View Content #24863

From http://www.path2proficiency.com/

Rebecca Blouwolff writes, "I was able to provide a “zoom out” experience in my French 8 classes recently, and to thereby show students how far they’ve come. I was returning a recent summative presentational writing assessment. While students’ performances were really strong in many respects, most students earned yet another Intermediate Low or B grade. ...

"Right after I returned the assessments, however, I also handed back copies of a paragraph-length assignment that students wrote in early September .... Students began to gasp and yelp as they saw what their writing looked like back in September. They were horrified. While it wasn’t my intent to shock them or make them feel bad about where they’d been (after all, their Novice High proficiency back in September was hard-won and reflected an entire year of learning in French 7), it was clear that students were very, very impressed by how far they’d come. No matter where they’d begun in September, nor where they were now months later, everyone was moving in the right direction. This was a powerful and inspiring reminder to all of us, and perhaps most especially to me!"

Read the full post, which has excellent ideas for turning summative assessments into formative assessments, at http://www.path2proficiency.com/zoom-out-to-build-motivation-for-learners-you/