Blog Post 1: Reflection (October 28th, 2016)

Good Day Fellow Educational Bloggers!!

Introduction:

For today, this blog will review and assess my past assessment experience as a student, and how it has influenced my beliefs about my assessment!

Assessment Tips

Albert Einstein wrote, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” The question I have for you at this point of our journey together is, “What is your genius?”










In my experience of being assessed, I believe that there is a multitude of items to consider when
assessing individuals in a classroom. The three influences I have listed are as follows:

Individual - Collective:

First and foremost, I believe a classroom is made up of individuals that create a collective group, rather than simply a collective. Thus, in assessment strategies, while it is important to have some characteristics of assessment remain the same for the collective, on an individual basis some require accommodation based on need. The quote by Albert Einstein (demonstrated above) shows the validity of this argument.

Environment:

This quote also demonstrates the importance of environment in assessment, while some students thrive on an intelligence level in sports academia, 'street smarts', or 'book smarts', some people have more than above average intelligence in more than one category. As such, some students may thrive in a sports setting, while others may thrive in the library. Every persons brain is different than the other, however slightly, and this is one aspect that makes us the individuals we are, have the experiences we have, and reflect and assess ourselves in the ways that we do.

Tools/Utilities Provided:

This portion reflects what tools are provided to student to mould their understanding of what they learn, and thus this is an important point to consider when assessing an individual. Especially in the technological age we are in, educators need to assess what utilities are available to the student, and how to assess based on practice with the equipment.

Reflection:

In my own experiences, I have had some difficulties with assessment in regard to individuality, to be able to be processed and assessed based on my skill set and how I learn. Many students share this difficulty, when it can be remedied by teachers taking more of a personal interest in the student, and developing a program that can reflect their interests in the curriculum goals, displaying their successes and encouraging them to further their education. Confidence in learning is important, and assessment in an appropriate way for the student is vital to that confidence and ultimately student success.