Twenty-Ten, MidYear Again... So What? or NOW WHAT?

We're back at school and boy what a week it was. Some highs and some lows... and some interesting twists! My big high is the opportunity of teaching electricity unit to 4th graders... on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The focus is to model a unit that I have for the science teachers and that we will together, collaborate to update, re-vise and upload into SchoolNet as a FQL Unit. Day one is always so exciting... as the kids get their materials (the aluminum wires they made from tape and foil, the bulb, and the dry cell) and they are asked to light the bulb. Oh... they so think they know what to do, but yet it shows very quickly that they don't. The discovery, exploring and open structure is such a fun 30 minutes... students are talking, questioning, helping each other... and the scream of delight (often from someone that is rarely the typical successful one). when the bulb is lit. I have a month of these exciting lessons...

Another high moment was sitting with a great friend and colleague at dinner and chatting about different schools' perceptions and perspectives at the midyear point. Where are we? What's working, what's not working? So what... or NOW What? Both of us have new roles this year and we have new perspectives within these roles. We have the advantage that often a classroom teacher does not have due to their hyper-focus on their students and their curriculum planning, assessment and instruction work. And... we understand this... we want to HELP. This week brought opportunities of working on Schoolnet to create groups, to look at lag data, to drill down to some specific analyses... and the opportunity to create a relevant midyear test draft for another team. For them to preview this coming week... looking at what they taught... making the test more relevant for their students. Twenty-ten is bringing some tighter circles and some common purposes. I see movement towards NOW what?!

Another big moment this week was the attendance of a leadership meeting at a school where the topic was midyear reviews and assessments. The waters were murky and potentially unpleasant at the start of this topic ... but alas it evolved, cleared and purpose emerged. Energy soared at the end as a pot about to bubble over! But... it is apparent that assessment literacy is weak for all of us. As a system, we still get mixed messages from leaders and colleagues that confuse us. The questions that must be guide us are these: What is the purpose of the assessment? Is the assessment relevant to... A) what we taught? or B) what we were suppose to have taught? or C) not relevant at all. Once we figure out that answer... I would just stop and not assess if the answer is C... why bother? Do we want the data to predict, to pre-assess, to reflect on our instructional practices, or to compare to the school across the highway? hmmm... important questions lead to important answers. Data should be relevant... it should be owned by the teachers. Shouldn't it? It should be relevant to the students and the teachers, I'm thinking. It should give us pause for reflection. What worked? What didn't? Who needs what? Who is exceeding... NOW what? Assessment DRIVES instruction. We say it... but sometimes it's apparent that we don't believe it. When someone tells you what assessment to give, does that make it not relevant? Are assessments final and not living documents? Can assessments sometimes simply be "kid-watching" and knowing what you see as a professional? Are assessments not indicators of what we need to teach, if we haven't? And what about AUTHENTIC Assessments? They matter most of ALL, I think. Watching the students close the circuit and explain the touchpoints this week... now that's real to me. We will continue with this as we move to series and parallel circuits. The kids will have many chances to deepen their understandings in a fun hands-on way. I appreciate that information coming straight from the student as I watch and listen and learn (about them and the topic)! Not to mention the excitement of collaborating and their demonstration of knowledge or misunderstanding... or problem-solving what works and what doesn't. Isn't that really thinking? Don't we ultimately want the child to think and problem-solve and collaborate? How exciting does it feel for the students when they read about it only in a text book or see a picture of a circuit and have to answer whether the bulb will light? Oh yes... I have some of those diagrams on the SchoolNet test I created this week... the lovely and dreaded multiple choice assessment, but won't the students smile and remember their experiences when they see that question... as they confidently choose their answer? If not... I (the teacher) has more work to do. Also... don't forget I have other evidence of learning...videoclips of the students showing and talking and explaining... that's documentation, too! Assessments... wow. Why is it such an ugly word to many teachers? "Takes too much time... not relevant... the kids know more than they show on this type of test". So... I say, "prove it! Document it! Show it!" and yes... it all takes time. No argument there. All things worth doing, takes time. But, if it's relevant and you have a real purpose, then it is time well spent. Now what?