Something that stuck with me after last class was what professor Bland said at the end of class, “we actually want our kids to succeed!” This comment was in reference to testing and assessment in schools. When going through my schooling in middle and high school, the grade you got was the grade you got. I never had the opportunity to re-take a test if I got a low score. This ‘you get what you get’ attitude lead students to have a very fixed mindset. Students were able to take one test and this determined if they understood the material or not. If they got a bad grade or ‘did not understand the material’ then there was no opportunity for growth. What students understood, they understood, but what they didn’t, they seldom had an opportunity to expand upon it and show their growth. This comment that professor Bland made stuck me, because yes we do want our students to succeed! But then why is it that teachers would not allow for growth in the classroom when it came to assessment? I think this is changing in classrooms today. Teachers are allowing for re-testing or even allowing students to show their knowledge in individual ways other than mainstream assessments. It is interesting to be able to compare my schooling with what we are learning is best to do in class today.
2 thoughts on “Class #6”
Comments are closed.
Sophia,
You’ve written about a video for next week. Can you save this and edit to include information about our visit to the museum?
For your entry this week you need to write about assessment.
Sophia, I can tell you have an appreciation for a “growth mindset” as opposed to a “fixed mindset.” This idea is actually a shift in our thinking these days and will take a while to get teachers around to this view. However, because this move is valued by the VDOE it will makes the process a bit easier to transition to. Professional development will be key.