Hey there Teachers! This post is part of my Flipped Learning series. For more information on the magic of the flipped classroom (and what I'm even talking about) check out this page.
I've got tutorials on free flipped learning tools like:
- How to harness the power of Youtube and the ESL community & even make your own videos
- How to make your own audio recordings & places to find audio resources
- How to make digital flash cards for your students to study before class
- And just when you thought you'd collapse under all this great information, I'll show you the lesson planning system that not only ties it all together, but actually saves you oodles of time while giving more value to your students.
Alright, on to the lesson!
Google forms can be easily made into quizzes that you can email your students and get their results. You can make multiple choice questions, questions requiring written answers. You can use them to test your student's knowledge (I send all my new students an A1-B2 Level Assessment quiz, so I can see in one glance what we need to work on and then automate my syllabus for each class and private student).
I also turn quizzes into flipped learning material, to get my students warmed up for our next lesson. That way they can take extra time ahead of class to feel comfortable with the material and translate words on their own time, rather than whipping out their phones in class. I make these super easy, just 10-15 questions to prepare for class.
How to create a quiz on Google Forms:
- Sign Up: Go to forms.google.com. Click Start a New Form. Name the form.
- Click the settings icon.
3. In the settings, make sure these boxes are checked in the General, Presentation, and Quizzes sections. First you want to make sure you collect email address, so you know who's taken the quiz. Then, if you like you can show the progress bar, so students feel a sense of progress as they go through your quiz. Lastly, make sure to make it a quiz, that way you can have right answers and wrong answers and so each answer can have an automatic explanation after a student gets something wrong.
4. Next, click on the + sign to add a question.
5. Choose from the drop down menu what type of quiz you want - I like multiple choice because I can make them self-grading (automation is my jam).
6. Write your first question and multiple choice answers.
7. If you like, add a photo to the question or any of the answers. You can upload from your computer or search for images straight from google. This is super helpful for my Beginners and Pre-Intermediates.
The beauty of a self-graded quiz is that it costs you no extra work after you've emailed it to your students, and you still get the opportunity to explain correct and incorrect answers. So make sure you've made this google form a quiz (Step 3 under quizzes.) Then you can add in your explanations:
8. Click ANSWER KEY
9. Choose the correct answer
10. Click ADD ANSWER FEEDBACK
11. Explain the correct and/or incorrect answers
12. Give it a points value.
13. Now it's time to share your form with your students. In the upper right corner of your quiz, click SHARE. You can email your students directly from this pop-up form, but I prefer to copy the link to my Trello for TEFL system, so every time this particular lesson shows up in one of my automated syllabi, I can just copy and past the email language, without even opening up the form, just like the picture on the right.
14. It's time to see how your students did on their "quiz". Seeing their responses before you class can focus your efforts on aspects of the lesson the students will need most. When your student submits the form, you can view their responses, by clicking the responses tab. Here you can see I've had 9 submissions to my quiz so far.
You can view the results by summary, so you can see everyone who's responded. This is good for a group lesson or larger class, so you can see what aspects of the lesson you should focus on. Or you can view by individual student—perfect for private lessons.
Depending on how you write your questions, Google forms can be used to create end-of-level tests, homework, or in the flipped learning method of sending them pre-work. I send the above "quiz" to my students before I teach them the difference between Present Simple and Present Continuous.
Get access to this quiz and all the tutorials and freebies in this series right here>>
Each of my questions reflects very subtle examples of the differences—I don't want to overwhelm the student with complex answera. I use photos and I use the answer feedback to give simple commentary on the differences. I'm not really trying to test their knowledge (I assume they don't have any, since I'm about to teach it!) But rather, I'm trying to give them a little insight into the next lesson and give them time to mull it over. Students will either absorb the difference from this exercise, or they'll have questions ready to go at the start of class. Quicker students will confirm what they already know. Slower students will have the time to go over the exercise as many times as they want. My goal is to even the playing field before class. You can view the exercise here. (After you copy it for yourself, you can edit it to your liking.)
Google forms are incredibly useful in other ways too. As part of the Trello for TEFL system, we use a student assessment form to test students from A1-B2 for every incoming private student. Then in a few clicks, teachers create an automated syllabus, personalized to each student, so we know exactly what we'll be teaching tomorrow, next week, and months from now.
Now, I want to hear from you! Think of your typical lesson plan. What components could give to your students to ahead of time that would make your lesson go more smoothly?
Could you send them an introductory Google "quiz" to get them familiar with a grammar point before you present it?
Could you teach twice the amount of vocabulary if your students had the opportunity to study them on digital flash cards before class?
Could sending a video or an audio recording before class make the class more interactive and the discussion deeper because students were able to watch/listen as many times as they wanted on their own time?
Tell us in the comments below: What's a single, small way you could flip your next lesson?