Embedded Formative Assessment by Dylan William: A Summery

In his novel Embedded Formative Assessment, Dylan Wiliam describes the power that formative assessment can have in a classroom. With the focus of most schools being test scores and student achievement, its hard to have both students and teachers engaged in the required material. Thus, when it comes to creating ways to keep students captivated by their learning, Wiliam argues that high-quality teachers should make an effort to include formative assessment as a way to keep students engaged and on task. In each chapter, I found myself being pulled in by many of the strategies that Wiliam suggested, ranging from ways for students to think about their own learning to strategies for peer engagement, making this book one I recommend for any and all educators.

Chapter 1 focused on selling the idea of "good" education, as a whole. Tying the education system to the economy and the United States growing demand for workers, Wiliam was able to captivate the audience right from the first page of the novel. As economics is a subject that everyone has experience with (whether it be from a class or just from experience of being a member of the U.S. Economic System), he clearly executed the need for education. Further, by making a point to address the difficulties of raising student achievement (such as school structure, curriculum reform, impact of educational-technology, etc) and the importance of quality teachers, Wiliam is further able to sell the significance of quality schooling. Though this may be a chapter written to convince the reader to continue with the book, it sets a great stage for the materials to come in later chapters.

Chapter 2, in my opinion, is also a selling point. Though the book is centered around the idea of formative assessment (hence the name, after-all), this is the first point in the novel where formative assessment is even mentioned. Wiliam describes teaching as a "contingent activity" (56), meaning that there is no real way to predict the makeup of call. As a teacher, you can't predict the mix of students you'll have in class, you won't be able to guess what they'll get out of your instructions, and you most certainly won't be able to gauge where your students are if you're not checking in. Therefore, Wiliam dedicates this chapter to selling the readers on the power of formative assessment. In laymen's terms, formative assessments give the teacher the power to modify their instructional practice to best meet the needs of their students. As Wiliam describes on page 52, there are 5 key strategies needed in order to adjust practices to meet the needs of our kiddos:

"1. Clarifying, sharing, and understanding learning learning intentions and success criteria.

2. Eliciting evidence of learning.

3. Providing feedback that moves learning forward.

4. Activating learners as instructional resources for one another.

5. Activating learners as owners of their own learning."

This is Wiliams first introduction of what is to come in the rest of the book, and by introducing these strategies, he is able to create a sense of anticipation and intrigue that encourages the reader to continue forward with the reading. Again, I consider this chapter to be more a selling point, as it acts a hook for the audience, drawing them deeper into the ideas that Wiliam plans on exploring.

Chapter 3 is strategy one: "Clarifying, sharing, and understanding learning learning intentions and success criteria." What does he mean by this?

Tell the kids where they're going.

Though he recognizes that there is no one "right" way to tell students where they are going to be going with their learning, he spends the majority of this chapter explaining the significance of informing students of where they're headed, as well as different strategies to go about doing so. My favorite strategy he shared is "Test-Item Design," which is an activity where students write questions as if they were writing for a test. Having done this in my history classes in high school, it allowed me the opportunity to make connections from my learning to the end goal (the test), as well as giving me the opportunity to practice writing questions that mimicked those I could see on in-class tests, as well as on the AP test. Though it's not a strategy that I think would have worked in other classes, I feel that giving students the opportunity to write their own questions clearly communicates the expectations of where students are expected to end up. I feel that its important to have an open line of communication with students, regardless if you're talking about curriculum or a sports game coming up. Thus, informing students of your expectations is crucial. I mean, you'd want to know how to get to restaurant where you're meeting your friends, right? So, why can't students have a road map of their learning?

As part of this assigned reading, I tweeted short descriptions of chapters 3-7.

Chapter 4, "Eliciting Evidence of Learning," focuses on the teacher's ability to quickly adjust their instructional practices based upon where their students are, and their academic needs. By giving students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding through formative assessments, this acts as an opportunity for the teacher to change the class structure to meet the needs of students. Students struggling with a foundational piece [especially in math!], lets spend an extra class period going over the material, and lets give them a little more practice so they can feel confident in the material. This chapter also encouraged teachers to, while adjusting for their students needs, to ask questions that prompted deeper thinking, while maintaining engagement. I enjoyed Wiliam's description of "hinge-point questions," questions that take students less than two minute to respond to, and less than thirty seconds for the teacher to gauge the classes' overall understand. It was a type of question I actually incorporated into the Geometry lesson I wrote for one of my classes in Practicum, through having students answer a quick question using mini-whiteboard to communicate their answer quickly. These purposeful questions, I feel, encourage students to think critically about the material that they're going over, and causes them to stay more engaged with the material.

Chapter 5, "Providing Feedback that Moves Learning Forward" focuses on the importance, and the significance of different types of feedback. All students have had teacher that has given unclean or even useless feedback that they're suppose to use to "improve." But how are students to improve when they have no idea what they need work on. Wiliam, in this chapter, proposes that teachers be clear and purposeful with their praise, meaning that the feedback should cause critical thinking versus  causing an emotional response. Often times, students associate feedback with praise on their person, rather than there work. Therefore, teachers must be purposeful with their praise, specifying it to the students work. Further, Wiliam makes point to mention that it is not the role of teacher to give their students answers, as that denies students that meaningful opportunity for critical thinking. By giving meaningful and purposeful feedback, this allows teachers to guide students in their personal improvement, which gives the students the opportunity to develop their skills, and more importantly, gives the students the chance to form a game plan for their future learning.

Chapter 6, "Activating Learners as Instructional Resources for One Another" is dedicated to teachers guiding students to becoming "peer-advisors" for one another. As Wiliam describes, teaching another person something is the hardest, but most beneficial thing that a person can do: "every teacher... has acknowledged you never really understand something until you try to teach it to someone else" (166). Therefore, in this chapter, he really draws home the importance of peer-work. Benefiting not only the student receiving feedback, but also the student giving it, peer work gives student the opportunity to think critically about an assignment, about how the other person is doing, but as well as how they personally are doing with the assignment. In my experience, I was more receptive to my peers feedback versus my teacher, as they were able to, in-the-moment, tell me what I was doing wrong, and where I could improve. While the teachers feedback may the same as my peer, hearing it from a person rather than reading it on a note that was written on my paper brings the feedback to life. Often times, students are motivated to learn how to improve, and are equally as willing to help their peers improve. Further, Wiliam offers the strategy of "Peer Improvement of Homework," which, in laymen's terms, is having the students grade their own work, or the work of their peers using a rubric. Wiliam describes that, after employing this technique, that students began actually doing their homework, and their work became neater, as they didn't want to be excluded from they day's activities because they had not completed their work, and they wanted their work to clearly communicate their ideas. Personally, I adore this idea, and it is something that I plan on incorporating into my own classroom. I believe that self-reflection is a invaluable skill, and being able to apply said skill to one's own work, as well as the work of their peers will improve student discipline, skill, and responsibility for their own learning.

In Chapter 7, "Activating Learners as Owners of Their Own Learning," Wiliam examines the impact that the student has on their own learning, as well as the importance of mindset in education. Though teachers are their to guide students in their learning, they are not completely responsible for the learning of their students. Teachers, as Wiliam describes, are responsible for designing situations that stimulate learning, while students are responsible for creating learning. Though it seems easy in practice, being responsible for ones own learning is emotionally challenging. Tying this chapter to Carol Dweck's research on mindset, Wiliam recognizes the emotional toll that taking responsibility for their learning can have on a student. Students often struggle with their perceived image of "smartness," and challenging their image frightens students. As students are afraid to look "stupid," taking responsibility for their learning challenges their image, and can drastically influence one's ability to critically self reflect. Though it is challenging, taking responsibility for their learning allows students to develop the skills of critical self-reflection, which ultimately lead to improving their academic skills. This, in my opinion, is the hardest, yet most important skill that they can learn, and master. Overall, this was my favorite chapter in the book, as it was something that I was able to connect with, as taking responsibility for my own learning was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do in my academic career, and rocked me to my core.

This book was a pleasure to read, and I highly recommend it to anyone entering the world of education. I truly feel that I learned a lot, both in strategies as well as of the importance of formative assessment, and everything I learned, I feel, I will be using in my future classroom.