Pedagogy starts with the question “what is to be learned?”. Teachers frame the objectives, outcomes, goals, and learning targets from this question. Systematically, teachers outline the content of the course within the equation, suggested by Marton (2015), as “act + content = educational objective” (p. 22). Assessment and evaluation are premised on this equation, with mechanisms that make learning visible within some act, something students ‘do’ to ‘show what they know’. 

The visibility of learning referenced here is different from that described by Hattie (et al, date).

Biesta suggests undertaking the exploration of the normative validity of what we assess and evaluate, or questioning “whether we are indeed measuring what we value, or whether we are just measuring what we can easily measure and thus end up valuing what we (can) measure” (Biesta, 2009, p. 35). Biesta provides a framework for assessment and evaluation, through the identification of the values, purpose, and goodness of education as related to the qualifications, socializations, and subjectification functions of education. As suggested by Giroux for all pedagogical practices, a pedagogy of assessment is contextually defined and adapts to the environmental conditions, structures, and issues with each unique location (Caruthers & Friend, 2014). 

Patton (2017) outlines essential elements of evaluation, as guided by Freire’s conceptual framework. This includes:

• using evaluative thinking to cultivate critical consciousness; 
• learning resides in communities, not just individuals; 
• critical pedagogy must be dialogical and interactive; 
• assessment should integrate reflection and action, thinking and emotion; and 
• critical consciousness is co-intentional, focusing on process and product (Patton, 2017)

The challenge is the translation of these principles into everyday practice since “classroom lives are too busy and too fragile for this to be possible for all but an outstanding few  (Black, 2015, p. 172)”.

References