Predicting outcomes
What happens if…
One way I like to assess learners understanding is to ask them if they can predict the outcomes of given scenarios.
This is useful because the level of their understanding will be evident in the complexity of their ability to predict.
For example, if I’ve spend a math lesson teaching algebra and I want to see to what level learners have understood the principle then I can give/ask a series of questions which increase in their difficulty/complexity as they progress.
You don’t need to ask all learners to start at question one, you could sign post most able learners to begin at question 5 for example.
Similarly in computer science it’s one thing to spend a lesson talking about coding and debugging but the best assessment of learners understanding is to present them with both working code and ‘broken’ code and ask them to identify the mistakes/problems and suggest the impacts of these!
‘If I ran this code what might happen?’ or ‘Will this code work?’
Think about how you plan to use this in your lessons, here’s two easy methods of applying this:
- Set a very short test during a lesson (note I say during, not necessarily at the end, mid lesson assessment means you can adjust course if needed).
- A section in your lesson dedicated to planned questioning of learners
Try either of these in your lessons!
Enjoy!
Paul
