EDF4403 Session2

Another good morning.

Again its the discussions and HUGE variety of opinions and reasonings that make it interesting.
I'm not sure whether the whole assessment discussion was really what was due to be covered but it was extremely valuable. This is the main way that I pick up how other people would approach a topic. Some I agree with, some I really can't agree with, but the majority show that there is a huge variety of ways to approach a task and you don't have to teach the same way to every class in every lesson

I think at the end of the day variety is the key. Perhaps some tasks are better suited to not giving a final mark but offering plenty of feedback - gradually wean the students from their desperation for a number at the end of every test or assignment. Probably not a bad idea, and I have had my own issues with PGO subjects.
If I was to take one piece of information from this morning it would be Deb's comment of not giving marks out on the assessment but only providing feedback UNTIL the student has a one-on-one with the teacher - a nice mix of both worlds.

The movies idea was good, we covered a fair bit of this sort of thing in maths last year (it is amazing how many movies have maths buried deep in there somewhere), and I particulalry thought the idea of showing a video with either no sound or no vision particularly interesting. I reckon anything the keep the little darlings on their toes is good.

Naturally I found the creative writing task a challenge, but that in itself was interesting. Would I feel comfortable setting this sort of task? Moreso now that I've done it and realise that even if the words 'creative writing' send shivers down my spine, it can be a bit of fun. Of course without wanting to be 'mark centric' this was not a pass or fail task, and that took the pressure off. Would I want to set this sort of thing as a way of summatively assessing a topic of work instead of the good old exam, project or oral presentation? I don't think so. As a formative assessment to make sure we haven't lost anybody along the way - no problems. Again I like it because of it's 'out of left field-ness'.

I think it is important to remember though that in mixing things up and doing something different like creative writing, there is the danger of losing kids who do well (and understand not just remember) because all of a sudden one teacher takes them outside their comfort zone. How is the student who is used to 90%+ in every 'old fashioned' test they have ever taken going to react when all of a sudden they are confronted with a completely new type of assessment task or heaven forbid just get a pass or fail? Many kids (particularly accelerated students) are completely focussed on marks and competing, and marks are just as important to the parents. Do I want to be the only teacher (and a graduate teacher at that) at a school to push the boundaries of the education they are used to? I don't know whether I'm brave enough.

As to assessing creative tasks, I may be in the minority on my views I'm not sure. Yes I believe we are all teachers of literacy and numeracy, yes I will correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and give feedback on structure, but I would hesitate to deduct marks (again I don't want to be mark centric - I am talking of marks either public or private here) unless it was absolutely appalling or the task criteria specifically stated otherwise. My placment school last year was full of kids with very limited English and it seemed to be accepted by teachers that many of these kids do maths/sciences because in some ways it doesn't depend so much on language skills.
I was also uncomfortable with the notion of marking kids on their personal progress and improvement. If we are to teach using real life contexts then perhaps we should also judge work output with a similar real life context.

Finally the on-going homework of planning the topic of work. ...
I am amazed at how much new stuff is in the curriculum. I'll certainly learn a lot from doing the task, but I have difficulty in trying to ensure it is the context which drives the learning and not the content driving the teaching. Deb spent time explaining this to my group and she made it seem so easy - will I ever get there??

I usually have trouble scraping 200 words together on any one topic and here I am with over 700!