Assessment for learning is at the core of great education, but getting reliable data in an expedited fashion can be a challenge in today's modern classroom and Google Forms provides solutions to all these challenges.
We've been using Google Forms for years in class, and we love how easy it is to use and the powerful data that we get from each one. Whether it's a quick multiple choice question that reviews today's learning goal or an in depth constructed response question for critiquing a work of art, Google Forms gives us the fast and accurate formative data that we need to extend our learning and refine my instruction. We've used Google Forms to develop our critical thinking skills by critiquing visual art, but the same techniques can be applied to many different subjects including scientific observations, journal writing, and critiquing music, dance and theater just to name a few.
Google Forms is great for standard multiple answer or scale questions, but it's also wonderful for constructed responses like critiquing because it cultivates critical thinking and writing skills at the same time. Yes, we can't apply a quick auto grading tool like Flubaroo that will automatically grade it, but if we could we would lose a treasure trove of student's deeply personal and profound expressions. Google Forms also gives each student, no matter how shy they may be in our class, an equal voice. With Google Forms the time and effort to create one of these powerful tools is even easier. Ultimately, every time I open the critique feedback to see what my students have written in response to a work of art, I feel like I'm opening a door and looking into their imaginations.
In looking at the image above by Gustave Caillebotte called Paris Street; Rainy Day, my 4th grade students made some very studious comments. Here are some examples of what they said, "The two main figures on the right side are looking off the picture, maybe they’re looking for someone? They’re looking for someone and they’re lost.", "The man alone in the middle is sad." and "The buildings are different, there are horses and they dress differently than us. I’d say this is a different city from a long time ago, probably the 1800's."
So how do we do this? We use the Google Form critique as an extension of our in class live critiques, thus students respond to the digital version with a familiar actual critique that has been modeled many times before in class. We learn that just a superficial observation isn't enough, in other words, just explaining the main subject in one sentence doesn't constitute a proper critique. Students are encouraged to first take at least a few minutes to analyze the work and specifically look for the details. After the initial observation students are asked to hypothesize what they believe is going on in the artwork. The best answers begin with the right questions. Use open questions like “What is going on in this picture?” or “What is happening with this artwork?” as opposed to limiting questions like “What is the artist saying with this work?” or “What is the meaning of this artwork?" With the live working model established we then begin augmenting our class critiques with the Google Form version. The following are some ideas and tips for using Google Forms to foster critical thinking with your students. 1. Make It Simple Google Forms has all sorts of great ways to assess learning, but we've found that instead of creating huge multiple question forms with several pages, it's actually much better to keep them to three questions. The first two questions are short answer items that ask "First Name" and "Last Name" along with a paragraph question that basically asks, "What is going on in this artwork?". Of course a good quality image needs to be used and if you need to adjust the image you can use Google Drawing which has quick and easy to use image editing functions. You can also insert more than one image to compare and contrast in a critique. Extra Tip: You can use the hover text option with an image to create a reminder for students to "Look for the details.", "Observe the whole picture.", etc. 2. Maximize the Settings Allow students to edit their responses and if appropriate, allow them to see a summary of responses by checking those boxes in the settings menu. You can also customize the confirmation page by adding a link that each respondent can click on when they finish the form. This link can access other Google Forms, link directly to the Google Art Project page that relates to that specific work, a video critique... the link possibilities are nearly endless. 3. My Art, Your Art, Our Art We just don't critique famous works of art, we also critique our own with Google Forms. Just today we were using Google Forms to critique our 3d printed projects. We used a form to ask what they liked about their print and how would they improve it. This technique draws a connection between the intense critical thinking we apply to historical works of art and our own. 4. Merging Other Google Goodies In the past I embedded all of our forms onto our class website, but since we started using Google Classroom last year I've been just throwing the form link in there. However, recently Google Classroom added the ability to incorporate Google Forms and mark them "done" when each student completes it- oh ya! It is well to note too that we've also been doing quick critiques using the integrated question feature in Google Classroom. Also, my students love using Google Cardboard, Google's amazing virtual reality kit, to discover art from around the world from the Great Pyramids to our very own nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. We've used photospheres and Google Street View in split screen mode to explore all over the globe. After exploring the art world we then record our critiques of our virtual field trip with a Google Form. The devices, apps, and teaching methods aren't important in and of themselves, they're only relevant if they help our students learn. Google Forms helps us go beyond the standard two second glance at art and dig deep into critical thinking skills that are necessary for every subject and every student. How important is critical thinking specifically for the visual arts? Critical thinking by critiquing art compromises four out of eleven of the National Core Arts Anchor Standards: Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work. Standard 8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work. Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work. Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding. Try it for yourself with the Google Form critique example below!
Wil Codilla is a public educator, speaker and trainer. @WilCodilla
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Wil Codilla
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January 2018
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