It is said that variety is the spice of life. This activity has really illustrated just how spicy the average classroom can be! There are so many variances in the way people learn. I clearly have not been effectively tailoring teaching and assessing to suitably meet the diverse needs of students in my classroom. I guess in a large way I have been tailoring things to my own learning needs! Good golly! On the plus side, in planning for this current term I tried to use a greater array of teaching and assessment methods than I did last year!
Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences suggests that a person's collective intelligence is made up of eight different intelligences including linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual spacial, and musical intelligences. Each of these eight are at different levels, with some being much stronger than others. This means that depending on how strong a particular intelligence is, a person may have an easier time learning certain types of information and a more difficult time learning others. In a room of 30 students, the assortment of strong and weak intelligences will quite broad. This has significant bearing on how effective the teaching and learning process will be. It therefore means that lessons and assessments ought to be fashioned in ways that promote the development and use of as many of the intelligences as possible. In so doing, learners not only strengthen their overall intelligence but can rely on different intelligences to assimilate information, link new information to previous knowledge, and communicate their understanding of new materials. Essentially, it is a multifaceted approach that targets individual intelligences to formulate the overall picture.
The spicy stew thickens. Bloom has categorized educational objective into the domains of cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Of course he did not leave it at that. Nope, Bloom theorized several levels for each of these domains. Each of these levels target a particular objective that leads to the realization of the domain. In the cognitive domain for instance, he has given us six levels - Knowledge, Analysis, Comprehension, Application, Synthesis and Evaluation.
With all these categories that Bloom has presented to us, combined with Gardner's explanations of multiple intelligences, it seems quite overwhelming to fashion teaching and assessment to meet the needs of all the students in a class, when each student processes information differently. However, by providing us with these theories, they help teachers to examine their content and come up with ways of appealing to the different intelligences during the teaching/learning/assessing processes. They also provide a good framework for the levels involved in meeting educational objectives. While these levels are not hierarchical, they allow the teacher to have focal points so that specific skills can be assessed as a part of the overarching assessment process.
Having said all that, I know that much more analysis is needed of my teaching/assessment methods. I now need to study my course content and learning objectives, and find ways in which to craft lessons around some of the intelligences outlined by Gardner. It is also necessary, using Bloom's Taxonomy, to come up with assessments that address the domains he laid out so as to have a more rounded approach that caters to the diverse learning abilities that exist in a group of learners. It will be long and hard work, that's for certain.
Saturday, 19 October 2013
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Module 4 - Activity 2
This activity has exposed me to an array of things that can be assessed in learners. Some of them I have been doing already, others I have never even thought of. This array seems overwhelming to say the least.
Many institutions (and most of my own learning) focus on measuring output with an assigned grade that ought to reflect 'how much' a student has learned. The system revolves around grades, hence, testing is often viewed as the legitimate assessment method. Most often, such testing is either written or oral and may involve some group work.
In looking at the list of things brainstormed by my colleagues, I recognize a number of things that I do 'assess' in my students like; how well they work with their peers; are they applying strong thinking skills; are they self-motivated; and so on. However, I never really perceived these areas to be actual assessment. Having been socialized in a system that revolves around grades, if I assess without a grade being affixed, it appears as if no assessment has been done.
One of the main challenges for me going forward, would be finding ways to meaningfully incorporate some of the assessment areas identified. As the module progresses, I hope to garner more information in that regard. Further, a true appreciation of how these assessment areas factor into the wider teaching/learning relationship, would help me to legitimize them in my own mind and use the information gathered to better foster that relationship.
The question still remains, how do I translate these assessments into a measurable dimension since the system is hungry for grades? Maybe, through this wider array of assessment, the place of tests remain secure and they will still readily provide the summative data required to sate the system. Maybe this wider array of assessment areas really targets the process of learning, which, at the end of the day, takes students towards the learning outcomes.
Many institutions (and most of my own learning) focus on measuring output with an assigned grade that ought to reflect 'how much' a student has learned. The system revolves around grades, hence, testing is often viewed as the legitimate assessment method. Most often, such testing is either written or oral and may involve some group work.
In looking at the list of things brainstormed by my colleagues, I recognize a number of things that I do 'assess' in my students like; how well they work with their peers; are they applying strong thinking skills; are they self-motivated; and so on. However, I never really perceived these areas to be actual assessment. Having been socialized in a system that revolves around grades, if I assess without a grade being affixed, it appears as if no assessment has been done.
One of the main challenges for me going forward, would be finding ways to meaningfully incorporate some of the assessment areas identified. As the module progresses, I hope to garner more information in that regard. Further, a true appreciation of how these assessment areas factor into the wider teaching/learning relationship, would help me to legitimize them in my own mind and use the information gathered to better foster that relationship.
The question still remains, how do I translate these assessments into a measurable dimension since the system is hungry for grades? Maybe, through this wider array of assessment, the place of tests remain secure and they will still readily provide the summative data required to sate the system. Maybe this wider array of assessment areas really targets the process of learning, which, at the end of the day, takes students towards the learning outcomes.
Sunday, 13 October 2013
Module 4 - Assignment 1
This assignment was very interesting! In analyzing my assessment methods, I realized that my scope has been too limited. More variety is needed to effectively assess students from a variety of vantage points. In doing so, I would be better equipped to help them learn and to be a more effective instructor. By having a wider variety of assessment methods, students are also exposed to a wider set of learning dimensions and more of the overall abilities are assessed and encouraged.
Using more varied methods requires careful planning. The curriculum objectives must be clearly understood with lesson plans and assessment methods being crafted side by side. This allows for a more seamless program in which the lesson plans, lesson delivery and assessments all tie in seamlessly to foster the learning process as students move towards the learning outcomes. Careful crafting also allows for assessments to be an interesting part of the learning process instead of the dreaded WRITTEN TESTS that make many learners nervous.
In doing my write up, a number of specific assessment ideas came to mind. I would be reexamining my assignment submission when I make my next term's plan!! Already excited about implementing some of those ideas.
Using more varied methods requires careful planning. The curriculum objectives must be clearly understood with lesson plans and assessment methods being crafted side by side. This allows for a more seamless program in which the lesson plans, lesson delivery and assessments all tie in seamlessly to foster the learning process as students move towards the learning outcomes. Careful crafting also allows for assessments to be an interesting part of the learning process instead of the dreaded WRITTEN TESTS that make many learners nervous.
In doing my write up, a number of specific assessment ideas came to mind. I would be reexamining my assignment submission when I make my next term's plan!! Already excited about implementing some of those ideas.
Thursday, 3 October 2013
Module 4 - Activity 1
In Activity 1, I was required to carry out a self-activity which looked at my current assessment methods for my students. It was done in two phases, the first was from the point of view of me as the teacher answering a questionnaire about things like do I assess the whole class at the same time, do I use written tests, do I assess team work, do I assess the learners' abilities to think and so on. The second phase was from the point of view of me as a learner, answering the same questions.
In answering each questionnaire, certain questions were grouped and scored (two groups), then subtracted from each other. My resulting score was fairly low, placing me in the fourth of five categories. Such a score suggests that my assessment methods are too similar from day-to-day and can use some variance to make assessments more effective.
While I encourage my students to think and in many instances guide them into answering their own questions systematically, I realize that their ability to think doesn't usually form a direct part of my assessments. In some ways it is assessed indirectly when one question feeds into another on a test (where children should see how the previous question could help answer the next) but it is not often a focused designed to assess their thinking ability.
Collaboration and group work is used more rarely since it often requires a lot of mediation by the teacher to keep the group on point and settle personal squabbles. Take for instance a group project that was to be submitted by my first form. One particular group was to submit one sheet of bristol board with a diagram they collaborated on. The members of the group ended up submitting four different sheets because they couldn't agree to work together on the project. In this regard, of course, they will lose marks for their lack of cooperation. However, I am aware that encouraging students to work as a group is a key lesson for life and will make greater efforts to incorporate group work in varying ways.
It is clear that my methods are in need of adjustments. By the end of this course, I really hope that a revisiting of this activity can show a much more varied approach to my assessment methods and that my role as assessor can become more non-traditional.
In answering each questionnaire, certain questions were grouped and scored (two groups), then subtracted from each other. My resulting score was fairly low, placing me in the fourth of five categories. Such a score suggests that my assessment methods are too similar from day-to-day and can use some variance to make assessments more effective.
While I encourage my students to think and in many instances guide them into answering their own questions systematically, I realize that their ability to think doesn't usually form a direct part of my assessments. In some ways it is assessed indirectly when one question feeds into another on a test (where children should see how the previous question could help answer the next) but it is not often a focused designed to assess their thinking ability.
Collaboration and group work is used more rarely since it often requires a lot of mediation by the teacher to keep the group on point and settle personal squabbles. Take for instance a group project that was to be submitted by my first form. One particular group was to submit one sheet of bristol board with a diagram they collaborated on. The members of the group ended up submitting four different sheets because they couldn't agree to work together on the project. In this regard, of course, they will lose marks for their lack of cooperation. However, I am aware that encouraging students to work as a group is a key lesson for life and will make greater efforts to incorporate group work in varying ways.
It is clear that my methods are in need of adjustments. By the end of this course, I really hope that a revisiting of this activity can show a much more varied approach to my assessment methods and that my role as assessor can become more non-traditional.
ICCT Training Resumes....
The beginning of October has seen the continuation of my ICCT course. The summer break was great, and filled with much self growth as a musician. Of course the resumption of the school term has slowed this process down in some respects as there is not much personal time anymore. Additionally, there is now some learning taking place in order to help students with their interests - mostly extra-curricular.
It is hoped that this new module will aide me in the classroom to better assess my students and as a result help me to make better decisions in teaching them content in a fun and informative way, thereby stimulating positive growth.
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