Something that will stay with me after todays class was the video we watched about the teacher conducting a lesson on Slavery in America and Black History Month. What struck me the most was the continuous formative assessment she did, saying “thumbs up if you’re thinking I kinda get what we’re talking about now.” Reflecting on my elementary education, I do not remember teachers doing as much formative assessment in the classroom. They did not know what we knew or were confused about until it was time to take the test and the student did not do well. My question is, is formative assessment a new strategy instilled in classrooms? Formative assessment has been encouraged when taking my elementary education classes for my minor, but before my career at UR I had not heard of it. Is formative assessment new to the education realm or was it something that teachers just ignored in the past? Something else the teacher in the video did that teachers did not do when I was in elementary school was sharing the learning targets with the students. My teachers would usually say “today we are going to learn about the Civil War.” But this teacher specifically told her students, “after todays lesson you will understand slavery in America and understand Harriet Tubman’s role.” When I have gone into Richmond public schools to complete my observation hours, I have also noticed how teachers write the learning objectives or “I can” statements on the board. Is this a new strategy implemented in elementary schools as well?