An important formative assessment strategy is to use  instructional strategies that engage all students in discussion . During the OGAP professional development this past summer the OGAP trainers modeled some of these.

One of these strategies -- Think, Pair, Share -- supports effective use of formative assessment by providing a platform on which to elicit student thinking that can inform your ongoing instructional moves. That is, students are provided time to think on their own, then time to discuss this thinking with another student before a full class discussion occurs.

 

This gives you two different opportunities to listen to student thinking: (1) while they are sharing their thinking with a partner and (2) during the full group discussion. An added piece is to strategically call on students by saying something like, "Sam, what were you and your partner discussing?"