Sunday, December 12, 2010
Week 8 - Are Test the only Assessment Method?
As I reflect on our last week in the course I read the following which really goes hand-in-hand with my philosophy of assessments; " According to Martell and Calderon (2005), assessment is an ongoing process that involves planning, discussion, consensus building, reflection, measuring, analyzing, and improving based on the data and artifacts gathered about a learning objective. Assessment encompasses a range of activities including testing, performances, project ratings, and observations (Orlich, Harder, Callahan & Gibson, 2004)." (Week 8 Module Reading). There is no "one" way for successful assessment of students within a content area. Successful management of assessment by teachers is more of a blending so all learning styles are effectively kept in mind for successful students. As we look at how we assess students in our technological environments we continue to find new ways of assessing students that are effective to producing higher order thinkers. As I researched the subject this week I ran across this great site: http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/assessment/interactive.html which stated that, Assessment is often viewed as a process that takes time from teaching but since most students are grade conscious and will focus on learning what will be assessed, the process of formative assessment can be a powerful driver for enhancing content understanding among introductory geoscience students. Using long-term formative assessment strategies, such as mapping plate boundaries using interactive lectures, can deepen content understandings and engage students in how data is used in the geosciences. Additional assessment strategies of interactive lectures are provided in the resource list at the bottom of this page." This week reminds all teachers that no one method will assist planning for students achievement and their ability to and act like they not only understand the content but can apply the information to a effective situation.
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Jeff, you bring up valid point regarding students looking at grades as the mark which says how they are doing. One thing I reiterate to my students is the process of learning. This is most evident in writing where they can literally see their progression through each process of writing. By using a four point scale I am able to translate their learning into letter grades (the only system parents are familiar with). The students then understand what an A actually means. Kelli
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head with the comment about how students are grade driven. Students cn really become obsessed over grades and some have lost the idea that the goal is to actually learn the concept in a way that will extend beyond the test. We, as teachers, have an obligation to seek out a variety of assessment formats to best fit the objective. Technology can play a key role in this. Thank you for the post.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder what would happen if we dropped the letter grade scale of grading. Teachers would have to be well trained in order to implement a standards checklist or some such thing instead. It does annoy me though, when teachers give extra credit for bringing in supplies or taking recyclables out to the dumpster. I think that teaches them to not respect the grading scale at all.
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