Obvious,but Enlightening

While reading the articles on assessment, I kept thinking to myself that most of the content was common sense. Like for instance, research in no way shape or form suggests that drills or standardized testing is a way to increase student achievement. Of course this is obvious to us as teachers; however, it is aggravating to me that on the local, state, and national level, lawmakers do not take this fact into consideration. It frustrates me because education is heading in the direction opposite of what is effective for student learning. I don't get it! Other striking features from the articles are good advice that I wish I had heard sooner. First of all, students need to know the destination of their learning. Quite frankly, it shouldn't be a surprise to them. I think that this brings up the issue of having a fine line between predictability and structure in the classroom. At times I struggled to stray away from the routine because I had certain things I had to cover, for the rubric and to keep my host teacher happy. In addition, I knew my students needed structure that could be initiated by somewhat of a routine. Along with students knowing where the learning is going, they need to know how it is going to take place. The article School Talk encouraged teachers to inform students of the objectives and state standards they are trying to become proficient with. In all my teaching experiences, this never occurred to me to simply just tell students what I wanted them to learn and for what reasons it needed to be learned. Lastly, I was pleased that the articles discussed that students need to be active partners in the learning and assessment process. I especially liked how they suggested a need for student self-evaluation of their progress, which is an idea I had for writing portfolios (great minds think alike Dr. Benson). This also directly correlates with my educational philosophy, in that students and teachers need to develop and rely on a partnership. From my standpoint, it is all about working with students to achieve a common goal. Once students know which goals to strive for, then they can work with their teachers to meet success head-on.