I really like the
concept of active learning, and fully incorporating students in assessments. A
lot of the time when I was going through school it felt like teachers kept the
final goal a secret, and we were just expected to do as told. Telling students
ahead of time exactly what is expected of them, and why they are learning it is
a powerful tool. Students will be more willing to learn and work if they know
the purpose behind it. Being able to actually apply that knowledge is good as
well. There is a point to the learning then, and students know its not just
busy work.
The point that a
multiple-choice test will not be a good assessment really sticks out to me. Its
true that so much goes into these projects that there is no way student effort
can be captured in a multiple choice format, even if it is easiest for the teacher.
Multiple assessments that give a full picture of everything that go into a project
is definitely the way to go.
Creating anchors
is a good way to see where your students start, and in turn how far they go.
Its also a good starting point for creating those final assessments. Grades
along the way should also matter. If the teacher is making the work along the
way really meaningful it will be easier to build to a final goal. The
objectives will be clear, instead of having assignments that don’t seem to mean
anything.
With technology
there are many ways students can show what they have learned. Students can
orally explain how far they have come with podcasts, or they can create
something that sums up what they have learned. Teachers can even draw on
experts and give students a real world assessment, having the experts look at
student work and determine the strengths in it. Assessment is becoming the
focus in education, but that does not mean it has to be standardized and meaningless
to students.
I agree that teachers should tell students ahead of time what they expect of them. Students will be more apt to work and accomplish what the teacher asks of them if they understand the reasoning and purpose behind it. I also agree that multiple assessments of where students are at is the right way to go. Students learn in different ways so there should be different forms of assessments. Finally, I agree that assessment does not have to be standardized and meaningless.
ReplyDeleteHi Emily!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree and like the concept of active learning as well! I think that this approach to teaching definitely requires a lot more out of the teacher, which makes our job harder but even more valuable! I also agree, sadly, with your point that assessment (particularly standardized assessment) is shying away from actual meaning for students. The idea of standardized assessment, supposedly, is to hold teachers accountable for their students success. However, if the students success is being so limited to what is on the assessment, it is really the students who are getting cheated.
Nice job!
-Sabrina
Emily, I enjoyed reading your post about chapter nine. I like how you added in your perspective and things that you like. I agree with you about active learning and the importance of it. Just as Sabrina said I agree that it requires a lot more out of the teacher but in the end I think it is very much worth it. I also agree with you, Emily, and what you said about telling students ahead of time what is expected because it is easier to understand what a teacher wants if they know and understand from the start. If students know this from the start I feel as though they are more likely to follow through and work to do their best because they know the expectations. Great job Emily with your post!
ReplyDelete-Michelle
I totally agree with you on Multiple-choice test are not good assessment tools! There is no way we can get an accurate measure of a student’s performance based on the bubbles they circle. We have no indication of why they choice that answer or if it was just a good guess. I love the idea of them recreating the project in a different way to show what they learned. This is not only good for the teacher to know what they learned but also reiterates it for the student ;-)
ReplyDelete