Chapter 10: Continuous Formative Assessment During Blended and Online Instruction Using Cloud-Based Collaborative Documents

Blended and online learning environments provide instructors with significant challenges regarding the engagement and assessment of learners. How can teachers engage learners and assess their understanding in remote settings? Furthermore, how can instructors perform formative assessment to adjust their instruction to meet the immediate needs of distant learners? The Continuous Formative Assessment (CFA) model helps teachers create an environment that engages learners and provides opportunities for instructors to monitor student progress through continuous formative assessments so they can modify instruction to maximize learning in blended and online environments.

Schools and universities have been encouraged to develop a “culture of assessment” to provide evidence on the effectiveness of instructional programs (Weiner, 2009). Although the emphasis on assessment has produced a wealth of literature, legislation, initiatives, reforms, and professional development, the vast majority has focused on assessment of learning (summative assessment) rather than assessment for learning (formative assessment). Formative assessment is generally defined as a process used by teachers that provides feedback by which they can adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve achievement during the process of instruction (Popham, 2008). What makes formative assessment “formative” is that it is immediately used to make adjustments to instruction to meet the needs of the learners during the construction of understanding (Shepard, 2005).