Gary Johnson 2012

Testing: The Be-All and End All?

 

Assessment: From Observation to Testing to Embedded Assessment

 





"Assessment in this context, then, does not involve getting a grade or failing a test. It simply means getting a grade or failing a test. It simply means getting feedback as you work, and suggestions as to how to improve. The master comes away with a clear understanding of what each apprentice is capable of doing; the student comes away with an assessment of just what still needs to be learned."

 

"Testing always involves some cutoff, so testing brought with it the notions of passing and failing. This led to the ranking of students, and ultimately, to a sense of failure among those who do not learn as easily as others do."

 

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If we are ever going to find success as educators, we must create assessments that focus on "what still needs to be learned," and not, "passing and failing." Students must not see grades in terms of pass/fail, but constantly pursuing new knowledge to better understand a topic. The best way to prepare students for life is to demonstrate that they will never know everything; there is always something to be learned. Education is constantly evolving. Testing cannot represent "the be-all and end-all," but assessments can show there is always progress to be made.

The Niche Disappears

Interesting pic. Connected Learning allows individuals to have a wider audience to access information on a variety of topics. Though some things might be niche, Connected Learning creates an opportunity for the idea of something only being niche to disappear. Everything can now have an audience. Social media helps to unify these groups from experts to the novice to anyone in between. The end goal is to create a virtual community where all can thrive. A downside: someone can create the illusion of expertise. But we know this happens in classrooms all the time. We have had those teachers where we call their understanding into question. But we must continue to progress towards an environment where one can experience multiple perspectives with a shared purpose.

SNICK: Google Form

Bubbles Are Better

To begin, if anyone has even the slightest interest in education, then take fifteen minutes out of your day to give this a watch. Personally, I couldn't agree more with what Will Richardson has to say. His evaluation of the current education field, as well as, the direction it needs to go in order to return to a positive place is truthfully accurate. He pulls no punches saying it is "not an amazing time for education." With that said, what can teachers do to help rejuvenate a positive attitude in the education field.

He starts by discussing how teachers and parents alike have a "moral imperative" to help guide children to things they might be interested in, but are not allowed to explore, because of curriculum restraints. Unfortunately, students are forced to "wait on a curriculum" to learn things that they will quickly forget once an assessment (most often a test) comes along. To sum up the system: memorize, test, forget, repeat. Certainly there are exceptions, but this is how the system has come to be. Maybe this worked for twenty or thirty years, but not anymore. Then why does education system continue to push this format of learning? Government officials are concerned about education. They want to make it so we do not fall behind with our global peers. So what to do? Make education better. Oh right!

Sadly, a better education is code word for one thing: better test scores. Therefore, we have created "one size fits all assessments" that will give the illusion that if students do well, then our education is getting better. And obviously, we must have better teachers. How do we gage what teachers are better? The teachers whose students have the better test scores. Oh, and in case I haven't said this word enough in this paragraph...better! The government has one imperative, “…to raise the needle on the test scores.” Teachers become products of the system, and the thought of wearing an earpiece with someone instructing me on how to instruct is straight out of the theater of the absurd. A system where we only care about better test scores is slowly but surely killing imagination and creativity.

And perhaps Richardson's most prevalent point to take away: "Test prep and learning are two completely different things." If the only goal of a teacher is to prepare a student for a test with knowledge they will forget within days, then I do not want to teach. But why do people gravitate towards a test? There is probably a lot more to this question than a simple sentence. However, if I had to give my two cents it is because it is an easy way to gage where a student stands. Yet, we must realize better is not always as easy as a bubble sheet.

A Skeptic's Guide to Technology in the Classroom

Skeptics of technology firmly believe that advancements in the classroom will force students to develop the attitude: "Learn what you need when you need it." However, if an individual is so naive to think that taking a pencil and paper test where you list the presidents, doesn't support the "learn what you need when you need it" attitude, then your thinking must be as extinct as the Beta VCR. No offense to those of you with a Beta VCR, I have one myself. Unfortunately, a majority of students have already adopted this model, but we must realize it is not an attitude brought on by technology, but all education. Most asked question in a whiny tone, "Why do I need to learn this?"

Though this quote is not expressed until the final paragraph in chapter three, everything subtly hints at this attitude. The main argument of the skeptics is that technology does not help develop a basic foundation of learning strategies, but limits a student's knowledge to coming "just-in-time." Despite this argument being made ad nauseam, the section I found most compelling was Assessment.

"In the traditional view, learning consists largely of memorizing essential facts and concepts, and performing procedures until they are automatic...[o]nly a small minority of educators hold the belief that education should be about students constructing their own understanding using computer tools." If this is the alternative to technology, and technology is wrong, then I don't want to be right!

The skeptics fail to recognize that technology gives students the ability to transcend memorizing. It can help students "carry out in-depth research and complete meaningful projects." Much like teachers teach what they were taught, most educators educate in the same way they were educated. If pencil and papers were what the educators had, then it is what their students will have. These skeptics seem to be wearing nostalgic lenses, and feel the way they learned was best. I am sure they would be skeptical to see me typing this. Additionally, they should be skeptical if I was using a pencil and paper. Perhaps I should return to my cave and resort to painting...

TEDx Timberlane