check for
understanding and verify what students have learned.
PDF 43.44 KB
1. Summary Poem Activity
• List 10 key words from an assigned text.
• Do a free verse poem with the words you highlighted.
• Write a summary of the reading based on these words.
2. Invent the Quiz
• Write ten higher-order text questions related to the content. Pick two and answer one
of them in half a page.
3. The 411
• Describe the author’s objective.
4. Opinion Chart
• List opinions about the content in the left column of a T-chart, and support your
opinions in the right column.
5. So What? Journal
• Identify the main idea of the lesson. Why is it important?
6. Rate Understanding
7. Clickers (Response System)
8. Teacher Observation Checklist
9. Explaining
• Explain the main idea using an analogy.
10.Evaluate
• What is the author's main point? What are the arguments for and against this idea?
11.Describe
• What are the important characteristics or features of the main concept or idea of the
reading?
12.Define
• Pick out an important word or phrase that the author of a text introduces. What does
it mean?
13.Compare and Contrast
• Identify the theory or idea the author is advancing. Then identify an opposite theory.
What are the similarities and differences between these ideas?
14.Question Stems
 • I believe that ________ because _______.
• I was most confused by X.
15.Mind Map
• Create a mind map that represents a concept using a diagram-making tool (like
Gliffy). Provide your teacher/classmates with the link to your mind map.
16.Intrigue Journal
• List the five most interesting, controversial, or resonant ideas you found in the
readings. Include page numbers and a short rationale (100 words) for your selection.
17.Advertisement
• Create an ad, with visuals and text, for the newly learned concept.
18.5 Words
• What five words would you use to describe ______? Explain and justify your
choices.
19.Muddy Moment
• What frustrates and confuses you about the text? Why?
20.Collage
• Create a collage around the lesson's themes. Explain your choices in one paragraph.
21.Letter
• Explain _______ in a letter to your best friend.
22.Talk Show Panel
• Have a cast of experts debate the finer points of X.
23.Study Guide
• What are the main topics, supporting details, important person's contributions, terms,
and definitions?
24.Illustration
• Draw a picture that illustrates a relationship between terms in the text. Explain in one
paragraph your visual representation.
25.KWL Chart
• What do you know, what do you want to know, and what have you learned?
26.Sticky Notes Annotation
• Use sticky notes to describe key passages that are notable or that you have questions
about.
27.3-2-1
• Three things you found out.
• Two interesting things.
• One question you still have.
28.Outline
• Represent the organization of X by outlining it.
29.Anticipation Guide
• Establish a purpose for reading and create post-reading reflections and discussion.
30.Simile
• What we learned today is like X.
31.The Minute Paper
• In one minute, describe the most meaningful thing you've learned.
32.Interview You
• You’re the guest expert on 60 Minutes. Answer:
 1. What are component parts of _______?
2. Why does this topic matter?
33.Double Entry Notebook
• Create a two-column table. Use the left column to write down 5-8 important
quotations. Use the right column to record reactions to the quotations.
34.Comic Book
• Use a comic book creation tool like Bitstrips to represent understanding.
35.Tagxedo
• What are key words that express the main ideas? Be ready to discuss and explain.
36.Classroom TED Talk
37.Podcast
• Play the part of a content expert and discuss content-related issues on a podcast,
using the free Easypodcast.
38.Create a Multimedia Poster with Glogster
39.Twitter Post
• Define _______ in under 140 characters.
40.Explain Your Solution
• Describe how you solved an academic problem, step by step.
41.Dramatic Interpretation
• Dramatize a critical scene from a complex narrative.
42.Ballad
• Summarize a narrative that employs a poem or song structure using short stanzas.
43.Pamphlet
• Describe the key features of _______ in a visually and textually compelling
pamphlet.
44.You've Got Mail
• Each student writes a question about a topic on the front of an envelope; the answer
is included inside. Questions are then “mailed” around the room. Each learner writes
her answer on a slip of scratch paper and confirms its correctness by reading the
“official answer” before she places her own response in the envelope. After several
series of mailings and a class discussion about the subject, the envelopes are
deposited in the teacher’s letterbox.
45.Bio Poem
• To describe a character or person, write a poem that includes:
1. (Line 1) First name
2. (Line 2) 3-4 adjectives that describe the person
3. (Line 3) Important relationship
4. (Line 4) 2-3 things, people, or ideas the person loved
5. (Line 5) Three feelings the person experienced
6. (Line 6) Three fears the person experienced
7. (Line 7) Accomplishments
8. (Line 8) 2-3 things the person wanted to see happen or wanted to experience
9. (Line 9) His or her residence
10.(Line 10) Last name
46.Sketch
• Visually represent new knowledge.
 47.Top Ten List
• What are the most important takeaways, written with humor?
48.Color Cards
• Red = "Stop, I need help."
• Green = "Keep going, I understand."
• Yellow = "I'm a little confused."
49.Quickwrite
• Without stopping, write what most confuses you.
50.Conference
• A short, focused discussion between the teacher and student.
51.Debrief
• Reflect immediately after an activity.
52.Exit Slip
• Have students reflect on lessons learned during class.
53.Misconception Check
• Given a common misconception about a topic, students explain why they agree or
disagree with it.

Other Assessment Resources

In Edutopia’s “The Power of Comprehensive Assessment,” Bob Lenz describes how to create a
balanced assessment system.
The Assessment and Rubrics page of Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything website hosts many
excellent assessment rubrics.
More Rubrics for Assessment are provided by the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Jon Mueller’s Authentic Tasks and Rubrics is a must see-resource in his Authentic Assessment
Toolbox website.

7 Ways to Do Formative Assessments in Your

Virtual Classroom
Finding out what your students are really learning remains indispensable to teaching. Here’s what
teachers are doing to check for understanding online. 
Pen-and-paper pop quizzes are no more: thumbs-up/thumbs-down, hand signals, online polls,
discussion boards, and chat boxes have become the new mainstays of formative assessments in
virtual classrooms.
These quick pulse checks help teachers make sure that students are grasping key concepts—and
identify holes in their understanding. “Good teachers in every subject will adjust their teaching
based on what students know at each point,” says Vicki Davis, a director of instructional technology
in Albany, Georgia, underscoring how crucial ongoing formative assessments are in the classroom.
Teachers don’t need to completely reinvent their traditional formative assessments, however,
according to Mike Anderson, an educational consultant in Durham, New Hampshire. He
recommends that teachers modify familiar practices—like exit tickets and think-pair-shares—so
they work virtually. “Formative assessments might feel harder now in virtual classrooms—you can’t
just walk around class and look over a kid’s shoulders—but I’m not sure they have to be harder.”
In fact, many of the popular digital apps and sites like Nearpod, Flipgrid, Padlet, and Seesaw, can
actually work in tandem with the tried-and-true assessments that teachers honed in their classes pre-
pandemic. Nearpod, for example, enables teachers to embed short quizzes, polls, surveys, and
games into a lesson so that teachers can check for understanding before moving on to the next
concept.
But don’t go overboard, says Andrew Miller, director of teaching and learning at the Singapore
American School, emphasizing that teachers should be careful not to overwhelm students with too
many virtual assessments and too many new tools. Focus on two or three tools at most, he
recommends, and be sure you always define a clear and differentiated purpose for using each. It’s
also important to remember non-tech solutions, like the simple but invaluable one-to-one
conversations that can yield information about students’ progress—and their well-being.
“In our distance learning environment, we run the risk of being further isolated. By scheduling
individual sessions with students, we can assess their learning and provide feedback with a real
human connection,” Miller says.
Here are some different ways that teachers can use formative assessments in the virtual classroom:

1. DIPSTICKS
Like using a dipstick to check the oil in a car, teachers can use short, quick checks virtually to make
sure that students are on track—both academically and emotionally.
At the start of a live class, pose a general question about the previous day’s lesson, like “Does
everyone feel comfortable with what we learned about [fill in the blank]?” and have students
respond individually by dropping an emoji or a thumbs-up/thumbs-down in their chat box or video
window. Students can also hold up a sticky note or piece of paper to the screen with a response.
They don’t all have to be serious questions; funny questions can help get students engaged at the
start of a lesson. In this Twitter thread, teachers share fun question ideas like: “Are Pop-Tarts a kind
of ravioli?” and “Would you rather have no elbows or no knees?"

Another option: Ask students a more specific question about content you’ve recently covered, then
have them assess their understanding on a 1–5 rating scale. They can hold up the appropriate
number of fingers as signals during a live class online. The popular stoplight approach also works.
Ask students to show a color based on how they feel about the topic you’re teaching: green—go
ahead to the next topic; yellow—proceed slowly as I’m still processing; or red—stop, I don’t
understand.

2. DIGITAL JOURNALS AND ONE-PAGERS

Not all students process information at the same speed or like to raise their hand and be
acknowledged publicly during class. After-class reflection exercises that give students a private
space to reflect a little more deeply, and signal both what they understood and what they did not, are
easy to continue remotely.
Teachers can create a “Journal Jot” online document for each student using Google Docs or a
platform like Blackboard to measure how well students are retaining information, recommends
Rebecca Alber, an education professor in Los Angeles, California. In their journal, students can
respond individually to prompts like K-W-L: what they know, what they want to know, and what
they learned; or 3-2-1: three things you found out; two things you found interesting; one thing you
didn’t understand.
Teachers can also adapt Jill Fletcher’s one-pager activity to virtual settings. Fletcher, a curriculum
coordinator in Kapolei, Hawaii, asks students to write down key themes, questions, and ideas about
a topic or lesson on a single page (kind of like a study guide), and include artwork or imagery if
they would like. Have students create their one-pagers in a tool like Canva or Google Slides, or they
can draw them by hand and submit as a photograph.

3. ELEVATOR PITCHES AND TWEETS

To help students synthesize important takeaways from a lesson, ask them to take one to two minutes
during live class time to summarize everything they learned on a particular unit by typing it into a
Google doc, in a chat box, or on a virtual message board like Padlet.
You can also ask for student volunteers to share their elevator pitch, or verbal summary of what
they learned, with the class in 60 seconds or less. As a 21st-century spin, Matt Levinson, a principal
in Seattle, Washington, suggests having students summarize the lesson in a tweet or Instagram post,
staying to character limits.

4. SQUARE, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE

Giving students choice with formative assessments is really important, says Anderson, as not all
students show their thinking the same way.
Anderson recommends Square, Triangle, Circle, an activity wherein students choose a shape and its
associated question prompt. A square means something that is now “squared away” in their
thinking. Choosing a triangle tasks students with extracting three important ideas from what they
learned, while a circle asks students to discuss something “circulating”—ideas that are not yet fully
formed—in their minds.
For asynchronous learning, students can write their responses independently in an online document
as a reflection exercise. Or, in a synchronous lesson, teachers can make the exercise collaborative
by asking students to pick a shape and then dividing them into groups based on the shape they
chose. Students can briefly discuss their reflections with classmates in breakout rooms and share
back to the class to close out the learning.

5. MAKE ART YOUR ASSESSMENT

While teachers may question if old classroom standbys (and popular classroom wall decorations)
like collages, mind maps, and sketches can work virtually, teachers we spoke with say they’re still
finding ways for students to use art, music, and drama to share their thinking.
Students can create an ad to describe and market a particular concept, draw a comic chronicling a
historic event or explaining a scientific principle, write a poem or a song, or act out a chapter from a
book or scene from a play. Using a phone, students can record themselves using apps like Voice
Memos or photograph/film their work with the phone’s camera to upload and share virtually.
6. PEER-TO-PEER EVALUATIONS
When learning outside the classroom, it’s especially important to foster relationships between
students. You can do both at the same time, drawing a bead on what your students have learned
while encouraging deeper peer connections.
Assign each student a virtual buddy for the week, or pair off students at random to get them talking
across the class—and assessing each other's learning.
In pairs, students can be placed in breakout rooms on Zoom or another videoconference platform to
do many of the same activities they once did in the classroom to check for understanding. Give each
student a general rubric, or use the TAG feedback process to evaluate their peer’s assignment; have
them share the feedback with you as well. Or have students teach each other a concept while
recording themselves (audio or video) and upload the file for you to review. These activities can
also be adapted for asynchronous learning using tools in Google Classroom.
For synchronous classes, organize a talk show panel. Assign three to four students roles to represent
different ideas or themes of a unit, such as having students in history class impersonate leaders from
different countries during World War II. Have each student discuss their perspective in front of their
peers, and allow the rest of the class to ask questions to probe their thinking.

7. VIRTUAL EXIT TICKETS

Using exit tickets, or students’ responses to prompts or questions on a slip of paper at the end of
class, is a popular formative assessment practice that easily transfers online.
Teachers can keep a running Google Doc for each student to keep the information private, or
broaden it to the whole class by posting questions on a platform like Flipgrid so that students can
see and comment on others’ responses.
To get a wider view into students’ thinking, use open-ended prompts like these:
• What I found most interesting today was…
• Today was hard because…
• What do you understand well?
• What’s something that’s still shaky?
• What’s something I [teacher] don’t realize?
• What takeaways will be important three years from now?
• How does this relate to [something learned before]?
• How would you have done things differently today?
• Today was hard because…