After I hand out the Cool-Downs (I always remind students that they can also use them to ask me questions or send me a note if they like) the students complete the problem and return them to one of 4 baskets labelled: 4 - I could explain this to others; 3 - I feel confident with this concept; 2 - I have a question or two; 1 - I need help with this concept (thanks to Morgan Stipe @mrsstipemath ). After flipping through a few days worth and making piles, I realized this was valuable feedback I would like to track. Here is what I do:
A number of things jump out at me:
- Scanning down a column, I can see which questions I need to revisit with the class, or who I might want to check in with individually.
- Scanning across a row, I can see how a student is doing overall in the unit.
- Comparing tally marks with checks or x's, I can see which students are over- or under-estimating their abilities.
I hope you give this a try. It has been a relatively easy way to gather some really useful information about how my classes are progressing through the unit.
If you have any other recording ideas you use with your students, please add them to the comments below.