Page Keeley in her book Science Formative Assessments had many ideas about the benefits of well thought-out formative assessment plans in the classroom. Keeley stresses the importance of understanding student’s knowledge and beliefs before a lesson to help students make connections to prior knowledge. Without connecting a lesson to prior knowledge the information will not stick in student’s brains beyond the unit says Keeley. Keeley says (2008), " Optimal opportunities to learn exist when science teachers are aware of the variety of different ideas students are likely to bring to their learning, see the connections between students' thinking and specific ideas targeted by state and national standards." (Keeley, p. ix)Keeley's ideas help the teacher not only assess what the students know but ask the students to explain what they know or how they arrived at the answer. Keeley says, “the formative assessment techniques included in this book initiate the use of metacognitive skills and promote deeper student learning." (Keeley, p.5) Thus Keeley's FACTs (Formative Assessment Classroom Techniques) helps students recognize how they think about an idea and make the decision. Keeley accomplishes this deeper student thinking by asking "probing questions" that ask students to make a choice and then explain their choice or their "rule" for thinking.
The majority of Keeley's book discusses 75 practical strategies that can be used in the classroom to help promote learning as well as give the teacher formative assessment data. Keeley describes the process as " Students are learning while at the same time the teacher is gathering valuable information about their thinking that will inform instruction and provide feedback to students about their learning." (Keeley, p.3)
Keeley, P. (2008). Science Formative Assessments. Thousand Oaks, Ca. Corwin Press.
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