One of the most creative assessments that I participated in was teaching. In English, I was given a creation story from a different culture that I taught to my class. In History, I created and taught an elementary level lesson on a historical figure. I learned so much from these experiences. I felt like an expert and became much more invested in my learning. My teachers also assessed through posters, art projects, 3D models, powerpoint presentations, and movies.
This picture comes from a presentation I did about parks and conservation
Having most of my assessments come in the form of writing was limiting. I developed strengths in only one area, but, as I have come to find out, life requires a whole variety of skills. Writing is also a very individual activity and limits how much students are able to work together. This means that students miss out on the insights and ideas of their classmates which might expand their own.
I feel that students are most excited and invested in learning when they feel like they are the experts and have something important to say. It is important as well to play off of a student's strengths and how they best learn. Taking all of this into account I would create assessments that revolved around student interests and had application in the real world. This would include a variety of writing with a variety of audiences both in and out of school. Students would also have the freedom to express their ideas in a variety of formats from powerpoints, drawings, collages, to oral presentations.
Ditto on the writing overload, Cami. I had so many writing assignments in high school that I could do them in my sleep (I actually did write a few things after I dozed off one time; it makes for pretty entertaining composition). While I'm a firm believer in having students write, I agree that there are many other ways to allow them to express themselves. I think most of our generation grew up with writing or multiple-choice tests as the main forms of assessment, but today's students are much more invested in technology and other interactive forms of learning, and writing only tells us so much about their abilities. We, as teachers, need to know our students well enough to teach to their needs, while allowing them different opportunities and avenues to express themselves. It's not easy, but it's definitely worth it.
ReplyDeleteI loved what you wrote about students being invested in their learning. I mean, what is school anyway? We know what the purpose of an education is, but it is so easy for students to feel like everything they are doing is irrelevant or busy work. The skills they learn in their classes are so much more appreciated when they are allowed to personally invest themselves. If they can use their voice and their opinions in a way that is easily applicable to real life, the skills will stick with them better.
ReplyDeleteI like how you are considering the social aspects of writing as well. For instance, you considered, not only the WHAT of the writing assignment, but also the WAY that you set it up, such as requiring students to become the experts on what it is they're writing.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the line: "Having most of the assessments come in the form of writing was limiting." I think I may have said this in class, but the Literacy Research Association's last conference was all about "new literacies" and they were less likely to accept research on how to support students in reading and writing printed texts. The world is become digital, and so many educators are not accounting for this shift. Digital writing is not just writing; it is writing plus music plus video plus speech plus layout plus color selection plus images. Even simple activities, such as allowing students to create images to accompany their written work and to reflect on their use of images, will more fully prepare students to be effective communicators in a digital world, as opposed to instruction that focuses exclusively on the written word. (I also don't mean to "bash" the written word here...it will always be extremely important.)
Thanks for a thought-provoking posting!