Assessment Reflections

(Module 4 - EDS 113) Looking back on my younger years, assessments consisted of quizzes, long tests or periodical exams. I remember staying up late to memorize notes that I have written in my notebook or binder. I would wonder if the test would be true or false, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, or maybe an essay about the topic. All these assessments were scored and added to our number grade at the end of the quarter. There was an in internal pressure within me to do good. We were ranked based on how well we did on the assessments. Reflecting on it now, I wish assessments were more formative. Had the assessments been there to guide me and advance my learning, I would have seen them not as a threat to judge my capabilities, but a tool which could help me understand the lessons more. Instead of focusing on absorbing the lesson, there was a fear of failing and not getting the right grade. I had an innate desire to learn, but most of the time I ended up memorizing concepts for the tests and forgetting about them later on.



Now that I am a teacher, I emphasize to my students that the activities are there to practice their knowledge and skills. I am grateful that my subject is Art, hence the students are more willing to do the tasks compared to other subjects. At this time of online learning though, I am not sure if they are the ones doing the activities, since I assign them as asynchronous work through our learning management system. The students just post the product of their labor once they are done. During synchronous sessions, I stress the importance of their doing the activities themselves. 

Lately, I have been rereading this book that I bought before I started teaching. The title is Creative Schools, The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education by Ken Robinson, Phd. I would like to apply his ideas in my classes, he stresses the importance of education and its core purpose to prepare students for life after school. Our goal is to help them build the mental, emotional, and strategic resources to enjoy challenge and cope well with uncertainty and complexity. The assessments therefore should be designed in such a way that it inspires critical thinking, problem solving, and creative thought.  Instead of dreading assessments, we should thrive in them. I guess, this should be explained to the students, so that they know that tests are there to help them in their learning and not to judge them. This way, their view of assessments will change to being friends than foes. Assessments are friends that will prepare them in the future.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mental health matters

Image
(Exercise 2 -EDS 113) Mental health really matters, in the current state of the world we live in, our group found this topic relevant now more than ever. The pandemic has brought about a sense of hopelessness and isolation in Filipinos. Mental illness may go undetected, not just in high school students, but also in their teachers.  Initially, it may seem that working from home, conducting online classes or preparing modules are easier than being in a face-to-face class. However, having been in this quarantine situation for more than a year now has changed the educational landscape from what educators are used to. Teachers are also susceptible to depression and anxiety. It may be exacerbated by being away from coworkers or the stress of worrying about their family members getting sick.  Being in the teaching profession is more taxing than it seems. Particularly at this time of the pandemic, where working hours are blurred as one's home becomes a classroom of sorts. Aside from checki
Read more

Breaking the status quo

Image
(Final entry - EDS 113)  Practicing teachers who choose to stick with the traditional state or process of education (assessments in particular) tend to do so maybe because they do not know better, they have been comfortable doing it the same way and are lazy to change, or they really think it is still the best way. I think I used to  belong  to the first group, the educators who do not know better. Undeniably, I was reluctant to go back to school and be a student again. Upon reflection, I realize that I need to keep on learning. I am so grateful to have embarked on this learning journey. It feels like I have been illuminated, enlightened with the new knowledge I have absorbed from these modules. In this regard, I would like to change the norm, mainly because now I know better. I plan to make good use of each part of the principles and assessment methods, peeling and husking away at all the concepts and ideas learned. Though being provided the information does not necessarily equate tea
Read more

Leaving and learning

Image
I come from a family of educators. My parents were both teachers, it took me two years before I packed my bags and left my past life. I made the shift to being an Art teacher. I never looked back. I must say, after going through our Module 1 in EDS 103, I find myself having a newfound respect for teachers. Being an educator entails a lot of responsibility in the life of the learners. A lot of things come into play, students bring with them their own unique personalities, conditions, learning disabilities, attitudes and beliefs.  Through our different readings, I slowly internalised and digested the meaning of learning. Though not one universal definition is accepted, because of its complex nature, learning is referred to as an enduring change in behavior, which results from practice or other forms of experience (Schunk. 2011). However, some changes are not considered learning, but are instead ascribed to maturation. I came to understand its relationship with learning. W hen a relative
Read more