7 Powerful Ways to Use Google Forms

It's not about the technology; it's how you use it to enhance or transform your pedagogy. Google Forms can quickly give you this enhancement. Here are 7 quick but powerful ways to leverage Google Forms in the classroom to improve accountability, increase student metacognition, as well as help you grow as an educator.

Student tracking during independent projects:

Have a standing form that students complete in class to track what they’ve worked on, what challenges they’ve encountered, and what their next steps are.  Variations can include having students complete at the start of class, and have a question that identifies if they need help from you. Use a color coding system: red- I’m stuck, I need your help, yellow- I’m having a hard time, but managing, green- I’m all good.  Use this template to begin your own.

Unit concept checks

What are the essentials understandings of a unit? Do students know them? Are they asked to evaluate their understanding throughout the unit? Use this form as a template to 1) identify the essentials for a unit, and 2) have students rate their understanding.  Have them complete this in the beginning, middle, and near the end of the unit for you and the students to identify gaps in their learning or understanding.  

Tracking your own work

Ever wish you could capture some feedback at the end of a lesson for you to use in lesson planning next year? Have a quick form you complete at the end of a class as an organized way of reminding you next year. Use this form as a template.  Bookmark it on your computer and complete at the end of a bad lesson, or set a reminder to do it once a week at a convenient time.  Pull up the spreadsheet next year at the start of each unit.

Rubrics

While Canvas Rubrics are great for grading (We use Canvas in our district), they’re not the best for data analysis.  Make your rubric a Google Form. You can complete the rubric as you grade. Each student gets a new submission.  OR, you can have a TA, or even your students, input rubric data so you can analyze later. Give them the link to the form and have them complete it after you’ve passed back the assignment.  Here’s an example of a DBQ rubric. Use it as a template to make your own.   If you give a common assessment with colleagues, all of you can use the same rubric and then be able to compare your data with theirs to help calibrate your common assignments/assessments.

Exit Tickets (Including end of week)

Have students track what they’ve learned by completing an end of the week exit ticket.  This helps them track what they’ve learned over the week, and collectively over the semester.  It also helps you get some formative feedback. Use this template to make your own. 

Assessment Debriefs

Did you recently give an assessment and want students to reflect?  Use this template to have students reflect on how they prepared for the assessment and its relation to their performance.  Help students learn from their mistakes in order to improve in the future. You could even use this as a way for students to earn some points back.

End of Semester Student Survey

Having students give us feedback can be a powerful way to improve as teachers. While it may feel scary because feedback can be critical and sometimes taken personally, if we can look at the data objectively and ask ourselves how can I improve as a teacher?, then we can and will be better for our students. LGSUHSD has been requiring all non-tenured teachers to administer a student survey as part of the reflective process since 2013. This practice helps inform them of how they can improve. Click on this link to make your own copy of the survey to give to your students. You can add any questions you’d like. NO ONE will see the data but you.  (note this link will only work for teachers of lgsuhsd)

There are many many many more uses for Google Forms.  Matt Miller of Ditch that Textbook has this post, 20 Practical Ways to Use Google Forms, and I definitely recommend you check it out if you want more.