The Master Teacher Blog

We know that initial learning and lasting recall are heavily influenced by the strategies students tap to build understanding, create meaning, and store information in memory. The better the learning strategies students possess and use, the stronger their learning and the more they will remember.

Of course, many students come to us with strong learning practices and habits—others do not. We need to monitor and coach students to choose and employ strategies and approaches that can work best for them. We can add even more value when we share with students different ways they can make their existing learning approaches even more effective. Consider these common learning strategies and how small tweaks can make them even more effective.

From note taking to thought capturing. Students can increase their understanding and recall of lesson content by taking notes in the form of outlines, key information and insights, and examples. Note taking also provides students with an opportunity to process information as they are exposed to it.

Tweak: Coach students to combine note taking with charts, diagrams, flow charts, and even pictures to capture what they want to learn. By combining words, images, and graphics, students access multiple entry points for learning. The process, known as dual coding, can increase the amount of information students absorb and strengthen and lengthen recall of what they learn.

From re-reading to recalling. Students often re-read content they hope to learn, believing that repetition will increase understanding. While repeated exposure to information can increase familiarity, it does not necessarily lead to deeper understanding.

Tweak: Coach students to pause after reading a passage and try to recall the most important information, note what is clear to them, what does not seem clear, and how what they have read might be important. This step moves learning from repetition to recall and from exposure to retrieval. The result will be deeper understanding and lengthened memory retrieval.  

From teacher goals to shared goals. Each lesson we design for students focuses on a learning goal. Sharing our learning goals with students can help students understand where lessons are headed. However, they often still see the lesson goal as ours, not theirs.

Tweak: Beyond sharing the learning goal, we can have students repeat the goal in their own words and explain how they will know if they have reached the goal. This tweak helps students to see the learning path and builds confidence that they can achieve it. The result is that students see the goal as their goal, not just ours.  

From self-testing to error analysis. We know that self-testing is a powerful way for students to check their understanding, identify areas where more learning or practice is needed, and build learning confidence. Self-testing also helps students understand new content at deeper levels.

Tweak: Encourage students to take self-testing one step further and code any errors. For example, they might note that an incorrect answer was the result of lack of attention to detail, missing vocabulary, or misunderstanding of a concept. This tweak moves self-testing from general learning feedback to diagnosis of causes and adjustments to drive improvement.

From mnemonics to narratives. When students need to memorize lists, remember sequences, and recall key elements or factors, they often find mnemonics to be useful. Mnemonics can help to organize information and create memory shortcuts, even though they may seem and sound nonsensical.

Tweak: Coach students to create stories or mental pictures to accompany the mnemonics they adopt or create. When mnemonics are accompanied by imagery and associated with emotions they become easier to remember and generate longer recall.

We want our students to have every learning advantage possible. By teaching and reinforcing effective learning approaches and strategies we can accelerate their learning and memory building. When we share ways to make their “go-to” strategies even more effective, we can make their learning easier and long lasting.

In an era where scrolling, skimming, and glancing frequently masquerade as learning, it can seem impossible to convince students to slow down and pay close attention. Yet, unless students fully engage, they do not learn on a deeper level or retain what they learn. We might describe this conflict as fast looking versus slow looking.

Fast looking takes in images, forms impressions, and makes quick judgments. Slow looking observes details, makes connections, reflects on meaning, considers implications, and forms questions. Slow looking requires intention and discipline.

Fast looking is a default mode for most people. While fast looking can carry us through the day, help us to follow routines, and keep us moving, it can deprive us of noticing, experiencing, engaging, and recalling much of what happens to and around us. In the classroom, fast looking can prevent students from fully engaging in what they are learning. It invites shortcuts and can contribute to superficial learning and short recall.

The meaning of slow looking has its roots in museum visit behavior. When observing a piece of art or rare artifact, we take time to really look. We might stand close to see details or step back to take in the full image. We might physically shift positions to investigate the object from different perspectives. We might engage another person in conversation about what they are seeing, how the object makes them feel, or what significance they take from what they are seeing and experiencing.

Obviously, not everything that we want students to learn and practice requires slow looking. Following established routines, recalling facts, and other activities that reinforce “muscle memory” can be accomplished with more superficial or fast looking. However, when we want students to observe important details, actively engage with new learning, and develop deep understanding, slow looking is what we need students to practice. Of course, most of what is important for students to learn, recall, and use in the future requires significant engagement and more than superficial understanding.

So, how can we teach students the discipline, habit, and value of slow looking? Here are seven ways to get started:

• Model slow looking. We might describe our behavior out loud. We can formulate questions, or mention what we are noticing as we observe, such as patterns, conflicts, and inconsistencies.
• Ask questions that stimulate slow looking. We might ask students what they notice. We can ask students what they wonder and what questions they have. We might probe to have students explain their reactions and feelings.
• Practice “wait time.” After introducing an object, topic, or asking a question, we might pause for several seconds before asking for observations, answers, or questions. Giving students time to think can generate more complete responses and give students who need more time to reflect better opportunities to participate.
• Structure silent observation to encourage noticing and reflecting. Initially, the silence might be for short periods to give students practice and then lengthen observation periods to a few minutes before beginning discussion.  
• Have students discuss their observations, reflections, and reactions with classmates. As students share, they are likely to uncover details they might initially have missed and learned from the observations, thoughts, and perspectives of other students.
• Delay sharing additional information. Student reflections, discussions, and questions will likely generate interest in learning more. Their curiosity and discoveries can set the stage for interest in learning with greater depth, nuance, and persistence. The additional information we share is likely to receive greater attention and lead to even more interest and questions.
• Revisit the object or topic after discussion or further investigation to capture additional thoughts and build deeper understanding. Once students hear from others and have time to reflect and further investigate, and receive additional information from us, they often will see things they missed, understand elements they overlooked, and have new questions to explore.

As students build their slow looking skills and habits, we are likely to find students practicing greater patience and focus on their learning. Their observation skills will grow as well as their curiosity and critical thinking skills. Equally important, we are apt to see greater emotional connections and empathy in their learning.

We know that feedback is a crucial element in learning, especially when learning is challenging, multi-staged, and requires practice and application. Effective feedback reinforces progress, clarifies crucial learning components, lights the path forward, and propels persistence.

However, feedback that fuels learning requires a careful combination of art and skill. It must be provided in close enough proximity to learning efforts for learners to recall their thinking and actions during learning attempts. Feedback needs to be specific enough for students to understand its importance and potential impact. Further, feedback that reinforces learning needs to be objective, not colored by judgement or assumptions. Finally, the feedback we provide must give the learner information they need to take the next steps in learning.

While these elements of feedback may seem clear—even obvious—feedback often falls short in its ability to motivate and support learning when educators fail to heed several factors.  Let’s explore five of these common mistakes and how to fix them.

Mistake #1: Overloading the amount of feedback. We might think that students need to be informed of everything in the work they did worthy of note or in need of improvement. However, learners are limited in the amount of working memory they can manage at any time. Providing students with too much feedback can lead to students ignoring all or the most important feedback we provide.

Fix: Focus on the elements of student work that, if adjusted, would make the greatest difference. Even though we can provide extensive feedback, overloading will not improve learning. If we are concerned that a parent or others might criticize us for not catching every error, we might indicate with our feedback that it is targeted and not all-inclusive.

Mistake #2: Neglecting to connect feedback to learning goals. The presence of learning goals helps us and our students to focus, measure progress, and understand what still needs to be learned. Obviously, the most powerful learning goals include the participation of students in their development and can play a significant role in stimulating and tracking learning progress. Helping students to see progress and understand what lies ahead are important elements of feedback with impact.

Fix: Keep learning goals visible and active in feedback conversations. If established learning goals seem too far off, we may need to break down next steps to help students see how progress can be achieved, even if there is significant distance yet to be traveled.

Mistake #3: Feedback is overweighted with negative information. When students hear what feels like mostly bad news, they can become discouraged and give up rather than use the information to adjust and improve. Feedback that has a productive impact is carefully weighted to provide an accurate picture, while instilling hope for success.

Fix: We can choose our words and focus with the student’s perspective and perception in mind. We gain little by having students feel “buried.” Students also need to hear where they are making progress and what they are doing well. While we may need to share information that suggests the need for improvement, we can do so while sharing our confidence that the student will be successful and that we are committed to helping them to find their way forward.

Mistake #4: Feedback conversations do not include student response opportunities. Telling students where they are showing progress and sharing areas in need of improvement are only parts of effective feedback interactions. Unless students contribute to the conversation, they are unlikely to feel ownership for the feedback they receive. Further, we are not likely to know what students understand, how they react to what they hear, and whether they are committed to using the feedback we provide.

Fix: Give students ample opportunities to share their understanding, areas of confusion, insights about their learning, and to commit to applying the feedback they receive. Depending on the nature of situation we might even invite students to share their perspectives and ideas before we share feedback. In any case, once we have provided feedback, we need to give students opportunities to reflect and clarify what they have heard and discuss what they will do with it.

Mistake #5: Failing to follow up after providing feedback. We might think that once we have provided students with feedback on their learning attempts that we can move on to other things. However, students may find that what they try following our feedback isn’t working, they fail to recall what they heard, or they encounter a challenge that was not discussed in the feedback conversation. Failing to check in and reinforce the feedback we share risks compromising the impact of our efforts and could result in students giving up in frustration. 

Fix: Make a mental or physical note to follow up and reinforce feedback as students attempt to implement what they have learned. Once students have tried to apply the feedback they received, we might briefly touch base to see if they have any questions, inquire if they are making progress, and observe the results of new learning attempts. Our check-in not only helps to determine the impact of our feedback, but it also sends a message to students that we are interested and ready to continue to support their learning.  

Feedback is a powerful tool to support learning. However, it requires more than telling students where they have fallen short and what they need to do to improve. The best feedback is a conversation that builds understanding, instills hope, and stimulates further learning.

Language is a powerful tool for communicating information, concepts, and perspectives. Consequently, we need to exercise care and caution to be certain that what we say conveys the meaning we intend and avoids misinterpretation. This advice may seem obvious. Yet, it can be easy to fall into habits of speech and employ phrases and terms that may not fully or accurately convey what we mean.

We may use certain words and descriptors as informal shortcuts to express emotions and perceptions. They may be well intended, but they can still create confusion, lead to over-generalizations, and reflect meanings that we do not intend. It can be worthwhile to pause occasionally to review some of the terms and phrases we use and consider whether we would do well to avoid or accompany them with explanations or qualifiers. Here are five common education-related terms that might fall into this category.

Drill and kill.

This term is often used to describe practice repetitions, yet not all practice is bad. In fact, practice plays a crucial role in developing expertise. Approaches such as distributed and deliberate practice are key to building high-level skill development and learning retention. At the same time, subjecting students to mind-numbing, seemingly endless drills can undermine motivation and diminish engagement. It is not drills that kill, it is the failure to make practice purposeful, engaging, and useful.

Better terms: purposeful practice, distributed practice, and deliberate practice.

Sit and get.

This phrase is frequently used to describe lecture-based, low-engagement instruction. While passive learning often leads to lack of depth in understanding and absence of learning retention, there remains a role for direct, explicit instruction. Explicit instruction can be a highly useful way to explain new information, set a context for learning, and clarify areas of confusion and misconception.

Better terms: direct instruction, explicit instruction, and responsive teaching.

Learning styles.

This term has been used to describe the concept that students learn best when instruction was presented in the way that matches how students learn best (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic). However, multiple research studies have shown that matching teaching with learning styles does not increase learning. In fact, overreliance on perceived learning styles can limit the amount of learning skills students choose to develop and rely on. A more effective approach is to utilize a variety of modes of instruction when introducing content and nurturing new skills. Generally, the more ways in which students are exposed to new information, the more likely they are to learn and remember.

Better terms: dual coding, learning preferences, and multiple modes of engagement.

Remedial instruction.

This term implies a focus on student learning deficits. It implies that the student is the problem and must be remediated. However, lack of expected learning progress can be the result of many factors. This focus can result in efforts to “fix” the learner rather than discover and build on strengths and target areas in need of support. Unfortunately, remedial education too often features a slower pace for learning when pace may not be the primary cause of the problem. Additionally, remedial instruction frequently engages learners at superficial levels of learning that lack motivating elements and interest-generating experiences.

Better terms: targeted instruction, strategic learning support, and essential skill development.

Ability grouping.

This description implies that we can know students’ abilities. Yet, abilities are complex and varied. We can gauge the skills students are able to demonstrate and their levels of academic performance, but we are not likely to know our students’ full abilities with certainty. Unfortunately, when we group students based on what we assume to be ability, students interpret our judgment of them as being smart or being dumb. Such decisions and interpretations can have lifelong, unjustified consequences. Meanwhile, some students may be very bright but not appear so because they require more time to process and analyze before presenting an answer or solution. It is also true that students included in high ability groupings often are fast learners, not necessarily expert learners.

Better terms: flexible grouping, skill-based grouping, and learning readiness grouping.

We want our words to accurately convey our intentions. Consequently, we need to be careful to select words and phrases that are not likely to result in confusion or misinterpretation. Are there words and phrases you might add to this list as having high potential to be misunderstood or could lead to incorrect interpretations?

Not everything that is relevant today is new. Also, not everything that is useful with students originated in education. An excellent example of this observation is a reflection process developed for healthcare professionals several decades ago. Despite how long it has been around, it remains a useful tool to stimulate and guide reflection activities. It is deceptively simple, but surprisingly powerful. The process consists of just three questions:

• What?
• So what? 
• Now what?

This question sequence provides a useful way to organize thoughts, consider implications, and decide next steps. The reflection process works by breaking down information into useful parts. It also clarifies relevance of the topic being considered. Finally, it encourages individuals to take action because of the reflection.

We can use the reflection tool to help students reflect on and learn from conflict, missteps, or misbehavior. Students might use this tool to understand the significance of their effort and persistence in the face of an academic challenge, or to help them reflect on and better understand their behavior in a relationship. Let’s unpack these questions and explore how they might be used to guide and support student reflection activities regardless of topic, subject, or experience.

“What?” focuses on the experience, event, or interaction. In the first step, students describe what happened. They isolate the facts of the matter by recounting what they observed. Students may describe an assignment or project they were engaged in. They may reflect on an event in which they participated. They may recount a conversation, argument, or something they heard. They also detail the role they played in what happened.

Our coaching role during this step of the reflection process is to have students be clear, concrete, and concise. The key is to help students begin their reflection with reality, not what they assume or imagine.

“So what?” engages students in interpreting, analyzing, and contextualizing what happened. In the second step, students describe why the experience, event, or interaction was important. They may discuss why they reacted as they did. They might recount how they felt as the situation unfolded. They may even provide context that explains why they found the experience to matter. Further, students might provide history of a relationship, a struggle to complete a task, or an analysis of their behavior. Finally, this step asks students to consider what they learned through the experience.

Our coaching in this step is to help students to recall what they felt, how they reacted, and what they learned. We may need to ask nudging questions to help students find their way through emotions, assumptions, and other distractions that get in the way while making sense of what they experienced.

“Now what?” focuses student attention on the implications of the experience and future actions. In the third step, students ask themselves what they would do differently if they encountered the same circumstances, challenges, or interactions in the future. They might draw on what they discovered in the second step of the process to determine how they can adjust their thinking and behavior. Students also may find that there are skills and information they need to learn to help them complete this phase. Depending on the situation, students may plan the next steps they will take to resolve the situation or how they will reengage in a project or task. They might even develop a script to use in resolving a conflict.

Our coaching at this stage of the process is to encourage commitment and to help students define, determine, and deploy the steps or strategies they will use to move forward. Students may need our insights and ideas to help them figure out what they will say and what actions they will take.

These three questions may seem simple—even obvious. However, when deployed with thought and commitment, they can generate powerful insights and lead to significant changes in thinking and behavior.

It is a fact that much of what students learn in school is quickly forgotten. We often find that we need to return to previously learned content and skills to refresh and restore what students have learned. However, not all types of learning and learning experiences require as much reinforcement and repetition to solidify them in students’ memories.

When learning experiences are accompanied by certain “learning drivers” they become more memorable and can be recalled long after other learning experiences are forgotten. We can strengthen and lengthen students’ recall of new learning by tapping these drivers in our instruction and the design of learning engagements we present.

Here are five powerful types of learning experiences that stimulate longer recall:

• Significant effort is required. The adage— “Easy come, easy go”—can be applied to learning that is quickly and effortlessly gained. The brain tends to remember learning experiences that require effort and struggle more often than learning that comes easily. The experience of a “productive struggle” requires focus, effort, and persistence. The brain interprets these energy investments as a signal that what is being learned must be important and should be stored for later recall and use. Challenging concepts, difficult problems, and complex cases studies are examples of learning that may require greater effort investment and lead to longer recall. Of course, what may represent struggle for some students may require less effort for others, so we need to consider student readiness as we design learning challenges.
• Emotions drive the experience. Emotions have been described as the “hand maidens” of learning. When learning experiences are accompanied by strong emotional components, they tend to stick. Unfortunately, positive and negative emotions can have a similar impact. An uncomfortable, frustrating, or anger producing learning experience can be recalled with equal or greater intensity as a positive, empowering, reinforcing, and enjoyable learning experience. Compelling stories, delightful surprises, inspiring insights, and meaningful experiences can be great emotional anchors to help students recall what they have learned.
• Learning is self-discovered. One of the most powerful and memorable types of learning experiences is the “aha moment.” According to a recent study of learning generated by a new insight, discovery, or connection, or “aha moments” often more than double the strength and length of memory compared to most other types of learning experiences. The suddenness, certainty, intensity, and internal reward associated with “aha moments” can be so strong that they reorganize how the brain perceives and processes information associated with the learning. Obviously, “aha moments” are personal experiences that are generated through personal interest, readiness, and engagement. However, they can be stimulated by instructional strategies such as Socratic questioning, sharing analogies, tapping metaphors, and creating cognitive dissonance. 
• Learning is a social experience. Learning often is more meaningful and memorable when it occurs in a social context. Interactions with and learning from others creates connections and context for new learning. Learning that involves social interaction activates language and social processing areas of the brain and makes what is learned easier to recall. Navigating differences in perceptions and accessing the understanding of others can make learning meaningful and memorable. Activities such as discussions, debates, group projects, and peer teaching can become powerful and long-recalled learning experiences. 
• Learning is actively generated. When students are actively engaged in the process of learning, they tend to recall what they have learned longer than they do when they have only merely read, been told, or observed the information. Active learning typically engages multiple senses and activates multiple regions of the brain. The more ways in which students experience learning, the more memorable it becomes. When students participate in simulations, role-playing, project completion, real-world problems, and other active learning, what they learn tends to stick. 

Obviously, these teaching and learning strategies exist within a context. They are most powerful when the content and skills students are asked to learn seem relevant, meaningful, and useful. Also, when we want to quickly refresh learning gained through these strategies, we can tap the experience students had while learning as well as the content or skill involved. 

Education is serious work, but it does not have to be humorless. In fact, humor and its companion—laughter—can be powerful tools for leading a school staff, an instructional team or task force, a group of colleagues, or class of students.

What makes humor so powerful? When we laugh, we activate dopamine, a feel-good brain chemical. Dopamine can stimulate learning and extend recall. Dopamine is self-reinforcing. It leaves us wanting more; thus, it builds engagement. Further, dopamine fosters connections when it is part of shared experiences. Laughter also can be a signal that we are in a safe place and can be ourselves. Humor can lighten the mood and the load. It can lessen feelings of stress and stimulate creativity.

Some of us might think that we are not naturally funny. However, finding humor does not mean that we must be a comedian. In fact, laughter can come from many sources. We can start by not taking ourselves too seriously. We also need to be open to seeing and enjoying humor when it reveals itself. Here are five places where we can find and generate a smile, a chuckle, a full-blown belly laugh, or maybe just an appreciative eye roll:

• Tap low risk sources of humor such as cartoons, jokes, and funny stories. The combination of what we find humorous and what we know about our audience— whether staff or students—can be our guide. It is often best to search for humor that relates to the work we are doing or the learning we are nurturing. Not being the original source of humor does not mean it is less effective.
• Share short videos or clips. We can look for content related to a topic, challenge, or goal that also features a humorous approach. A brief, appropriate video clip can stimulate interest and spark ideas while also lightening the atmosphere and creating a readiness for what lies ahead.
• Share our experiences, missteps, misunderstandings, and foibles. Self-effacing stories and reflections can break tension and lighten the mood. Our willingness to share something about ourselves can make us more relatable and allow others to relax and be themselves.
• Recognize, pause, and enjoy the unexpected and ironic things that happen or are said. Finding something funny in real time can make work more enjoyable and learning more meaningful. A statement of the obvious, a surprising insight that explains, or an unintended pun can be the stimulus for new ideas, launch a new line of thinking, or open the door to new learning.
• Delegate the search for humor to a team member or student. As noted earlier, we do not always have to be the source of humor. We might ask a particularly funny team member or creative student to come up with a joke or story to kick off a meeting or class. However, we may need to provide some guidance and boundaries to avoid misapplication of the assignment.

Like any powerful tool, humor must be handled with care and utilized with thought and purpose. When employing humor, we do well to:

• Consider the context
• Think of the impact
• Stay away from stereotypes
• Avoid embarrassing or humiliating anyone
• Stay away from off-color innuendos or double meanings

Humor, when used with care and discretion, can add an important dimension to our leadership and assist with learning. We can introduce levity, lessen stress, and create community through the humor we borrow, create, and recognize.  

The process of thinking about one’s thinking, or metacognition, is increasingly important in today’s world, but it is not new. In fact, Socrates encouraged and taught this skill to his students. Although, it is unlikely that he called it metacognition.

There may have been a time when teaching students what to think was adequate to prepare them for the future. However, if those days existed, they are in the past. Today, unless students learn how to think and learn, they are likely to find themselves unprepared for what lies ahead for them in life and their careers. Of course, it remains important to give students moral guidance and grounding in ethical principles. But their success will lie in their capacity to reflect, assess, consider, and decide when and how what they know currently applies, and what they still need to learn.

Students who are proficient in metacognition have several advantages over those who do not. Metacognitive strategies can help students to choose the strategies and approaches most likely to lead to success. When students are skilled at thinking about their thinking, they are better able to diagnose false assumptions, uncover flaws in their thinking and approach, and adapt to unfamiliar challenges and situations.

So, what are some approaches we can use to teach students about metacognition and how to use it? Here are six proven effective strategies to consider and apply:

• Model our own metacognition for students. We might talk through how we understand, consider and approach a problem. We can explain and discuss steps we take in addressing a challenge or when trying something new, and why we chose each step. We might even reflect out loud about an error we made and by reflecting we were able to correct our actions or find a solution.
• Explicitly teach metacognitive strategies. A great place to start is to have students set goals for their learning. The existence of goals gives students something to focus on. Additionally, we might teach students to self-question as they read and study. Rather than plowing through content, students can reflect on what they understand, where they may be confused, and what more they need to know. Further, we can coach students to summarize as they learn. Summarizing helps students to confirm their learning and embed what they are absorbing in memory. Also, we can teach students to analyze errors. Pausing to reflect on why they made a mistake can be far more valuable than focusing solely on what they got wrong.
• Introduce students to planning, monitoring, and evaluating their learning. We can coach students to think through their desired outcome before starting a learning task, beginning a project, or approaching a problem. Asking “What do I want to learn/accomplish/solve?” can provide direction and focus for their efforts. We can encourage students to pause during the activity to ask themselves whether they are following their plan or making progress toward the outcome they identified. Making mid-course adjustments also can be empowering and productive actions. Further, we can engage students in reflection about what went well, what they learned, and what they might do better next time.
• Have students capture their learning by journaling. Writing is a great way to process experiences and solidify learning. Journaling also helps to move learning from an externally stimulated experience to one the student owns. Capturing ideas, reflecting on experiences, and exploring questions can be powerful ways to build confidence and deepen understanding.
• Engage students in debriefing and reflective discussions with peers. Talking about learning experiences can build greater awareness and lead to new insights about what was learned. Explaining plans, summarizing strategies, and describing thinking can lead to greater clarity and introspection. However, this process may require us to provide some structure such as sentence stems: “My plan was…” “If I were to do this again…” or “What I noticed about my thinking was…” “I discovered that I learn best when…”
• Encourage and celebrate productive struggle. We can reinforce the importance and rewards of persistence combined with patience, reflection, and adjustment. Identifying options and changing strategies builds confidence and resilience. Meanwhile, shifting approaches often leads to learning breakthroughs. We might call out times when students felt stuck before shifting strategy, adjusting effort, and accessing their resources to find success. Of course, having students recount these experiences can be especially powerful and influential to classmates.

Thinking can be hard. Thinking about thinking can be even more challenging. Nevertheless, with practice, coaching, and support, students can become amazingly reflective, insightful, and flexible learners.

We know that the information provided by formative assessments is crucial to understanding what students know and how their learning is progressing. Formative assessments—quizzes, assignments, drafts, and other progress-related information—can tell us what students have mastered, where their learning is uncertain or shaky, and when they are ready to move their learning forward. The information that is generated can tell us how to plan for future instruction and tell students what to do next, how close they are to achieving learning goals, and when they are ready for summative assessments.

Yet, formative assessments often are fraught with confusion, misinterpretation, and even resistance. Too often, when students are introduced to the terms “formative” and “summative” assessments they immediately translate them into what counts for a grade and what doesn’t. As a result, they may conclude that they do not need to give effort or even regularly engage in work that is “formative,” assuming that it will not have an impact on their grade.

This thinking is often the result of an over-emphasis on grades and under-emphasis on learning. One of the crucial shifts in thinking and focusing on making formative assessment activities meaningful is to de-emphasize grades when it is practical to do so. Grades should reflect learning. Grades are results. The daily work of learning is what determines if students will do well when grades are determined. On the other hand, if grades are the only focus, formative assessments may not seem important.

It is crucial that students to see the relationship between information from formative activities and their performance on summative assessments. Doing well or showing progress on formative assessments almost always is predictive of how students will do on summative assessments.

It is worth noting that we work with young people who often lack the maturity or life experience to connect continuous, diligent effort with successful outcomes. They may not realize the connection between what they do every day and where they end up at the end of a teaching and learning cycle. This is an important life lesson for us to teach.

Of course, some students may do well on summative assessments despite not completing and submitting much formative evidence. When this is the case, we need to ask ourselves if the learning we offered was challenging enough to be worthwhile for the student, or possibly, if the student already knew the content or possessed the skill. 

So, how can we help students see and value the relationship between formative and summative assessments? Obviously, it depends on the nature of the barriers or confusion students have concerning this relationship. Here are seven arguments or explanations that might help.

We might start by reminding students of the importance of practice before a game or performance. Whether competing in athletics, performing in theater, making music, or playing chess, practice and rehearsal is what leads to success. Beginners, amateurs, and professionals all practice and measure their progress before attempting to compete or perform. Formative assessment activities measure where additional practice and skill development are needed.

We can draw on students’ experience with video games. Rarely is success achieved on a first attempt in a video game. Often many steps, multiple attempts and skill growth are required before significant progress and success are achieved. Formative assessment activities are intermediate attempts and progress markers.

We might present students with examples of how performance on formative assessments led to success in summative assessments for other students. We might also share counter examples that demonstrate that poor performance on formative assessments led to lack of success on a summative assessment. When students understand this relationship, it is easier for them to invest in formative activities.

We can give students tools to chart their progress. If we have students set goals for their learning, charting progress can be an informative and satisfying activity. Students need to see a purpose and use for formative assessment information. Progress monitoring becomes the data students use to see improvement and analyze where they need to improve or what they are ready to learn next.

We might make it a practice to meet and discuss formative assessment information with students. We can coach students on how to make sense of and use formative assessment information. We also might discuss with students the next steps in learning the information suggests. Planning together can build students’ understanding, strengthen their confidence, and lead them to value the information formative assessments can offer.

Finally, we can make a personal connection. We might say to students, “I care too much and desire too much for you to allow you to fail. I also want you to learn how to invest, persist, and achieve success in whatever you choose to do with your life. The process of assessing as you learn is a proven powerful strategy that leads to success in virtually any effort.”

Do you have additional ideas to encourage students to engage in and take formative assessment activities seriously? What would you suggest?