On the right I've added a link to a clip narrated by Sir Ken Robinson called "Changing Education Paradigms". If you haven't seen it it's worth a look, as it will make you think - and think again. For one thing, Robinson takes on the whole "academic" versus "non academic" tradition and puts it in its place, which is essentially in history books. He also has his own view on attention deficit disorder. According to Robinson, the the deficit has a lot to do with how children are taught rather than their inability to focus. Those are just a couple of the ideas tossed about in this provocative video.
The idea that we need to align assessment with giving students meaningful feedback that helps them learn fits right in with the idea of doing some deep thinking about education and its purposes. This includes what schooling consists of today and that much of it is incompatible that is with our students and their reality now and in the future. Viewing this clip is a good warm up for reading and responding to the draft assessment and evaluation policy posted below.
Robinson's video is evocative as he raises several interesting ideas about how we need to engage students and the animation is captivating; however, his portrayal of contemporary education is not connected to what is happening in most Richmond classrooms today. Kids do not sit in rows and trudge through boring lessons day after day.
ReplyDeleteWe always need to improve and find ways of engaging students in defining and embracing their own learning and a deeper understanding of assessment for and as learning may be the key.