Many teachers have used Google Forms as a method of assessing student learning. They are simple, paperless, allow students to utilize their devices, and give teachers the ability to provide feedback. The caveat with Forms was that previously a user must install and use an add-on called Flubaroo to auto-grade assessments. Without Flubaroo, using Forms as a formative assessment tool was time consuming and inefficient. With Flubaroo, grading Forms became much faster and efficient. It allowed teachers to "see" what individual students know or do not know. However, what seemed to always be missing was the ability to collect data at the whole-class level. This is a critical component of formative assessments. The idea is to be able to collect data about student learning to see if re-teaching or other interventions are necessary. Even with Flubaroo there is not a built-in way to see whole class student competency on a question by question basis. In terms of being a usable formative assessment tool, Google Forms was good, but ultimately lacked the features necessary to give teachers a true snaphot of student learning.
This all changed in late June. Google released an update to Forms that allows for teachers to create and grade quizzes within the Form application; Flubaroo not being necessary. The best feature of this upgrade is that it allows for quicker access to whole-class performance data. Forms have always given users the ability to create a Google Sheet that contains the students' responses. However, with quizzes it gives teachers the ability to look at individual responses or to analyze whole-class performance.
The information provided in the breakdown helps to influence teaching strategies in a positive way. Forms will now organize the data into multiple categories. The first category is called Insights, which allows teachers to see average scores, the median score, and a range of student scores from high to low. The second category is Frequently Missed Questions. This category allows teachers to easily pinpoint specific questions that were missed by a majority of students. This is useful because it allows teachers to review the question and answers for possible errors and it allows teachers the ability to focus on particular objectives to re-teach. Finally, each question has a graph that shows the percentage of students that chose each of the answer choices. This allows teachers to assess teaching and learning at the objective level.
Many teachers are beginning to utilize Form quizzes as a tool to improve instructional practices and student learning. According to Nick Marchese, a programming teacher in Brooklyn, New York, Form quizzes have allowed him to "Optimize his teaching." If he sees a particular question that a large group of student miss, then he sets aside time to review the next day in class. In my mind, this is a powerful usage of technology. It allows for streamlined data collection and analysis which ultimately leads to changes in how teachers lead their students through the learning process. If a particular instructional strategy does not work, then data should show that students are not learning, thus prompting teachers to change their strategy.
Does the new quiz feature of Google Forms have the ability to drastically improve assessment for learning? In my mind it does have the ability to. However, the feature change has been so recent and usage is so new that the evidence is really inconclusive. I have been looking for ways to assess my students' learning "on the fly." Do I think that I have a tool to help do that? Yes. Do I know for sure if it will be user friendly and efficient enough to really drive my instruction? No. Like any new strategy or piece of technology. Try the new idea, see if it works, adapt and try again.
Thanks for reading. Do you have experience using the new Google Form quiz feature? If so, how has it changed your instructional practices and your students' learning? Please feel free to leave a comment below.
This all changed in late June. Google released an update to Forms that allows for teachers to create and grade quizzes within the Form application; Flubaroo not being necessary. The best feature of this upgrade is that it allows for quicker access to whole-class performance data. Forms have always given users the ability to create a Google Sheet that contains the students' responses. However, with quizzes it gives teachers the ability to look at individual responses or to analyze whole-class performance.
The information provided in the breakdown helps to influence teaching strategies in a positive way. Forms will now organize the data into multiple categories. The first category is called Insights, which allows teachers to see average scores, the median score, and a range of student scores from high to low. The second category is Frequently Missed Questions. This category allows teachers to easily pinpoint specific questions that were missed by a majority of students. This is useful because it allows teachers to review the question and answers for possible errors and it allows teachers the ability to focus on particular objectives to re-teach. Finally, each question has a graph that shows the percentage of students that chose each of the answer choices. This allows teachers to assess teaching and learning at the objective level.
Many teachers are beginning to utilize Form quizzes as a tool to improve instructional practices and student learning. According to Nick Marchese, a programming teacher in Brooklyn, New York, Form quizzes have allowed him to "Optimize his teaching." If he sees a particular question that a large group of student miss, then he sets aside time to review the next day in class. In my mind, this is a powerful usage of technology. It allows for streamlined data collection and analysis which ultimately leads to changes in how teachers lead their students through the learning process. If a particular instructional strategy does not work, then data should show that students are not learning, thus prompting teachers to change their strategy.
Does the new quiz feature of Google Forms have the ability to drastically improve assessment for learning? In my mind it does have the ability to. However, the feature change has been so recent and usage is so new that the evidence is really inconclusive. I have been looking for ways to assess my students' learning "on the fly." Do I think that I have a tool to help do that? Yes. Do I know for sure if it will be user friendly and efficient enough to really drive my instruction? No. Like any new strategy or piece of technology. Try the new idea, see if it works, adapt and try again.
Thanks for reading. Do you have experience using the new Google Form quiz feature? If so, how has it changed your instructional practices and your students' learning? Please feel free to leave a comment below.