Monday, November 23, 2009

Enough about tools.....

Read this thought-provoking article from the Innovative Educator Blog:

"21st Century Educators Don't Say 'Hand it in'; they say 'Publish it'."

Dig this:
The authentic publication of student work should be a part of EVERY SINGLE UNIT OF STUDY. If an educator can’t figure out a way to help students publish anything in a unit of study they need to either 1) Rethink the unit or 2) Rethink the assessment.


Sounds like it's time to re-think many of our assessments and assignments.

1 comment:

Ms. Brennan said...

Speaking of re-thinking assessments, I just read an article that speaks to Marzano's ideas of academic (content of paper, lab, skills) and nonacademic work (deadlines, materials, paperwork). The idea being that one assignment could have two grades, which would reinforce to students that the big picture is important, yet understanding is the key.

The article discussed knowledge versus understanding. Knowledge being the ability to recall information, while understanding being students' ability to apply skills across the curriculum, think critically, and apply skills to real-life situations.

Of course our students need knowledge, yet what always has been and will be important is the ability to understand, manipulate,and apply skills and information.

From the article, the question asks whether or not we are sending this message to our students.