The importance of the inter-relationship of all the components of Authentic Assessment is apparent when we look at removing specific components. It is akin to removing a foundation wall of a building, doomed to fail!! If we remove the following components the result could be:
• Real-life focus- without a worthwhile focus students are unable to connect with the importance of the knowledge or skill they are learning.
• Performing a task- if students are not given opportunities to use knowledge and skills in a real world context severely limiting their knowledge and skill development
• Construction/Application of knowledge- students would not be encouraged to develop individual way of understanding and incorporation of the knowledge.
• Student-structured focus- LM’s cannot provide learning for each student if we remove the focus from the individual student learning styles.
• LM’s provide specific criteria and standards students would constantly be questioning not only the task but also the purpose behind it.
• Direct evidence- how would LM’s evaluate, create an understanding, develop and encourage each individual student’s ways of learning to promote success both within the classroom and their everyday lives?
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI am a year 2 teacher and this is my fourth year teaching. I believe that authentic assessment is a vital part of educating due to the fact we are educating children so they can function and contribute to society in the future. If we don't relate tasks to the real world and foster useful problem solving skills then we will not be giving our students the tools they need to succeed after their education. They also need to know why they are doing tasks and how the knowledge gained will benefit them in the future so they can better access this knowledge when the need to put it to practice.
Nikita Maiden