Dan Butcher Cohort G EDUC4016 Rebecca Zak Reflection 3 Recent discussions about student learning have led to the

inevitable talks surrounding assessment. More precisely, are the types of assessment an accurate way of discovering the truest way that students learn? If the format we use to test students abilities and ultimately the way they advance within the educational system is a fair and comprehensive tool that allows for variations in the types of learners we have, then it can be argued that it should remain as a means to not only gather information but also to mete out a fairly accurate picture of where they stand as students based on an equitable and honest approach to grading. The question remains however, of those intangible qualities that cannot be measured with any hard data. How does one measure artistic ability, for example? I constantly find it amusing that I.Q. tests, online or otherwise, never seem to include an assessment that would measure creativity. Are artists idiots? Do they not count in the great scheme of things where literacy is king and math is the grand vizier? I found the TedTalk entitled Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity was highly informative and the quote he referred to from Pablo Picasso very telling: All children are born artists; the problem is to remain artists as we grow up. This speaks of a fundamental issue with the way we approach learning. I agree that it is a basic truth that we view learning and the importance of some disciplines and the unimportance of other disciplines based on our society. We see literacy as all important as many living in Canada are not speaking English as their first language. We see mathematics as an important pursuit because we live in a world that is so immersed in digital technology and learning. So, how then are we to view artwork and more

importantly, the artist as we seek to contain talent in pathetically meagre rubric outlines and skewed measures of interpretation? When considering assessment in the classroom, it has been discussed at length with teachers and students alike that some work cannot be looked at and subjected to a formal grading system as abstractions and even opinions can make the process too difficult to approach. Some form of grade must eventually be administered however, and one possible way to view the grading system is to have an outline that is agreed upon by the students themselves. As co-teaching is part of the process when deciding which way to navigate through the school year, so too should the process of assessing be approached. There are several reasons that this could be an excellent way of marking student work. First, it allows the students to really comprehend the how and why of a grading system. If students actually decide on the way they will be judged, they tend to come up with very imaginative yet holistic ways in which they can be looked at. This type of involvement also gives students ownership of the grading system; if they lack in discipline for example they have no one to blame but themselves should they receive a less than stellar grade. Further, the democratic approach dissolves any idea that there is a conspiracy of grading; there is less of a sense of unattainable grades and the above and beyond idea of a perfect ranking. There is more responsibility found among those who have actively participated in the way they will viewed by the instructors, who have now taken on the position of guides rather than overseers, which in turn leads to an environment of peer collaboration. I was involved in this very type of assessment building during my second year of my undergraduate program. It proved an invaluable way of making me really think about what was important when it came to evaluating creative work. In the article, The Problem With Assessment we read that there is no straight answer when we look at assessment. We have to live with it, and make strenuous

efforts to improve validity. In particular, dont rely on a single assessment exercise and use a variety of different approaches.

References Learning and Teaching.info. The Problem of Assessment. Jan 22, 2012. http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/assess_problem.htm TEDTalks. Feb 2006. Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity. Jan 23, 2012. http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html