Not that this is where it began, but this is where I had time to catch on and continue the conversation;
Here is @BeuckelareNic on some thoughts about the challenges
I responded to parts of it with this post
Nicole also responded below, but @mraspinall continued on with a focus more on the idea of tests
I agreed with quite a lot of what @MathletePearce responded with:
.@mraspinall @BeuckelareNic Here's my response as an image cc @cordym @MathletePearce pic.twitter.com/M2kByRPBFJ
— Jim Pai (@PaiMath) November 28, 2014
Then here, some more from @jcorbinh about testing
And then I am unsure if I caught the conversation after that.
I just thought it may be appropriate to share what else I do with "tests." Since, afterall, it isn't the end. In fact, if we make "tests" the end, then more often than not, it will defeat our initial purposes in the classroom.
Let me emphasize first, that "testing" also isn't the only assessment - as I attempted to describe over twitter. It is our way ot understanding student learning, and if it's only from tests, then it's far too limited a source.
Okay, so in no particular order (and I will probably forget some), here are some things that I would do with a test (not all of them with every test):
1. No grades, only feedback
This one is fairly straight forward. No letter grades or "levels" on the returned tests. Just feedback.
2. Returned for discussion
Students get back their written work, it is returned with comments and students get to talk about what they did. Kids like to talk about "what did you do?!" anyway. Since no grades, the discussion is on what they did, and not what a perceived score was.
3. Focusing on the good
In a separate activity, students are asked to identify things that they were able to demonstrate with that specific instance of written assessment. In our Ontario context, it would be the expectations. What expectations were they able to demonstrate? I typically do this with groups. So then, as groups, they were to figure out what expectations their groups were able to demonstrate - as a composite. Of course, I welcome them arguing over what is a good demonstration of expectations.
4. Focusing on improvements
As a separate activity (sometimes related to the third one), I get them to take a look at what challenges the group faced and what their next steps are. I don't want them to just say "learn this better." Instead, I want them to be more specific. How would you show that you understood what you did not understand? What would that look like?
5. Interviews
My students have the opportunity to set up interviews with me in order to demonstrate that they, individually, have achieved a level of understand that they are satisfied with. This is done often outside of class, but sometimes during class as well. I prefer it to not be during class, since I don't believe that if students are working, that I could just sit and twiddle my thumbs (as I mentioned in this post a few years ago). I prefer to be going around and observing (and potentially assessing), and poking, and provoking, and prompting, and understanding.
In any case, students basically come in with the goal of demonstrating their understanding of expectation. They provide both sample questions and their answers, and I pose questions about how they did what they did, as well as some extending questions for them to work on - based on what they did.
These are few of the things that I do. The main thing I wanted to get out there - is that Tests don't have to be the end.
Hi Jim,
ReplyDeleteGreat post and I like a lot of the points you have made.
I tried the "only feedback" approach last year and have since moved to a level with feedback promoting the idea that "you're never done." I think my good intent last year led to too much feedback and in chunks that were too big last year, ultimately hindering the process.
While I don't want student motivation to be tied directly to a number, I do feel more comfortable giving levels/marks now that I am constantly talking about failure and improvement through a growth mindset. By avoiding the "number," I sometimes wonder if we are implying that failure is a bad thing. I think it should be quite the opposite in order to help students become aware of what true learning really looks like.
Hey Kyle thanks for the response.
DeleteIn my haste, I may have mis-illustrated what I meant with that first point.
Since the idea of grades are so entrenched in our society, now, a large number of students are certainly uncomfortable with not seeing a grade/level. I have been promoting growth mindset a lot through a lot of different strategies as well. In terms of grades - I don't actually mean that they never see "grades." My students actually continuously get an updated electronic version of their evidence record so that they understand what they still need to work on, and what achievements they have reached with respect to each expectation. I find taking time to re-focus on what expectations that we've covered - and what expectations we are covering - is extremely important in a project-based classroom. Since anxiety is huge in secondary classrooms.
In any case. I am not advocating for never giving a "grade." That is ultimately unrealistic within our current systems + societal perceptions. But at the very least, when the "tests" are handed back, I don't simply throw it at them with grades and feedback slapped on top. I make it more about the learning, and do what I can to de-emphasize these "numbers."
On a different point you are making - I don't think that we would be avoiding "the number." Instead, we are emphasizing learning - which isn't really about the number. A number, to me, is comparison that doesn't hold nearly as much weight as other things that may help move them on to the next steps of learning. Of course failure isn't a bad thing. But what is a "failure" based on numbers? We are using levels, so is a 3 a failure? a 2? Without understanding what they need in order to move forward, these numbers are useless.