Evaluating Student Work
Whether you're a Miss Honey or more of a Mr. Keating, it's important to embrace your role in the classroom so that your assessment process runs smoothly -- and authentically.
Assessing Student Work: The Roles Teachers Play in the Classroom
No teacher is ever the same -- and neither is their assessment process. For me, "assessment" has always been a bit of a troublesome word; I've always seen it as the force between standardization -- assessing students based on how they perform, rather than what they have learned. However, in my time as a teaching assistant, I have been able to re-evaluate and grow more accustomed to a changed, "freer" version of the word. In a ideal world, "assessing" isn't so much of a standardization of education, but a way to learn more about students, their writing processes, the way they think, what they know and what they need to know.
Formal Definition of "Assessment":
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln defines "assessment" as the gathering of information about student learning. It is considered to be a process; it involves teachers taking on many different roles and personas in order to find the best assessment process. We are all different, but we are all involved in the same engaging process of teaching. While it's important to mirror other teachers or practices, it's even more important to find and develop a assessment and teaching process of our own.
So -- how do we assess our students?
I'm a chronic perfectionist, and while I've been trying to break the habit, I can't help but strive for "greatness." I've learned a lot this semester, but one of the most important lessons for me is that there will never be a perfect mold for teaching, or for teaching practices in general. So long as you work hard, stay respectful and knowledgable, follow your university's required duties and policies, and continue to educate not only yourself, but also your students -- you're a teacher. I see myself as a teacher in many of the areas in my life, mostly in community education and involvement, as many of you know. But in the classroom, I try to be a team player. It's more important to, as I've stated before, think of assessment as a way to explore new and engaging personas in the classroom through student work and evaluation. I think of several of the teachers who have inspired me with their work or assessment processes -- and also about several of the teachers who put down my work (not constructively) but in the cruelest way possible.
Even though there is no standard mold for education, we have to find a happy medium, and a balance with our assessment. You don't want to be so sweet that you get walked over, or that your students don't take your advice seriously. However, if you are able to find a way to balance your sweetness and authority, then you will be able to be more effective and helpful with student engagement and assessment.
Finding Your Role (And Persona) in the Assessment Process
There's a few different ways to assess -- conferencing, talking to students individually about their work in the class; local and global concerns, unique types concerns focusing on issues related to grammar, format and structure; rubrics, charts or graphs used to set up students for success, all while evaluating how they are helping the students to perform. I plan on using these three methods, as well as a personal, informal approach to assessment. I will write in a calm, relaxed, but effective written style when considering my choices as I respond to student feedback. There are several roles to be considered during the assessment process: there are motivators, and there are "constructors" -- individuals who excel at giving constructive, firm feedback.
No matter the role, it's important to be confident and assured in your teaching process. Some tips for teaching and assessing your future FYC students include "prioritized feedback", a refering to resources (the textbook, books, online resources, videos, or additional resources in your office for student help), examples of student work (successful past essays from students as examples in class), checking in on students periodically throughout the semester, and a encouragment of the drafting and re-drafting process. I found Inside Higher Ed's resources for this week to be quite helpful, and I plan on using their advice in my classroom this semester, as well as my future workplace.
This video is a unique representation of assessment and feedback in a completely different setting (the fashion industry).
Finding a Balance in Your Assessment Process
I strongly relate to Bella Hadid's personality/assessment style in this video. Trying to find a balance between being too "harsh" and too "sweet" is difficult. It's important to rely on our peers, family members, professors, colleagues and our cohort when making major considerations or decisions in our teaching process.
Works Cited
"Tips For Teaching and Assessing Writing." Inside Higher Ed, 21 Jan. 2018, https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/tips-teaching-and-assessing-writing.
"Assessing Student Writing." University of Nebraska-Lincoln, https://www.unl.edu/writing/assessing-student-writing.