Formative Classroom Assessment for Teachers (FCAT) is a professional development workshop series was designed to deepen teachers’ understanding of how to adapt and use formative assessment in K-12 computer science classrooms. In this multi-part series, we present a synthesis of research and many examples, plus interactive activities to practice evaluating, adapting, and responding to assessment items. Examples cover content related to algorithms and programming, with examples across grades 3-12.
These workshops were designed as professional development (PD) in-a-box — i.e., resources that can easily be used and adapted by others to facilitate high quality PD in their own regions and contexts. We recommend implementing as a series of four sessions of approximately 90 minutes each over the course of one month (e.g., weekly) or one semester (e.g., monthly):
- What/Why/How of Formative Assessment
- Quality Quizzes for Quick Feedback
- Tackling Misconceptions Through Formative Assessment
- Programming Project-based Assessment
Session Design
Each session includes direct instruction synthesizing research on assessment and guided practice with many examples of assessment items. Additionally, there are breakouts for practice of the target skills in small groups. Finally, there is suggested “homework” to apply the learning from each session and preview other resources. Subsequent sessions begin by reviewing this homework to provide some continuity across sessions.
Objectives
- Understand what, why, and how regarding formative assessment.
- Expand types of formative assessment used, and understand the value of different types.
- Evaluate assessment items using a framework or set of design features.
- Identify common misconceptions and select items to diagnose learning.
- Plan how to respond to assessment results.
Session Resources
1: What/Why/How of Formative Assessment
Objectives
- Understand what, why, and how regarding formative assessment.
- Evaluate assessment items using a framework or set of design features.
- Align assessment items to granular learning goals.
Resources
- Slide Deck (embedded above)
- Recording: 60-minute pilot session
- Resource: Granular Learning Goals of Key Concepts in K-12 Programming
- Breakout Activity: Identifying Granular Learning Goals for Specific Assessment Items
- Readings (for Homework):
- Feedback Through Formative Check-Ins by Grover, S., Sedgwick, V., & Powers, K. (2020)
- Framework for Formative Assessment in K-12 CS by Grover, S. (2021) | slides
Agenda
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Kickoff |
8 min |
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Presentation / |
22 min |
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Guided Practice |
13 min |
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Application / |
32 min |
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Close-out |
10 min |
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2: Quality Quizzes for Quick Feedback
Objectives
- Expand types of formative assessment used (and understand the value of different types).
- Select quiz-based assessment items for quick, quality measurement and feedback.
- Evaluate assessment items using a framework or set of design features.
Resources
- Slide Deck (embedded above)
- Recording: 60-minute pilot session
- Breakout Activity: Identifying Problem Types and Designing Alternative Problems
- Readings (for Homework):
- Feedback Through Formative Check-Ins by Grover, S., Sedgwick, V., & Powers, K. (2020)
- Assessing Algorithmic and Computational Learning in K-12 by Grover, S. (2017)
- Methods of Student Assessment by Kao, Y. (2019)
Agenda
|
Kickoff |
8 min |
|
|
Session 1 Review |
10 min |
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|
Presentation / |
24 min |
|
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Guided Practice |
6 min |
|
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Application / |
32 min |
|
|
Close-out |
10 min |
|
3: Tackling Misconceptions Through Formative Assessment
Objectives
- Identify common misconceptions and and student difficulties encountered by novice programmers.
- Select items to diagnose learning.
- Plan how and what follow-up pedagogical action to take to address the misconception based on assessment results.
Resources
- Slide Deck (embedded above)
- Recording of 60-minute pilot session
- Resource: Common Misconceptions and Student Difficulties in K-12 Introductory Programming
- Breakout Activity: Identifying Misconceptions / Difficulties and Planning Follow-up Action
- Reading (for Homework): Naive Conceptions of Novice Programmers by Sorva, J. (2020) in Computer Science in K-12: An A-Z Handbook on Teaching Programming
Agenda
|
Kickoff |
8 min |
|
|
Session 1 Review |
10 min |
|
|
Presentation / |
24 min |
|
|
Guided Practice |
6 min |
|
|
Application / |
32 min |
|
|
Close-out |
10 min |
|
4: Programming Project-Based Formative Assessment
(Note : This session was not piloted along with other sessions)
Objectives
- Understanding what is similar and what is different between assessing as discussed in Sessions 1-3 and around programming projects.
- Discussing pros and cons of programming project-based formative assessment
- Examining strategies for formative assessment around programming projects
Resources
- Slide Deck (embedded above)
- Recording: This session was not piloted
- Breakout Activity: Discuss & create “programming assignments” and prompts for different kinds of reflections, and examine rubrics for interim projects
- Readings (for Homework):
-
- Feedback Through Formative Check-Ins by Grover, S., Sedgwick, V., & Powers, K. (2020)
- Chapter 8, Hard Fun with Hands-On Constructionist Project-Based Learning’ (Fields & Kafai) in A-to-Z Handbook on Teaching Programming
- Chapter 3, Creative Coding (Miles Berry) in A-to-Z Handbook on Teaching Programming
Agenda
Kickoff
8 min
- Welcome & Introductions (4 min)
- Overview of Series and Session (4 min)
Session 1-3 Review
15 min
- Recap Key Points from Session 1, 2, 3
Presentation /
Direct Instruction25 min
- What is similar and what is different when assessing around programming projects.
- Strategies for “programming assignments”
- Ideas for open-ended projects
Application /
Breakouts32 min
- Directions for Activities (2 min)
- Activities in Small Group Breakouts (20 min)
- Whole-group Share-out (10 min)
Close-out
10 min
- Reflect on Takeways (5 min)
- Share Homework Task (2 min)
- Complete Feedback Survey (3 min)
This workshop series was created by Dr. Shuchi Grover and Bryan “BT” Twarek, as part of the SUCCESSinCS (CSAssess) project, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1943530. Much of the research comes from Dr. Grover’s projects and K-12 CS Formative Assessment framework, and most examples come from her book Computer Science in K-12: An A-Z Handbook on Teaching Programming and the K-12 CS assessments hub on Edfinity.
License & Attribution
These resources are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Please note that this requires proper attribution and non-commercial use (i.e., no paid services).Suggested citation: Grover, S & Twarek, B.(2022). Formative Classroom Assessment for Teachers in K-12 Computer Science: A Professional Development Workshop Series. Retrieved from https://csassess.org/fcat.
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1943530. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. -