What’s missing from _ d _ c _ t _ _ n? Patterned after a talk of the same name by Dr. Karen Jo Matsler Arlington, TX

The vowels! e d u c a t i o n a - assessments e - expectations i - inquiry o - ownership u - understanding

assessments Pre-assessment Formative assessment Summative assessment Confirmatory assessment Not every form of interaction between and student and a teacher should be based on assessment. Not everything worth teaching is readily assessed. Consider an assessment-as-learning policy.

expectations Dr. Elizabeth Hurlock (1925) investigated the impact of praise and criticism on students’ future performance. She divided the participating 4 & 6 grade mathematics children into 3 groups: 1. Those praised by name for their good work. 2. Those criticized by name for their poor work. 3. Those in the control group who were completely ignored, although they were present to hear others being praised and criticized. Students in both the praised and criticized groups did better after the first day. By the fifth day of the experiment, the overall improvement by group was: Praised: 71%; Criticized: 19%; Ignored: 5%.

inquiry Understanding science is more than just knowing facts. Students build new knowledge and understanding on what they already know and believe. Students formulate new knowledge by modifying and refining their current concepts and by adding new concepts to what they already know. Learning is mediated by the social environment in which students interact. Effective learning requires that students take control of their own learning. The ability to apply knowledge to novel situations, that is, transfer of learning, is affected by the degree to which students learn with understanding.

ownership Kids must take possession of a subject if they are to make it their own. Interest, relevance, and success are all important components of motivation. Ownership can also stem from students feeling they have some sort of control over the curriculum. Students must understand the important of deep versus surface learning.

understanding Students must develop a conceptual understanding if they are to really comprehend the subject matter. It’s not all about solving chapter problems. Teachers must teach for understanding, but must also possess it themselves. Understanding requires conceptual approaches. Student metacognition and self-regulation are essential to success.