New Strategies of Evaluation

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New Strategies of Evaluation

A curriculum has 3 components: “Content, Process and Product”?(Perler, 2015). The content that is taught through any process is evaluated using a tool and; the product is the evidence as presented by the student towards learning of the content. For example, if I use a test as my tool to check learning in the content for fractions, then the student test paper would be the product.

The “new” strategies of evaluation, in my opinion, are ones that use multiple tools of evaluation other than a pen and paper test. The purpose would be to allow students multiple ways to express their learning based on their dominant processing style. Such as “Passion Projects”?(Perler, 2015); or ““... formal and informal observations, discussions, learning conversations, questioning, conferences, homework, tasks done in groups, demonstrations, projects, portfolios, developmental continua, performances, peer and self-assessments, self-reflections, essays, and tests” (UNESCO, 2015, p.14)

Strategies Used by Author

Research

“If it is on Google and you are teaching, you are wasting the students’ time”, said one of my school heads,?Dr. Advani,?(School, 2018). I found so much good open source information on the web that I turned to creating lessons that had students researching for information, analysing it and expressing it in their own words.

This was generally done in groups and had some key questions to trigger their thought processes. An example is the lesson “What is Pi?”, (Kochar, 2019).

The intention for such lessons was for students to (a) learn to do independent research, (b) be honest about their work, (c) use web based material intelligently and (d) work effectively with peers. My role was more of a facilitator and project manager.

Students learnt a lot of skills through research and I got a chance to be a facilitator. My throat got a good rest! Evaluation was done using a rubric.

Peer Assessment

Since my subject is Maths and my area grades 6 to 12, peer assessment model can be used very easily for simple problem solving. A typical model of peer assessment is where “Students design problems”, (Kochar, 2011).

A typical session goes in the sequence:

1.?????Each student designs a set of numerical problems, easy to solve, and also gets the answers.

2.?????Partners exchange notebooks to solve each other’s’ problems.

3.?????The notebooks go back for corrections by the original writers.

4.?????The work is marked and the partners discuss with each other their results.

I found this to be quite effective as a formative. For it (a) gave us a break from me being the incharge, (b) the students learnt the thinking involved in designing questions, (b) correcting work gave them the dopamine effect and (d) I got a breather for paper setting and marking! Evaluation was done by the peers using their own solutions. Disputes were solved by me.

Projects

One of my favourite ways to teach Maths is combining it with art. So my favourite project had to be “Art and Maths project “, (Kochar, 2015). Projects is where it all comes together …Maths, values, skills and real life.

Every project that I conducted had 2 components, (a) structure and (b) choice. Structure was the task sheet, with rubric, that I gave to them and choice was that of how they presented the work, (Kochar, 2015). This ensured that they felt safe and had enough space to be creative. Projects are where they learnt about (a) real life use of maths, (b) got a chance to be creative (c) developed critical thinking and (d) learnt to work alone or with a group. For me the challenge was to design a task sheet in such a manner that they could learn to manage the tasks independently. The rubric was used to assess the project.

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Impact of the Strategies on the Author’s Teaching Practice

“The main?Impacts of assessment?fall across three broad domains of decision. One concerns policy, program and planning for which the?education system?is responsible.” (UNESCO, p.14) While the policy and program were decided by the school, having these strategies for evaluation helped me to continuously work on my planning to adapt more and more student learning and process.

“The third domain is the?classroom, providing information that teachers

(and other educators) might use (as described above) to adjust and

strengthen their design, delivery, assessment and feedback of lessons and

that students (and their parents) may use to revise and invigorate their

learning strategies, conditions and outcomes; or perhaps to abandon school

and pursue another kind of education.” (UNESCO, p.15)

?I also (a) got to know the students better, (b) got to know myself better, (c) had a lot of students lose fear of maths as their skills got a chance to express, such as the artists, and (d) I learnt to be a facilitator using structure and choice where learning flowered naturally.?I developed “An expertise that is adaptable and open to be challenged.” (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2001, p.133)

References

1. Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2001). How people learn: brain, mind, experience and school. Retrieved from?https://www.amazon.com/How-People-Learn-Experience-Expanded/dp/0309070368 .
2. Kochar, M. (2011, October 29). Student design problems. Retrieved from?https://humanemaths.blogspot.com/2011/10/making-problems.html .
3. Kochar, M. (2019, September 12). What is Pi???Retrieved from?https://humanemaths.blogspot.com/2019/09/what-is-pi-flip-class.html .
4. Kochar, M. (2015, March 11). Art and Maths project. Retrieved from https://humanemaths.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-complete-art-based-geometry-project.html.
5. School, P. W. (Ed.). (2018). School Director's Profile. Retrieved from?https://www.pathways.in/Noida/noida_director_profile .
6. Seth Perler. (2016, February 14). An Excellent Way to Evaluate Curriculum [Video File]. Retrieved from?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyOIqlRWrg8 ?(8:24)
7. UNESCO (2015). Student Learning Assessment and the Curriculum: Issues and Implications for Policy, Design, and Implementation.??Current and Critical?Issues in the Curriculum and Learning.??Pp. 1-29.?Retrieved from?https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235489e.pdf