Session Outline (60 minutes)
1. Opening & Framing Responsive Teaching (10 minutes)
Content: Contrast “perfect plans” with the reality of classroom obstacles. Introduce the concept of formative assessment as ongoing checking and responding.
Engagement: Quick-write: “What gets in the way of your best lesson?” Pair-share and whole-group sampling.
Process: Interactive polling to surface common obstacles → 2–3 minutes of reflection → partner discussion.
2. Laying the Foundation: Formative Assessment Process (15 minutes)
Content: Define formative vs. summative assessment; introduce the Response to Assessment Approach (RtA) and “Defensive vs. Offensive Teaching.”
Engagement: Small groups analyze a classroom scenario where a plan falters; groups identify what a teacher could check and how to respond.
Process: Scenario discussion (7 min) → group report-outs (5 min) → facilitator synthesis (3 min).
3. Strategies in Action (20 minutes)
Content: Model and practice classroom routines: quick-polls, informal discussions, SSDD problems, Search & Unseen Questions. Show how these align to RtA phases (beginning, during, end of lessons).
Engagement: Participants experience each strategy as learners, then debrief its classroom application.
Process: Every 5–7 minutes shift: facilitator demonstration → table try-it → brief debrief.
4. Building Collective Practice (10 minutes)
Content: Explore how PLCs and teams use assessment data to move from knowledge to action. Introduce simple protocols for task analysis and reflection.
Engagement: Small-group simulation of a 5-minute PLC reflection protocol.
Process: Groups record key insights → share one adaptation for their own team.
5. Action Planning & Closing (5 minutes)
Content: Synthesize session into personal application.
Engagement: Participants complete a one-page action plan (artifact) identifying one formative strategy to try and one way to engage their team.
Process: Individual writing (3 min) → quick partner exchange (2 min).
Total = 60 minutes. Audience engaged at least every 5–7 minutes through writing, peer-to-peer discussion, simulations, or device-based polls.
After this session, participants will be able to…
Differentiate between formative and summative assessment and explain how formative processes drive responsive teaching.
Apply strategies from the Response to Assessment Approach (RtA) to check and respond to learning at the start, during, and end of lessons.
Use tools such as quick-polls, SSDD problems, and Search & Unseen Questions to adjust instruction in real time.
Develop a one-page action plan that connects classroom routines with PLC practices to strengthen collective efficacy in formative assessment.
Hattie, J. (2023). Visible Learning: The Sequel – A Synthesis of Over 2,100 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. Routledge.
Wiliam, D. (2017). Embedded Formative Assessment (2nd ed.). Solution Tree Press.
Anderson, J., & Taner, G. (2023). Building the expert teacher prototype: A metasummary of teacher expertise studies in primary and secondary education. Educational Research Review, 38, 100485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100485
Brookhart, S. M. (2024). Classroom Assessment Essentials. ASCD.
Nuthall, G. (2007). The Hidden Lives of Learners. NZCER Press.
Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of instruction: Research-based strategies that all teachers should know. American Educator, 36(1), 12–19. https://www.aft.org/ae/spring2012/rosenshine
TNTP. (2018). The Opportunity Myth: What Students Can Show Us About How School Is Letting Them Down—And How to Fix It. https://opportunitymyth.tntp.org
Dehaene, S. (2020). How We Learn: Why Brains Learn Better Than Any Machine... For Now. Viking.
Willingham, D. T. (2009). Why Don’t Students Like School? Jossey-Bass.
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