CONTENT
Changes
in learning styles demand changes in learning experiences, and changes in
learning experiences mandate changes in assessment methods. The concept of
change is positively viewed as a steppingstone towards development with no
exemption to the broad field of education. 19th century learners are
quite different to that of the 21st century. It is quite irrational
to apply an old assessment method to a new variety or set of learners.
Educational developers are comprehensively building up the requisites of
technology-assisted education, and they have now classified the various
fluencies that are popularly seen in the new-generation learners which were identified
in the previous section (solution fluency, information fluency, collaboration
fluency, media fluency, creativity fluency and digital ethics).
There
is a clear emphasis on the revision of some outdated assessment methods. The
act of assessment should considerably meet the abovementioned competencies in
order to come up with a valid result of evaluation. There would be no
justification of learning outcomes if teachers would stick to the old ways of
assessing learning despite of being fully aware of the fast-changing demands of
the modern learners. If educators would neglect the adaption of new assessment
methods, learning would lose its tract and the learners’ development would
become undeterminable.
An
effective way of teaching 21st century learners includes problem-solving. Through this,
high-order thinking skills will be cultivated and metacognition will be put to
practice. Sited in this section are the 4 D’s (define, design, do, debrief)
which can be applied to strategic learning and instruction-development
activities.
Define
– define the problem. “What is the issue here? What do I need to know?” Keen
observation helps one to notice the occurrences of certain problems in the
immediate surrounding which will later become the subject of study.
Design
– plan out the steps to be followed. Distribution of task assignments should be
encouraged, and everyone should know who is good at taking the lead for every
proposed charges. The possible outcome should be assumed and weighed “Would
this hit the targets? Would this aim the planned objectives?”
Do
– it doesn’t just stop on planning out, does it? Plans should be implemented
and assignments should be satisfied!
Debrief
– after the plans are implemented, determine if the
targets have been satisfied. Things that have successfully worked out should be
acknowledged and things that haven’t worked out should be identified. What
things still need to be improved? When results have been branded, it would be
best to pursue revision for further improvement.
In
the past, only businessmen and military personnel could enjoy computer
services. However, due to the increasing availability of technological tools in
the public market, ordinary people can now use computers thus obtaining the
privilege to engage in business (for example) without having the official “brand”
of a businessman. For another instance, even a high school student can now
become a journalist through just feely posting news on-line. Professional roles
are now shared with the masses, and this phenomenon is called mass amateurization.
EXPERIENCE
I
had my first encounter with Mr. Microsoft
PowerPoint when I was in fourth year high school. I was really amazed with
how the software works – the transitions, the visual and sound effects – the idea. Our first practical exam with
PowerPoint was to create a presentation. Regardless of the topic, our teacher
checked how we combined the effects, choose the appropriate font style and
size, and put persuasive soundtracks. Through that, our teacher was able to
give us with corresponding points. Our teacher’s assessment method is making
sense to me now as I ponder – there are really certain competencies which the
paper-and-pencil test cannot cover. However, I noticed that our teacher didn’t
use a rubric in rating our outputs and I wonder how he did the rating part
objectively – or was it really objective? Anyways.
Flexibility
is an important trait of every teacher. Being flexible means to adjust and cope up with the needs of the
learners, even if it would bend our traditional ways of dealing things. It is
made clear to me now that assessment take in many forms – it should be proportional
to the competencies being imposed. At the end of every learning activity,
learners should be able to go beyond the act of theorizing – they must be able
to apply what they have learned. As a teacher, I can assess the learning
development of my learners through the application of appropriate assessment
methods – performance-based (for the application of scientific concepts in
actual events), project-based (for the application of collaborative learning,
analysis and creativity), product-based (in determining students’ degree of
understanding on the presented concepts) and many more.
APPLICATION
Having
made aware with the fluencies of the new-generation learners, as a future
teacher, it is my responsibility to meet the learning needs of my future
students. Correspondingly, the determination of these learning needs requires a
rigid set of appropriate assessment methods. Through the application of a
suitable assessment strategy, I’ll be able to identify the particular strengths
and weaknesses of my students. The identification of students’ position in
terms of learning will enable me to define the occurring problems, design a
plan on how to remediate it, implement the planned remedial activities, and
revise methods based on the recognized learning outcome.
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