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Assessments:

1.Assessment methods:

Authentic assessment:watch the video and offer your comments:



2. Class Room Experiment:
(June 8th 2013)
Professor Dylan William sets up an experimental school classroom.

Asking questions in the class room, as a formative assessment, is a routine, possibly before my schools days in 1975, as a approved practice.

Correcting the class text papers in the name of formative assessments and providing some marks or grades are considered as a highly effective method of learning. 
To make this more effective, some schools even started daily test practices.
As a result of good practice of rewriting many times during the academic year, students are very good in remembering all the questions and answers.

Is it not the time to change all these things?
Why we are forgetting our own experiences, but still believing that earth is center of universe, because it is said by some one?

Cannot we do some research and find our own ways in assessment practices that really help learning?

Please watch the video using the link BBC documentary. And offer your comments.

3. My views on present day assessments:
The present day assessment reports, in the name of ‘report cards', or ‘assessment cards’, inform students 'grade/percentage' they got in a specific format. Formats may be different from one place to other.
It is a confusion for me, even though, i adopted and followed this method all these years,  what to do with such info, either a student or parent.
A child is handed over with ‘C” grade or 50%  in all the subjects, and parents  get information, most likely in the parents day meeting, that your kid is improving a lot, but still has to put more efforts and learn more effectively, in general.
Before proceeding, i like to mention that i am not criticising or specifically mentioning that this is ‘wrong’. This system worked wonderfully, so for, and provided great results. That is what we are enjoying today’s developed world.

How can i say, the great philosophers, who thought that the earth is centre of universe and did many calculations. They are not wrong. Today’s knowledge is growth of it.
Because Newton never used mobile devices or satellite imaging system, NO one call him as a ‘low tech person’.

The previous educators did a great job. Is there any argument on it?
Coming back to the assessments, now if the student is proceeding to learn with higher concepts although he is not clear with required basics, as assessment reports indicating, what to do?
From my interaction from students and teachers, their learning activities are time framed to go ahead, with no choice.
Teacher’s clime is for few students (???) if i go back and start teaching to reinforce understanding of previous topics, then how to complete other syllabus, and schools administration say this will become a wrong habit for the students.
Students say 'i will improve'.
This process predominantly slowing down kids learning abilities in higher grades.

And present generation tech savvy students finally finding many other ways, either to get marks or to get rid of.
Finally, simple outcome is leading to make a decision that teachers are (ir)responsible, and system requires a change.

I like to suggest few things, with my little knowledge.
        1.  The so-called report cards should be designed as a ‘achievement cards’.
     2.  These achievement reports should clearly indicate, my dear kid you    are good in additions and subtractions, however you have to improve in multiplications and divisions.     
        Use these resources (?) for further improvements.
This process, i feel, give a scope for both the children and parents, where to concentrate and how to improve.
When teachers are responsible for learning, why the system is directing them to move ahead even if many of students in a particular concept not achieved what they have to.
Are the teachers meant for completing syllabus specified (from heavens) leaving learning as students requirements, even if more than 60% of the class strength is lagging behind? It is students fault? Or can we simply question teacher’s ability?
Is it possible to get the roses from all the plants in a garden in a stipulated time? Or is it inability of gardener or plant?
Is there any ways, methodologies, or technologies available to pluck the roses from the bud in specified time?
Or training programs to gardener every year make changes?
In my opinion, complete transformation is essential of time, before time flows out, starting from ‘fixed time, fixed syllabus’, teaching learning process, text book designing and......
Once again i like to say that what is practiced in the education system is not wrong, but it requires complete change. When i am stating this is in my mind that, today ‘curiosity’ of NASA reached ‘Mars’ on the same old principles of nature, but quite differently from its moon missions.
I require your feedback, am i on other plane of thinking?











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