Friday, February 6, 2009
Day 3
The third time is a charm, or so it has been said, as the third class went smoothly according to plan. The professor raised some very interesting questions about teaching and how we aim to assess student work. As educators, what do we truly value in the work of our students? How can we measure the worth of our students, of ourselves? This is a perplexing issue in education and deserves further discussion. Too often a good grade is correlated with a good sense for conformity, leaving the more creative expressions of humanity in the shadow of those easier to diagnose. How are we to measure creativity with our system of numbers and letter grades? What could we possibly come to comprehend or understand about the value of work by measuring it with our gut or with a number line? Nothing at all. Assessment must be in line with both objectives and lesson planning for education to be meaningful and just, if such a thing ever existed.
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It is good to see that people are really thinking and questioning how we grade and how and what we are measuring. It continues to be a struggle for me, at times, after teaching for 25 years. You will have to justify the grade you give a student but it can be done in very different ways. Communication can be key. If you go away from the norm for assessment and grading you need to be able to communicate that to students and parents and it takes getting used to but often it is worth it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this past class was very successful- it allowed me to develop better and interesting ways to measure a student's achivement and learning level by their creativity, rather than just a number or letter. I belive that this is very important because some students are not great test takers or struggle with writing. Also, some students are intimidated by these numbers that determine their grades. Measuring a student's achievment in various ways helps them become more creative and express themselves more through their work as opposed to simply puting a number at the top of their paper. Different types of assessment also give the teacher a great way to see a student from a different angle. The only problem with this are the difficulties coming up with different ways for assessment and then justifying them.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that it is important to take the time to think about what areas are actually going to be included in the assessment of a student. When doing a homework assignment or planning one for your class, it is important to think about how it is going to be graded and by what measurement. This is also important in communication with the class and making sure they know exactly what they will be graded on.
ReplyDeleteOnce again you have raised some very interesting questions. Should grades be subjective or objective? I can see that this class is going to go a long way to help answer those questions. I know that for me I have always put the value in what is going to make a student a more enlightened and successful person. That is hard to measure and I welcome different perspectives. This class is helping me to see some different perspectives.
ReplyDeleteThe question isn't that interesting. Grades NEED to be objective. We can't just say that students put heart into their work and that's good enough. That's not what I'd want from my students and that's not what employers would what from their employees.
ReplyDeleteWhile yes it's true that a portfolio produced at the end of high school and college would be a step in the right direction from simple number and letter grades. The fact remains that being quantitative with student grades remains one of the only ways we can see how much they know.
Perhaps I'm a bit jaded as a science teacher. We have it somewhat easier than humanities. Students will be expected to know how the world works physically and that is something that can only be objective. Tests ARE important. You don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. The problem is that projects are also important but our system does a poor job of recognizing that.
You write beautifully. In terms of assesing- I think that I will just be able to tell what grade my students deserve. It's all in my head... :)
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