Finding time for formative assessment

Teachers were asked how they feel about the provision of feedback for students, it was found that some teachers are finding it difficult in today’s fast-paced classroom to fit the formative assessment model into their program.  This perception was also supported through quantitative analysis, when asked if they provide formative assessment for their students (when they create digital content) almost 10% responded that they do not, or 19 of the 194 responding.  Through the repetitive quotes coded as themes of frustration and the impact of COVID, it seems like some teachers have adopted a “something’s gotta give” mentality, and unfortunately in some cases it appears that formative assessment practices are not being employed.  A middle school teacher discussed her thoughts on the practice of formative assessment saying, “We need it. I don't think there's much value to getting kids all the way to the end and then telling them “Oops, you messed up.” 

Comfort-level

When the survey results were calculated, the mean score was 3.89 which indicates that teachers in general are more comfortable with the software. Out of 136 teachers responding 91 rated themselves at a 4 or 5 score on a Likert-type scale, stating that they are very comfortable, nearly 67%. One middle school teacher identified with the difficulty in using the technology saying, “I actually was playing around with it. To be honest, I'm not that confident with it.” In contrast, one respondent from a large, suburban district one interviewee reported that, “anyone who is here and working through COVID knows how to use Screencastify”.  

Time as a perceived obstacle

In the survey many obstacles were provided for participants to select from, of which the factor of “time” generated the most responses (N= 74) out of 97 teachers, or about 76% responding.  The data collected regarding a teacher’s willingness to try the method had a mean score of 2.9, it could be worth researching further to see if there is a relationship between the variables A seventh grade ELA teacher shared that the number of students she is in charge of and her perception of time required for the practice is impacting her willingness to try screencasting feedback saying, “Right now I have 70 students next marking period, I add a class I'm gonna have 100, almost 100. So, I'm like, let's talk, you come here five minutes and talk now, versus I have to do it during my prep or after school, record these two three minute videos for each child.”  Many teachers who have not tried the practice held the perception that screencasting taking longer and is more frustrating, while many who tried it seemed unconcerned about the time it would take, some even stating that the practice is faster for them.  One teacher who has tried the practice said, “the majority of the time it saves me a ton of time when I provide them feedback digitally, because I can do that, you know, in my office, I can do it from my phone…you know? The problem that I've run into and it's very minimal times is when students on their end are having like technical difficulties. Let's say their microphone is not working or the sound isn't working. That's when it's just like okay, it didn't work. Yeah, it happens rarely, but it does happen. But yes, it is definitely a time saver.” 

Digital Content Creation

Regarding frequency of these tasks, out of 206 respondents, there were a high number of teachers at 41.75% that reported that they “never” or only “sometimes” (a few times a year) provide opportunities for students to generate digital content (N= 86).  If the content is not housed digitally, the practice of screencasting feedback becomes moot.  There are other teachers who were interviewed that continue to progress with the technology and task students with digital content creation routinely with 62, or approximately 30% of teachers surveyed who indicated their frequency as “most” or “all” of the time.  These are the teachers who would benefit most from the feedback approach.  Teachers were asked how often digital content creation is assigned to their students, and 120 teachers said that it ranged from half of the time (a few times a month) to all of the time (as often as possible). This rate of frequency is often enough that according to the researcher, would make screencast feedback for their students worthwhile if a teacher is willing to try it.  

Lack of student engagement with feedback

Commonly teachers mentioned that the students have lack of regard for the feedback provided, which also proves to be an obstacle for considering the practice.  The disinterest in the teacher generated feedback was specifically mentioned in the “Other” category when selecting perceived obstacles. A sixth-grade teacher using digital feedback as comments within the content said that, “I think the one struggle that I have with just digital feedback in general, is just like getting the kids to actually read it.”  This is discouraging for him because, “Sometimes I'm like, I'm spending a lot of time, just, you know, putting those comments and then I asked the kid, I'm like, “What did you read?” and the student responded to him, “No, I didn't read that.”  One teacher suggested that audio and video feedback could provide a potential solution to this problem, saying that, “I think that a student might be more likely to listen to feedback than to read it. I think, especially if it's written feedback, if it's typed feedback.  But I think students are more likely to hit a button and listen, than to read.  I really do. I was just thinking that because sometimes when you give written feedback or you make corrections, you're like, they're not even gonna see this.”  To address this issue, one middle school teacher provides “a Google form or something where it's like, hey, like, watch, watch this feedback, and give me like, what is like your top takeaway from the feedback I gave you?”

Mitigating the obstacle of time, one approach

A teacher in a self-contained classroom uses screencasting to provide feedback for her students using this method.  “I'll take something out that I noticed is a common error. And I'll be like, so I noticed that several of you …and I'll show it either in a PowerPoint, or in a Google Docs, as I voice over the corrections for where they should go with this. I'll do that. Like if I see several common errors, rather than tell 20 kids the same thing repeatedly. Yeah, I will make a video and put it up on my Google Classroom. I usually put it in the stream.”  She mentioned that having the video feedback in the stream allows any of her students to access the feedback that addresses common errors.  This approach has its limitations however, a world language teacher at a suburban high school who also uses the group feedback method said, “But then you think about what about those mistakes that this particular student is only making.  And they don't get addressed just because of the lack of time.” 

Tutorials and demonstrations

A high school ELA teacher uses screencasting to support students in formatting a research paper, saying, “I was trying to teach them how to do a hanging indent. And I was trying to teach them how to do credit, create a running header. For those little things, I don't think I necessarily need class time. I will create a little instructional video, but say, please watch this video. You're on your own for this.”  One high-school honors level ELA teacher stated that she uses screencasting technology in new ways that “was actually born out of the COVID era” as she has her students record their demonstrations. 

Insight on the student growth process

A technology teacher has her students use screencasting to discuss their process in creating digital content like how they coded presentations, generated graphic designs, built apps or designed websites.  She said, “I like to hear them talk through why they changed what they did, or how they changed what they did. And it's been really insightful for me to be able to hear how comfortable they are explaining and how in depth they can really get with talking through what they did and how they did it.”   

Interactive instrumental lessons

"A music teacher commented on a creative approach he has seen from one of his colleagues, who listens to the student recording and then, “He'll, pause it and go “Okay, you play this really good.” And he'll talk about the kids' tone. And he's, he's 10 years in the field. So he can hear like, oh, their lips are too tight, or they're arbiters off or you know, they didn't tune…” This approach allows the teacher to be present for the instrumental practice and provide “live” and customized feedback to each learner, targeting the exact skills the student needs to be more successful.  For music instruction he adds that, “Now the kids can physically hear it, they get a video where they can see it with their fingerings. And that's cool. Yeah, so it's like an interactive lesson.”  

Preview important material

One teacher said she uses her screencasts to “show the key details like the key vocabulary and go over it and say, let's think about some questions here…. So the kids would get to watch the video on Thursday. And then Friday, they would get the reading.”

Support for communities and parents

A history teacher also spoke of her usage of screencasting to support their ELL parent community saying, “I have no problem with you watching me. And watching my videos. What I found is that for those parents whose English is not their first language, they seem more comfortable.”  She was surprised about the effect she was having on the community, describing one moment saying, “And so what struck me one time was I was doing a parent conference. And the parent was like, Yeah, I watch your videos, too. And I was like, how about that?”  A middle school social studies teacher had this to say about using screencasting to support all invested in the learning process, “I also think it's a great way to keep transparency for students, teachers and parents for why a grade was the way that it was in the end.”  

Peer feedback approach

Some educators shared how they utilize screencasting opportunities for peer feedback, one middle school teacher shared that peer feedback can support the practice of formative assessment saying, “I think that's very powerful feedback when they're allowed to just stop in the middle, along the way to obtain feedback from their peers, and also from myself.”  The peer feedback approach can also support self-regulated learning during the digital work production cycle.

It is important to note that the majority of the New Jersey public school teachers surveyed in this study (N= 135) indicated that they do not use screencasting for student feedback at this time (N= 97).   It was encouraging to learn that out of the 266 teachers surveyed, there are 38 teachers that indicated that they have already used screencasting feedback for their students, which may hint at a new trend in feedback methods at 14.29%.  However in another question participants were asked if they use screencasting software for specific tasks, of which feedback on assignments was one option in a list of choices with checkboxes.  It is unclear why 33 participants checked off that they are using screencasting for feedback on assignments, but when the question appeared in isolation as a dichotomous response.  In a previous question 38 responded affirmatively, a difference of 5 who changed their response when questioned from a different angle, decreasing the percentage to 12.41.  The same number of total participants responded to both questions mentioned previously, so the total data count of participants answering both questions is the same.  A third question asked how they provide students with feedback, which was also designed for cross-referencing in hopes to gain further validation.  In this question, from 223 respondents only 19 teachers selected screencasting as a method of feedback which they employ, at 7.14%.  It may be that participants misunderstood the question, thinking that it was seeking current practices, which may have dropped the count regarding the phenomenon.  The question clearly stated, “Have you used screencasting software for the following tasks…” however, so this is unlikely.  This was an intentionally planned cross-reference question to aid in validating the data through cohesion and unfortunately it does not, for the researcher a difference of 19 teachers, or a drop in 7.15%, nearly in half, is too wide a range to be explained.  These responses were further explored during the interview process.