This week
I found myself plagued by many questions and a desire to challenge the design
and assessment model that is favoured in the twenty-first-century classroom and that is
exactly what I intend to sort out and do in this blog entry.
One of the
three approaches to assessment, which is assessment for learning or AfL, redefines the
role of both the teacher and students. In
doing so, various methods can be used that are meant to enhance
learning, however, some of these methods that are suggested by Black and Wiliam
(2004), which reflect a twenty-first-century view of education, can produce
uneasy responses among students. This is problematic.
What
happens to students who are personally against certain methods of instruction
and assessment? I cannot help but wonder about the resistant students that feel
intimidated in different scenarios, whether that be feeling unprepared, speaking publicly or directly interacting with a teacher. For instance, what if students
are, in fact, prepared and attentive, as the no-hands policy requires them to
be, but, just like people who experience test or exam anxiety, are not good
under pressure? Are they just
supposed to suck it up because the teacher has the authority to implement these somewhat uncomfortable methods in a classroom? I would, in fact, classify myself as a more
reserved student that is easily intimidated, so perhaps that also plays into my
deliberation on this subject.
Our
course book Interweaving Curriculum and
Classroom Assessment talks about the flawed nature of the traditional and
Socratic style of questioning, but isn't the no-hands
policy flawed too if there is an unwillingness or fear to participate? Certainly, as the
book indicates, some of this tension can be eradicated as students become more
confident around their classmates, with the procedures and realize that this is
an attempt to create a collaborative environment and not embarrass one another. Even so, this mindset may never fade away and what happens to those
students? Do they become permanently apprehensive and distressed learners? What
if these incidences contribute to them no longer experiencing the joy of
learning? How will the rest of their educational journey progress?
In terms
of my own educational journey thus far, as a shy student the memories of being
put on the spot or in an unpleasant situation in the classroom have lingered resulting
in a lot of concern and anxiety over being put in a similar situation. This has caused
me to simply want to avoid repeating the past, per se. Therefore, I cannot say
that as a student I was completely unaffected by these "bad" or
awkward classroom experiences and this has likely altered my perception of
assessment and learning as a prospective teacher even though I agree that some educational reform needs to take place.
On one
hand, as teachers, how can we expect students to just forget or not be affected
by the traditional model that has now been engrained into their brains and immediately
be open to this somewhat drastic change of twenty-first-century learning? On the other hand, how can we expect
classrooms to successfully transition into this new and necessary modern teaching
model if students don't deal with and accept uncomfortable styles of learning or step outside of their comfort zone?
There will be no progress and education is about progress, especially now that the
use of technology is more prevalent. I guess a better question then is how do
we get students on board with this idea without just forcing them into it or
springing it upon them? I would suggest a more gradual introduction rather than
completely overturning a classroom, overwhelming students and counting on them
to just adjust.
All of
the aforementioned questions lead to one overarching question that current and
prospective teachers, like myself, struggle with, which is how can educators
accommodate all of the their students or the vast majority of them? Honestly, I do not have a comprehensive
answer to that and I wonder if anyone really does, however, the first step to
solving a problem is asking the important questions. After all, asking
questions is the key to higher thinking, learning and problem-solving.
Ultimately, the reality is that education is incredibly diverse and
that there is no perfect model of teaching, only those that appear to work
better than others and satisfy the needs of the majority of students in a changing world. There are
always exceptions when it comes to students, learning and teaching and unfortunately not all of them can
be accounted for or prevented, but maybe there are even better undiscovered ways to approach education that will benefit an even higher percentage of students.
Source: http://stockfresh.com/image/1860416/speech-bubble-with-question-mark-icons
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