This cartoon supports the This We Believe article because as educators we need to remember to keep our assessments authentic and relevant to the students. If we bore them with basic T/F questions, multiple choice questions, etc., they will soon lose interest in the material we are covering. At times, tests similar to the one in the cartoon are necessary. Then again, there are other times when we need to differentiate not only our tests, but our teaching styles. This cartoon all goes back to the fact that students need to feel the information is important to THEM... not just something to learn because "they have to."
Shay Eddings
This is so true. One of our greatest challenges is to make the learning relevant to the students, and especially connect the need to learn to real life. Funny cartoon, but probably hits many teachers too close to home in this standardized test environment!
ReplyDeleteTracy Craft
I agree with your comments Shay! I teach 8th grade English and my students always want to know WHY they need to learn everything I teach in the classroom. Now, this type of explanation is part of my opening introduction, and once they believe that it is something worth learning, they typically participate well.
ReplyDeleteYes! They are more engaged in the subject matter if it relates to them as well. As teachers, we are stressed to teach everything, but we need to take time and remember that we are there for the students. They need to be able to use it in the real world.
ReplyDeleteSarah Shewmaker
Shay,
ReplyDeleteGreat choice for your cartoon. How can we as teachers compete with all the pricey, flashy technology that students are bombarded with everyday. I use PowerPoint, videos, internet research and anything else I can come up with to grab and keep their attention. I am so glad that creative people out there are continuing to come up with great ideas to help with engagement. Gina Elliott
Good cartoon! I agree that we need to differentiate our assessments. I vary between multiple choice, true/false, short answer, matching, and production tests depending on what the students are learning. My students seem to enjoy the production tests the most because they get to put everything together that they have learned so far. ~Wendy Marney
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