ABSTRACT
The formative assessment is employed to gather data about middle school learners, and the analysis of that evidence is used to inform any necessary changes to their instruction. The change may be necessary for one learner, a small group of learners. Daily journaling is only one option for an effective formative assessment. The color-coding of each participant provides a quick visual assessment of who is participating and at what level. A deeper read of the conversations gives teachers a better insight into the critical thinking processes of their learners. School has traditionally been about knowing the right answer or the design of a presentation that looked like it was crafted by a professional, rather than a focus on a learner’s ability to find potential solutions to given challenges. The deeper into the protocol teachers' learners get, the more difficult it is to ask a “why” question and the more difficult it is to answer the question.
