Session 4 | 2:30pm | Room 2
Presenter: Kimberly McCormick,
Assistant Professor
Title: What’s
in their heads? Using Padlet and
Formative Assessment Strategies to Support the Cognitive Engagement of UC
Students
Description: When a student is actively engaged in
their learning, this has been found to be a strong predictor of success in
school. One important aspect of student
engagement is how students cognitively engage with their learning. With online learning this is especially
important. This component of engagement
can be difficult to assess, since it is not what can quickly be quantified in a
classroom. This session will highlight
aspects of the online learning experience that can support student student’s
cognitive engagement and strategies that educators can utilize through Padlet
so that students can be supported in today’s unique classrooms.
Abstract: When students are engaged in their learning
experience, this leads to greater success in school. Engagement can be examined through several
lenses: how a student physically behaves,
how they connect socially or emotionally, or how they engage their minds. It is this “cognitive engagement” that can be
the hardest to assess and support.
Especially during these unique pandemic teaching times, it important to
attend to cognitive engagement.
Formative assessment is one way that cognitive engagement can be
strengthened. It provides the ideal
opportunity for students to participate in their learning by understanding why
they learning, how to make progress, and ultimately become independent
learners. Also keeping in mind that it
can be difficult for teachers to assess if students are cognitively engaged in
the learning process, this shows how crucial formative assessment can be in any
traditional college classroom but even more imperative during online learning
experiences. Hinge point questions,
response opportunities, and exit/entrance tickets are just a few examples of
formative assessment activities that could be utilized in the online classroom
through the Padlet platform. Data
collected through formative assessment gives the teacher valuable information
to use to differentiate the learning which also is essential to supporting
student engagement. This session will
begin with a brief overview of the importance of supporting student engagement
of UC students and then will offer specific strategies and resources that every
educator can utilize to support the cognitive engagement of their
students.
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