Understanding Formative Assessment in Classroom Teaching

The question asks us to identify which classroom teaching behaviors are considered part of formative assessment. Formative assessment is a process that happens during instruction to monitor student learning and provide ongoing feedback to both students and teachers. This feedback is used to improve teaching and learning in real-time.

Let's analyze each given characteristic:

• (A) The teacher asks questions to elicit classification from students.

  Asking questions during a lesson is a direct way for teachers to check if students are understanding the concepts being taught. Eliciting classification requires students to apply what they've learned, providing the teacher with insights into their current comprehension level. This is a typical formative assessment technique used to gauge understanding and identify areas needing further explanation.

• (B) The teacher specifies the level of mastery attained by students.

  Specifying the 'level of mastery attained' usually implies an evaluation or judgment made after a period of learning or instruction. While understanding student mastery levels is important, this statement describes an outcome of assessment, often associated with summative assessment (which evaluates learning at the end of a unit or course) rather than the ongoing process of monitoring learning *during* instruction.

• (C) The teacher prompts and probes the students while making a presentation.

  Prompting and probing involve asking follow-up questions, encouraging students to elaborate on their answers, and challenging their thinking. Doing this *during* a presentation helps keep students engaged, reveals their understanding or confusion in real-time, and allows the teacher to adjust the pace and content of the presentation based on student responses. This is a highly interactive and formative approach.

• (D) The teacher pauses for a few seconds, looks at students, and asks questions.

  This behavior shows the teacher is actively observing student engagement and comprehension. Pausing allows students time to process information, and looking at them helps the teacher read non-verbal cues. Following this with questions directly checks for understanding. This is a method of monitoring learning and ensuring students are following along, which is a core part of formative assessment.

• (E) The teacher indicates performance criteria and given judgemental values.

  Indicating performance criteria is necessary for any assessment (formative or summative). However, 'giving judgmental values' refers to assigning scores, grades, or definitive judgments on performance. This is characteristic of summative assessment, where the focus is on evaluating the learned outcome, rather than formative assessment, which focuses on providing feedback for improvement.

Based on the analysis, characteristics (A), (C), and (D) are behaviors employed by a teacher *during* the teaching process to monitor student understanding, provide immediate feedback, and adjust instruction. These are key aspects of formative assessment in the classroom.

Therefore, the characteristics classified as part of formative assessment are (A), (C), and (D).

Revision Table: Key Assessment Concepts

Additional Information: Classroom Interaction and Assessment

Effective classroom teaching involves continuous interaction between the teacher and students. These interactions serve multiple purposes, including instruction, engagement, and assessment. Formative assessment is deeply integrated into these daily interactions.

• Teacher Questioning: A fundamental formative technique. Different types of questions (recall, application, analysis, synthesis) can reveal different levels of understanding. Waiting time after asking a question (pausing) and calling on various students are strategies to make questioning more effective for formative assessment.
• Probing and Prompting: These techniques move beyond simple questioning to explore student thinking more deeply. Probing asks for clarification or justification ("Why do you say that?", "Can you give an example?"). Prompting provides hints or cues to help students arrive at the correct answer or a deeper understanding ("What did we learn about... yesterday that might help here?"). Both provide valuable real-time feedback.
• Observation: Simply observing students as they work individually, in groups, or respond to questions provides qualitative data about their engagement and understanding. This observation can inform immediate adjustments to teaching.

These behaviors contribute to a classroom environment where learning is continuously monitored and supported, aligning perfectly with the principles of formative assessment.