Formative practice in the lesson
Formative practice means finding out during the lesson where students stand and adjusting your instruction accordingly — no grade, but immediate feedback. Research by Black & Wiliam shows one of the strongest effect sizes in educational studies (0.4 to 0.7 standard deviations). This article explains the difference from formative assessment and offers five techniques that are immediately applicable.
Definition and difference from formative assessment
Formative assessment is measuring where students stand. Formative practice is what you do afterwards — adjusting your instruction based on that measurement. Wiliam (2011): measuring alone, without acting, has no effect. Running a poll, seeing that 40% don't understand, and simply moving on to the next slide — that is measuring without acting.
Summative testing is something else: an assessment at the end of a series of lessons or a period, with a grade, that determines whether the student can move on. Not a teaching instrument but a decision-making instrument.
5 techniques for formative practice
Exit ticket
Last 2 minutes of the lesson: one question on a slip of paper or via a quick poll. "What don't you understand yet?". Helps you prepare for tomorrow based on where the group really stands.
Hand-up scoring
After an explanation: "Raise 1, 2 or 3 fingers — 1 = unclear, 2 = reasonable, 3 = clear". No grade, no judgement, but data. If there are many 1s: explain it again differently.
Misconception polls
Create a multiple choice question where each wrong answer is a typical misconception. You learn faster where students get stuck than with an open question.
Two stars and a wish (peer feedback)
Students give each other feedback: two things that went well, one point to improve. Safer than teacher feedback and more instructive for the giver.
Live quizzes with immediate explanation
Quiz during the lesson with an immediate answer and a short explanation per option — not only during a marking round. Misconceptions are corrected right away.
In LectaMe
Live polls and multiple choice quiz questions in LectaMe are designed to be formative: no grade, but immediate group feedback. Misconception polls (where all wrong answers are typical misconceptions) are a LectaMe pattern you'll often see in Case and Quiz Flow. Session analytics show you where in the lesson the group got stuck — not for grades, but for your lesson preparation next time.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between formative practice and formative assessment?+
Formative assessment is a measurement moment to see where students stand. Formative practice is what you do afterwards — adjusting your instruction or lesson based on that measurement. Wiliam (2011) emphasises that measuring alone, without acting, has no effect. Formative = a verb, not a noun.
How does it differ from summative testing?+
Summative = assessment at the end, with a grade (determines whether a student can move on). Formative = a teaching instrument during learning, without a grade (determines how a student keeps learning). Misuse happens often: an interim test with a grade is summative, not formative. Formative requires a safe atmosphere in which mistakes are allowed.
What is the proven effect of formative practice?+
The meta-analysis by Black & Wiliam (1998) shows effect sizes of 0.4 to 0.7 standard deviations on learning outcomes — one of the strongest interventions in educational research. For comparison: halving class size yields 0.1, intelligent coaching 0.3. Formative practice is cheap and powerful.
How many formative moments per lesson?+
Rule of thumb: at least 3 per hour of lesson time. A 90-minute class therefore has 4-5 formative checks. Fewer = no continuous adjustment. More than 8 = overdoing formative, the lesson becomes fragmented. The checks don't have to be big — a 30-second poll counts.
How do you combine formative practice with large groups?+
Live polls or multiple choice with a session code give insight into 100+ students at once within 30 seconds. LectaMe's embedded polls and quizzes are designed for formative use: immediate feedback, average + spread, no grade. For open-question formative moments: peer scoring or representative sampling (reading out 3 random answers).
Sources and further research
- Dylan Wiliam — Papers on formative assessment — foundation for the concept of formative assessment in modern didactics.
- NRO (Dutch National Research Organisation for Education) — Dutch research sources on evidence-informed education.
- Wij-leren.nl on formative assessment — practical articles for Dutch teachers.
Further reading
Build in formative moments
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