WHAT ARE QUIZZES REALLY FOR?
There are two general ways of assessing learning - the traditional and the alternative. Most teachers opt for the traditional paper and pencil test after student engagement to supposedly evaluate learning. This brings me back to what happened yesterday.
When we were preparing the faculty room for the in-coming school year, a newly hired teacher saw unchecked quizzes in one of the old teachers drawers. I was disappointed and at the same time embarassed of what she discovered. Clearly, the teacher was at fault and I am partly to blame.
Sometimes teachers give quizzes for the sake of giving them without at all thinking of how the results could be used to further make instruction better. Short quizzes given after each lesson is supposed to be formative and never summative in nature; however, some teachers do insist and make short quizzes summative. This can be but primarily short quizzes after each lesson should evaluate how much students have understood, which in turn is a reflection of how well the teacher engages the class in the meaning-making exercise.
Unchecked quizzes only speaks of how naive a teacher is. He is not just wasting time giving the exam but he is indeed unfair to the students and to the rest of the school stakeholders and definitely that include myself. The damage has been done. I hope it still can be undone.
There are two general ways of assessing learning - the traditional and the alternative. Most teachers opt for the traditional paper and pencil test after student engagement to supposedly evaluate learning. This brings me back to what happened yesterday.
When we were preparing the faculty room for the in-coming school year, a newly hired teacher saw unchecked quizzes in one of the old teachers drawers. I was disappointed and at the same time embarassed of what she discovered. Clearly, the teacher was at fault and I am partly to blame.
Sometimes teachers give quizzes for the sake of giving them without at all thinking of how the results could be used to further make instruction better. Short quizzes given after each lesson is supposed to be formative and never summative in nature; however, some teachers do insist and make short quizzes summative. This can be but primarily short quizzes after each lesson should evaluate how much students have understood, which in turn is a reflection of how well the teacher engages the class in the meaning-making exercise.
Unchecked quizzes only speaks of how naive a teacher is. He is not just wasting time giving the exam but he is indeed unfair to the students and to the rest of the school stakeholders and definitely that include myself. The damage has been done. I hope it still can be undone.
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