1. How informative this observation is in the context of your professional and learning practices?
I want to open with the following statement as the Reggio Emilia Approach is one I have done a lot of research on and have incorporated much of its philosophy into my own. Loris Malaguzzi once stated, “Stand aside for a while and leave room for learning, observe carefully what children do, and then, if you have understood well, perhaps teaching will be different from before” (cited in Fraser, S, 2000, p. 77). This is a powerful statement as it truly supports a personalized learning approach for teachers to ensure successful learning of all students.
I have to say that I try really hard to ensure assessment is part of the entire process of the work my students do. As I have taught grades one and two for many years, most of the feedback I give my students is verbal. I am constantly asking them questions to help them think about their learning and how to proceed further. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I always create a class-generated rubric during inquiry work as well as for writing. I definitely need to get better at incorporating this for math. This usually takes 2-3 days to create but is a “guiding light” that my students always refer to. I have the program of studies beside me and we write our outcomes in “kid” language. Throughout the project, I have “check points” where we have self, peer and teacher assessments of how the kids are doing. A common question that you would hear if you were in my class is, “What grade do you want to give yourself? Check the rubric to make sure you are on track”. I do feel I still have a lot work to do to make my assessment practice better. I just found out I will be placed in a grade 4/5 Gifted and Talented Program when I move back to Calgary and I know that this is an age where I need to focus on “Helping students to monitor their own progress and develop skills of self-evaluation” (cited in Gibbs & Simpson, 2004, p. 12). I look forward to reading all of your responses to get ideas, especially if you incorporate models such as the weekly oral feedback model.
2. Are there other methods that are equally as economical, particularly in terms of instructor time, that are more suitable for assessment in a digital age? For instance, do you think automated essay grading is a viable alternative?
The automated essay grading system sounds like an effective and economical method but the first thing that comes to my mind is, “how personalized is this?” Perhaps when considering grammar and spelling this would be ideal, but I would hope that the teacher still reads over the work to check for authentic writing. As for multiple-choice tests, I agree with Bates, T. (2014), in that this kind of test is limited for assessing high-level intellectual skills.
The idea of e-portfolios captures evidence of student learning over time. It can be documented in multiple formats and contexts, and includes a student’s own reflection on his or her learning. As long as assessment takes place during the process of creating these portfolios then it is a fantastic digital tool for documenting learning.
2. Would it be helpful to think about assessment right at the start of course planning, rather than at the end? Is this feasible?
Absolutely! It makes so much sense to plan with the end in mind (Wiggins and McTighe, 1998). Having a clear vision of what is ahead allows for:
-thoughtful planning
-personalized learning
-better understanding of where you are and where to go next
-purposeful task design and mastery learning
-students better understanding their goals
References:
Fraser, S., & Gestwicki, C. (2002). Authentic childhood: Exploring Reggio Emilia in the classroom. Albany, NY: Delmar/Thomson Learning.
Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2004). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and teaching in higher education, 1(1), 3-31. Wiggins, G. P., McTighe, J., Kiernan, L. J., & Frost, F. (1998, October).
Understanding by design (pp. 0-87120). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
(2014). Teaching in a Digital Age – BC Open Textbooks. Retrieved July 2, 2015, fromhttp://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/.