Assessing all abilities…

When I was in my late teens I used to go by a simple idea that everybody had an arbitrary number of skill units. These skill units were divided up in different ways for different people. Some people had a lot of skill units in book smarts but had not many skill units left for other areas, such as, and forgive the sweeping generalization, social ability or athletic ability. Others may have a solid level in many areas, and be skilled at many aspects of life.

There are certainly flaws in this view, but I still appreciate the underlying tenet it had, that while I have my skills that others may not have, maybe they can draw, play the guitar or write poetry to a level that would leave me stupefied. Not difficult with these aforementioned talents by the way. I always try to appreciate the skills others have that I have not cultivated. I try to pass this idea on to my students when a moment arises. But to embrace my cynicism a little, you will encounter people who have a vastly different amount of skill units. We are not the same and should not be expected to be. Homogeny is limited. And Dull!

My siblings all went to university, as did all of my friends, so that is my world. I need to remember, and appreciate the world of others but it’s hard! I need to try and make sure my notes, powerpoints and delivery are broad in language and content, so everyone can take something from them. Everyone can learn, we do it all the time, but it is not often the same way that others learn. I need to make sure that students are encouraged to make as many connections as possible, both with other content, and with real world applications so they can take learning from my class. I need to make content available in lecture, writing, diagrams and tangible ways so everyone can involve their chosen learning sense or senses. And I need to make my assessments as varied as my teaching. Assessments should allow students to portray their knowledge in a way that fits their skill set. But that’s hard too!

It is impossible to eliminate bias. My experiences shape me a specific way and my awareness of that is important. I can work to have open, natural questions which do not exclude students due to their abilities, experiences of learning strategies. I can discuss tests, questions and strategies with other teachers in order to broaden my view more, and therefore make my assessments more inclusive. And I can observe my students and see how they process and present knowledge to give them the best chance of success.

Thanks