Edited by Edward A. Silver and Valerie L. Mills
Formative
assessment is a powerful pedagogical tool whose purpose is to inform learning as it takes place, with the goal of
moving learning forward on the basis of matching instruction to the edge of a student’s
current understanding. A Fresh Look at
Formative Assessment in Mathematics Teaching takes this frequently
overlooked and often misunderstood methodology from a generic set of techniques
to a potent, efficient, and effective course of action by explicating
its role in effective mathematics teaching and learning, describing what it
looks like in practice, and demonstrating how teachers can be supported in
developing the knowledge and skills needed for its successful implementation.
The book is specifically intended for
educators who wish to improve mathematics teaching and learning. In particular, it is designed to provide mathematics
teacher educators and professional development specialists with examples of
where and how formative assessment can be integrated into a variety of
professional learning efforts to support its effective use as a critical component
of daily instructional decision-making. The chapters
within A Fresh Look at Formative Assessment in
Mathematics Teaching illustrate
how formative assessment is deeply connected to many other instructional
frameworks, tools, and approaches with which mathematics teachers and teacher
educators are familiar, such as cognitively guided instructions (CGI) and the
mathematical tasks framework, among others.