Formal observations occur when the teacher has preplanned an assessment with specific learning targets in mind, and students have an opportunity to study and prepare their responses. Formal assessments typically occur at the end of a unit or theme and are effective in evaluating a student's ability to apply a learned concept after a lengthy period of study. The disadvantage of formal observations is that they give students time to "cram" for a one-time assessment without truly learning the information.
There are many different ways in which to formally assess students learning, but some of the more common ones are: paper and pencil tests, speeches and presentations or demonstrations. Paper and pencil tests come in a variety of forms, such as true/false, fill-in-the-blank, extended response or essays. Speeches can be given in one of two ways, either by memorizing a famous speech from history or by giving an original speech after researching a topic. Presentations and demonstrations can be in the form of play performances, scientific experiments demonstrating a process or reenactments of famous events.
Informal observations are more common than formal observations because they do not require preplanning. Informal observations occur daily, often multiple times. Informal observations assess a student's rapid recall of information, without the advantage of preparing an answer ahead of time. Because of this, informal observations often paint a clearer picture of a student's understanding than formal observations because the student does not have time to "cram." One disadvantage of informal observations is that a student may be able to lift answers from classmates by listening to their responses, giving the impression that he understands when he really doesn't.
Informal observations are quick and easy to use multiple times throughout the day. Examples of informal observations include whole-group answer and response sessions, daily exit questions, student/teacher conversations or simply observing students' work during class. Whole-group answer and response sessions occur during instruction and the teacher randomly calls on students to explain how to do a problem. Exit questions are when a teacher gives students a review question to answer before leaving the classroom, either for recess or for the next class. Student and teacher conversations occur the most often. Any time a teacher and student are having a conversation about a learning topic, the teacher is intuitively observing the student's understanding.