Using a formative assessment can be one more thing to remember to do. However, when you use it effectively, it can have a great impact on your lessons. I used to use some sort of formative assessment daily, and I would always adjust my instruction. Sometimes it would be in the same class, sometimes it would be the following day. Here are some tips.
Use systems that expedite the evaluation process. Use automatic grading tools like Google Forms, Socrative, LMS quizzes, Quizizz, Kahoot, Nearpod, Peardeck, etc.
Make a daily habit of using some strategy.
Keep it very, very short. The shorter it is, the fewer time students need to complete it and the less time you need to evaluate the results.
Schedule "formative responses" into your lesson. I used to always plan for 5-10 minutes of my lesson being a formative response. It was really just blocked off time. Then, I would plan that mini-lesson based on the data. If the whole class was struggling, it was a whole-class review. If a few students were struggling, it was a small group mini-lesson.
Using it daily and giving myself permission to spend that time dramatically increased the amount of differentiated and responsive teaching in my classroom. It also dramatically increased student proficiency.
What other tools or strategies do you use? What subjects are you struggling to accomplish this with? Share and brainstorm with me!