In Stage 2 of the UbD template, we deal with the kinds of evidence that will convince us that our students truly know, understand, and are able to do what the learning standard expects of them. Appropriate evidence could be any instrument we design and use to meet that goal. It could be an oral or written communication, a presentation, a project or any artifact that serves the stated purpose.
In general, we can describe evidence in three broad forms.
Diagnostic Evidence
Any assessment provided to students at the beginning of a learning unit to ascertain their level of prior learning offers evidence that is diagnostic in nature. A teacher may have students complete a diagnostic assessment to find out what they already know, what they have incomplete knowledge of, and what they do not know, with respect to the learning objective or standard. The evidence collected is then used to differentiate as well as design learning activities that would best help the students meet the learning expectations.
Formative Evidence
Any assessment conducted during the learning process when students are learning and coming to terms with the desired knowledge and skills, is formative in nature. The evidence only serves two purposes. (1) To provide feedback to the student on what he or she knows and what he or she still needs to work on. (2) To provide feedback to the teacher on how well the learning activities are working and to point towards possible adjustments that could improve as well as make up for incomplete learning. It is desirable that as much formative feedback opportunities as practically possible be conducted during the learning process.
Summative Evidence
At the end of the learning process, whether it be the completion of a learning objective or the completion of a chunk or part of a learning objective, evidence needs to be collected to ensure the student knows, understands, and is able to do what is expected. Such evidence is summative in nature. Summative evidence is always collected after sufficient amounts of formative feedback. The instrument designed to collect the summative evidence should not be a surprise to the student. Many portions of it should be familiar as parts of formative assessments and feedback encountered during the learning process.
The tools we design and use as formative and summative assessments make up Stage 2 of the UbD planning framework.
