Masters Thesis

Targeted Feedback on Geometry-Based Formative Assessment and Student Response in the Ninth Grade Mathematics Classroom

Purpose of the study: the purpose of my study was to conduct a qualitative inquiry into my own practice concerning formative assessment. I wanted to know how useful my students felt formative assessments were, how valuable they considered my feedback to be, and if specific aspects of my feedback were more valuable than others. In doing so, I hoped to gain a deeper insight into my own practice and how I could refine my formative assessments and feedback to best fit the needs of my students and to maximize their learning. Procedure: in order to determine if and how my students utilized my feedback from formative assessments, I decided to examine their responses to an interview protocol probing their insights into what aspects of our assessments and my feedback were most beneficial to them as a geometry student. I had an initial assessment of student interest and value placed in mathematics as a way to establish a link between students who value assessment feedback and those who enjoy mathematics, or least view it with a positive disposition. Findings: What I found was that my students, for the most part, cited the single most important factor from assessments as being the feedback I provide. Allowing them the ability to see what they were able to do correctly, what they knew, what they understood, and where they made mistakes. Due to the specific nature of my feedback, they were able to not only see where they made a mistake, but had an idea of how to correct it. Conclusions: by conducting this inquiry, I learned much about myself as an educator and about my students as learners. I learned that the more specific feedback I can give, the better, and the more beneficial it is to my students. In addition, I learned that my students utilize feedback very differently and this difference tends to stem from how they view success in the mathematics classroom. Going forward, I intend to use this information to better empower my students to do their best and to feel successful.

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