Comments on: Assessment in the 21st Century http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/02/06/assessment-in-the-21st-century/ The Magic of Learning Thu, 24 May 2012 03:28:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: It’s the End Already? « Rantings of a Fifth Grade Teacher http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/02/06/assessment-in-the-21st-century/comment-page-1/#comment-34851 It’s the End Already? « Rantings of a Fifth Grade Teacher Mon, 19 Apr 2010 02:46:40 +0000 http://langwitches.org/blog/?p=5722#comment-34851 [...] year with my class and what I will change for next year. I was reading on Silvia Tolisano’s Langwitches Blog and she has a great post quoting Heidi Hayes Jacobs about assessment and curriculum. So I am taking [...] [...] year with my class and what I will change for next year. I was reading on Silvia Tolisano’s Langwitches Blog and she has a great post quoting Heidi Hayes Jacobs about assessment and curriculum. So I am taking [...]

]]> By: Debra http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/02/06/assessment-in-the-21st-century/comment-page-1/#comment-33403 Debra Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:41:00 +0000 http://langwitches.org/blog/?p=5722#comment-33403 What I love about this post and the examples Heidi has suggested and you have added is that it provides for differentiated assessment. As long as the students know what needs to be included in their podcast, blog, video, etc. then they can choose the modality that 1. they are interested in using and 2. they are more comfortable with. As a teacher I would possibly narrow down the choices to one for the students who have a penchant towards public speaking (podcast, video, voicethread), one for the reflective soul (blog), one for the musically inclined (create a soundtrack or song), etc. I wouldn't have them necessarily all do what I impose on them. What I love about this post and the examples Heidi has suggested and you have added is that it provides for differentiated assessment. As long as the students know what needs to be included in their podcast, blog, video, etc. then they can choose the modality that 1. they are interested in using and 2. they are more comfortable with. As a teacher I would possibly narrow down the choices to one for the students who have a penchant towards public speaking (podcast, video, voicethread), one for the reflective soul (blog), one for the musically inclined (create a soundtrack or song), etc. I wouldn’t have them necessarily all do what I impose on them.

]]> By: Maryanne Burgos http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/02/06/assessment-in-the-21st-century/comment-page-1/#comment-33362 Maryanne Burgos Sun, 07 Feb 2010 00:42:55 +0000 http://langwitches.org/blog/?p=5722#comment-33362 I believe the only addition I would add to this very comprehensive list of assessment tools would be an image of a learner's personal learning network. Today's learners need to be connected in order to find, reflect on and share information and knowledge. A view of their PLN would let others get a glimpse of how they go about learning. .-= Maryanne Burgos´s last blog ..<a href="http://eduwebtools.blogspot.com/2010/01/read-reflect-share.html" rel="nofollow">Read, Reflect, Share</a> =-. I believe the only addition I would add to this very comprehensive list of assessment tools would be an image of a learner’s personal learning network. Today’s learners need to be connected in order to find, reflect on and share information and knowledge. A view of their PLN would let others get a glimpse of how they go about learning.
.-= Maryanne Burgos´s last blog ..Read, Reflect, Share =-.

]]> By: Tom Fullerton http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/02/06/assessment-in-the-21st-century/comment-page-1/#comment-33344 Tom Fullerton Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:55:38 +0000 http://langwitches.org/blog/?p=5722#comment-33344 Foe me, the key component here is the act of reflecting critically on our actions. Engaging learners in deep inquiry. Yes, there are district policies and provincial curriculum, but in the end it is the teacher who structures the learning for his/her students behind the classroom door. My son's teacher is still giving spelling tests, teaching cursive writing and handing out stencils of number calculations. I don't even know where to start! The approach and materials used date back 100 years, .... Top-down pro-d doesn't work. Inspirational leadership alone is ineffective. Until the teacher engages in the learning process in a way that is meaningful to him/her, it is unlikely that their practice will shift. What tools can we use to track this progress / growth over time? Have we not just defined the process portfolio? http://learnquebec.ca/en/content/pedagogy/portfolio/index.html For students, the process portfolio is likewise the tool I would suggest for tracking progress over time. Yes, there needs to be an alignment with the mandated curriculum and (unfortunately) a documenting of the preparedness for standardized examinations, but that should not be the sum total of the portfolio. The learner identifies goals that are meaningful to him/her and gathers evidence that supports their learning statements. The specific technologies used to me are irrelevant. I think we would want to see a multi-modal representation of student understanding, so samples including a wide range of forms of expression would be preferable. Whether they give an impassioned speech to the class or record a podcast, whether they write in a journal or blog; either way, I'm more interested in the content than the container. Hm. Thanks for your post, certainly got me thinking on this beautiful sunny morning :) @tomfullerton Foe me, the key component here is the act of reflecting critically on our actions. Engaging learners in deep inquiry.

Yes, there are district policies and provincial curriculum, but in the end it is the teacher who structures the learning for his/her students behind the classroom door. My son’s teacher is still giving spelling tests, teaching cursive writing and handing out stencils of number calculations. I don’t even know where to start! The approach and materials used date back 100 years, ….

Top-down pro-d doesn’t work. Inspirational leadership alone is ineffective. Until the teacher engages in the learning process in a way that is meaningful to him/her, it is unlikely that their practice will shift.

What tools can we use to track this progress / growth over time? Have we not just defined the process portfolio?
http://learnquebec.ca/en/content/pedagogy/portfolio/index.html

For students, the process portfolio is likewise the tool I would suggest for tracking progress over time. Yes, there needs to be an alignment with the mandated curriculum and (unfortunately) a documenting of the preparedness for standardized examinations, but that should not be the sum total of the portfolio. The learner identifies goals that are meaningful to him/her and gathers evidence that supports their learning statements. The specific technologies used to me are irrelevant. I think we would want to see a multi-modal representation of student understanding, so samples including a wide range of forms of expression would be preferable. Whether they give an impassioned speech to the class or record a podcast, whether they write in a journal or blog; either way, I’m more interested in the content than the container.

Hm. Thanks for your post, certainly got me thinking on this beautiful sunny morning :)
@tomfullerton

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