As a teacher, I have to keep my students engaged and interested in what they’re learning. It’s also my job to make sure they are learning. I can tell if my students are mastering the material by using formative and summative assessments. Both types are important. Summative assessments are basically tests at the end of a unit or course that measures how much the students learned. Formative assessments are check points- such as little mini quizzes with no point value assigned to them. They’re used to gauge whether or not my students are mastering the material and what they need more help with. Formative assessments could be seen as taking the pulse of a classroom. If a teacher is using them, there should be no surprise test scores.
I like playing games in the classroom. Most students like the competition and excitement- even adults! Two of my favorites are games on Socrative.com and Kahoot.it. Here’s an example of a Kahoot I created for my Radiography class: