Imagining Conversations with Former Students

Have you ever bumped into former students and been surprised by what the students remember?

"Hey, I remember you! You taught me how to copy notes from the blackboard!"

"Remember when we did that algebra work, where we all filled in the spaces on that photocopy?!"

"Oh, and that time we read from the text book and answered the questions at the end of the section!"

In reality, these sample recollections are never celebrated. More commonly, the students with these memories are likely to pretend not to notice the teachers in question.

In preparing students for a future so difficult to predict, how is it that such activities still comprise a significant portion of a typical student's day?

The Classroom Matters

This weekend, I came across a The Fun Theory, a post at Mashable, that demonstrates how the environment significantly alters the way participants behave.



I look forward to the day when it will be the norm for classrooms to be arranged for discussion, rather than for teacher presentation. I anticipate the day when teachers regularly connect their learners with those in other classrooms; in other cities; and in other countries. I await the day when students can expect assessment of their learning to include performances that are beyond essays and exams.

If students walk into learning environments designed for interaction; with tools for meaningful collaboration; challenging future citizens to demonstrate their learning in engaging ways, then we will indeed be preparing our charges for a future of lifelong learning.

Though modern tools can be the catalyst to reforming our schools, significant changes to the classroom are beyond hardware & software. Whether or not we leverage emerging technologies, we can amplify the engagement of today's students by creating environments for interaction.

When you cross paths with your present students 10 years hence, how do you anticipate the conversation will begin?

The Origins of Grading

Have you ever wondered why we as educators have to assign grades to students and their work? Take a listen, and learn how William Farish has had a lasting impact on the work we do with learners.



Related Links:
William Farish: The World's Most Famous Lazy Teacher
William Farish (Wikipedia)
Grading Systems (Wikipedia)
Senior Wrangler (Wikipedia)

Is grading a practice that has more benefits or more detriments?

Image Credit: superia85

The Open Exam

Does your course have a culminating exam to assess student knowledge and understanding? Would you like to make such a test a more authentic endeavor?

This 6 minute podcast invites teachers to consider offering 'Open Exams'...



Have I made an effective case?
Do you have experiences with open tests that you can share?

For more of my thinking about exams, visit "When Are Exams Over?".

Photo Credit: Night Owl City

When Are Exams Over?

This evening, I learned that the exams my daughters wrote last week, will not be returned. For the sake of maintaining the security of the exams, which I presume will be used again and again, exam-writers will never see how their responses were graded.

Am I alone in shaking my head at this reality?

Why I Dislike Exams

Too often, exams test 'facts' which any student would be able to find via Google.

Too often, exams are completed only with paper and pencil.

Too often, exam results comprise a significant proportion of a student's final grade.

Too often, exams are most stressful to those least likely to benefit from the experience.

Too often, exams are ineffective in their attempts to assess learning that took place throughout an entire course.

Too often, the knowledge and understanding demonstrated through exams, cannot be repeated in days following the exam.

Too often, exams test language skills, rather than course specific expectations.

Too often, final grades are the only feedback students get on their exam experience.

Too often, exams measure knowledge and understanding, completely devoid of meaningful context.

I've heard the argument that we need exams to prepare students for university... Yet, in some places policies exist to exempt the very students who might one day have to write post-secondary exams. Are exemptions a way to reward high achievers, or a way to penalize low achievers?

As observant teachers grow in confidence, assessing the learning of their students through rich day-to-day experiences, perhaps the authority long held by written tests, will be gradually diminish...

Photo Credit: Jon Oakley; COCOEN