Assessment: Inquiry's Boogeyman

When something is difficult or outside of our comfort zone, we sometimes look for a reason not to do it. A barrier, an excuse or boogeyman. These barriers are real but sometimes they are self-imposed or misinterpreted and we perpetuate them to save us from having to change. Student inquiry is no different.

Our assessment practices can sometimes stifle innovation and keep us from embracing student inquiry. When people talk about the reasons why student inquiry won't work, they often point the finger at assessment. They don't have a problem with the self-directed learning or inquiry, their difficulty is with how they assess it. 

Applying traditional assessment techniques to student inquiry can be difficult, if not counterproductive. Assessment with static criteria and an emphasis on final answers and finished products doesn't support the learner who is involved in inquiry based learning. A balanced approach of triangulated assessment which focuses on feedback based on observations and conversations better supports the learner through the inquiry process. We get more of what we value and celebrate. A student focused on the final product or grade is less likely to take chances or create something new. 

So, how do we help students, teachers and parents to see that the assessment data collected from observations and conversations is more valuable to students when given during the learning process as feedback rather than at the end as a grade?

But what about math?

So, I have been trying to increase the amount of descriptive feedback that I give my students.  They work on a short piece of writing.  I collect it and give them some feedback (next steps).  At that point they do another short piece of writing and I once again give some feedback.  And the cycle continues.  The result, each time the students complete the work the majority of them are adjusting their writing based on the feedback.  Awesome!

But what about math?  A math unit has to end.  The feedback-implement loop has to end at some point (doesn't it?), so that I can move on to the next unit.  My struggle now is that some students are still progressing in a unit...  and I have specific feedback that I want to give them an opportunity to address.  It is harder to move on for the rest of the class.  Not a new issue I know, the same issue was there before, but a unit test with a grade seemed to give a defined end point to a unit.  I find myself trying to come up with ways to move on to the next unit and at the same time allow some students time to address next steps from the previous unit.  I'm trying different structures that allow me to do both, but not quite there...   yet.

A new mindset

I have been teaching for over a decade and thought I had a good understanding of assessment. This year I was given the challenge of teaching grade 4 (after 11 years in primary) and felt like I was starting over again. Not being able to rely on a filing cabinet full of resources I decided to jump in to the inquiry process with both feet. During an inquiry session that I attended at BIT14 I heard that we need to shift our mindset from making our students' learning fit into the curriculum to making the curriculum fit in with the students' learning.  This statement made so much sense to me and has made such a difference in level of engagement and understanding of my students. This new way of learning demands a new way of assessing, but what does that look like?