All About Inquiry-Based Learning
Inquiry-based learning is not a new teaching strategy. In fact, you most likely learned about it in college while studying about John Dewey’s educational reform. Dewey set out to advocate child-centered learning that was based on inquiry and real-world experiences. Unfortunately, in today’s educational system, children are less likely to inquire and ask questions, and more likely to be subservient and listen. Inquiry-based learning is meant to change that.
The Most Important Question Every Assessment Should Answer
The Question Every Assessment Should Be Able To Answer by Terry Heick The difference between assessment of learning and assessment for learning is a crucial one, in many ways indicative of an important shift in education. Traditionally, tests have told teachers and parents how a student “does,” then offers a very accessible point of data (usually percentage correct and subsequent letter grade) that is reported to parents as a performance indicator. Class data can be gathered to imply instructional effectiveness, and the data from multiple classrooms can be combined to suggest the performance of an entire school, but a core message here is one of measurement and finality: this is how you did.
Stimulate your students with these 10 creative self assessment ideas
As a teacher, you have to give constructive feedback all the time. And if you’re really giving so much meaningful feedback, then, that’s terrific! But not all teachers have the time to give students feedback all the time. It’s nice to know that giving feedback and grading your students is not the only way to assess students. This post will guide you through some creative and new ways of self assessment.
Classroom Management: Using Gaming Elements
Gamification is a term you may have heard in passing, but probably like most of us, are unsure what exactly it means. Simply put, gamification involves using the principles of classroom games to motivate and engage students. We all know that children love video games, and we can see that these game designers really know how to hook our children. So, why wouldn’t we be interested in incorporating some of the bells and whistles that designers use as part of our own classroom games and classroom management tactics? If you think about it, we as adults use one of the elements in gamification probably every day that we go to a store and use our rewards card. What makes you keep going back and getting your coffee card punched?
DERN
Personalised learning, reflection, collaboration and .critical thinking are highly valued in education, and classroom practices are changing towards learning as a collaborative activity. Exploration is encouraged and fostered; however, assessment is still following a traditional path – heavily dependent on summative assessment. A short paper, by Phillipa Whiteford, titled The times are a-changing: A New Model for Senior Secondary Assessment explores how a more ‘future-focused’ application of an ePortfolio can provide an innovative solution to the challenges facing current assessment practice in senior secondary education. The author builds a strong argument for the need to align assessment to teaching practices, referencing research on new teaching practices and assessment, and pointing out a need for integrative assessment which combines both assessment for and of learning based on continuous feedback, guidance and reflection (p.66). [1] Fullan, M. & Miles, M. (1992). Research Report:
Examples of Innovative Assessments
Concept maps provide a visual representation of connections between concepts that students have learned. These concepts are connected by directional, labeled links to show the relationships between them. Concept maps are excellent tools that can provide instructors with a formative assessment of students’ learning and misunderstandings, after the students were introduced to the new material.
15 OER tools for educators
Below you’ll find great sources for K-12 OER. Need some higher-ed OER tools? We’ve got a ton of them on eCampus News.
Final Exams…a Tradition Worth Exploring
I have been having many conversations this year with teachers about our practice of administering final exams for students. Although I cannot confirm with certainty, I recently read that the final exam process has been happening since the 1830s. With all the current research on effective assessment, how students learn and knowing that we are required to make decisions that have a student’s best interest as the primary consideration, I have to question why we are still doing this, this way.
Tch Tips: Creative Assessment Strategies
Do your students meet your test announcements with an audible groan? You probably want to be more creative, but there’s just so much content you have to explore with your students and so little time. It may seem impossible to break away from those boring but efficient paper-and-pencil tests. But what if I told you that creativity and efficient, effective assessment are not mutually exclusive? There are many creative and exciting ways to assess student learning and measure applied proficiency beyond the traditional paper-and-pencil tests. Take some of these great ideas for a spin in your classroom sometime soon.
Blogs
October 14, 2017 - Politics & Policy+ Politics & Policy (10) Education and the Media
Life After Levels – An Assessment Revolution?
Over recent months I’ve been involved in interviews for a number of posts across the Multi Academy Trust. One of our favourite questions has been, “What will assessment look like once levels are dead?” The answers have on the whole been a bit confused.
27 Ways To Increase Student Engagement In Learning
Student engagement in learning is kind of important. No matter the best practices of your curriculum mapping, instructional strategies, use of data for learning, formative assessment, or expert use of project-based learning, mobile learning, and a flipped classroom, if students aren’t engaged, most is for naught. Historically, student engagement has been thought of in terms of students “paying attention”: raising hands, asking questions, and making eye contact.
