It seems in the past decades schools have been obsessed and pressure into improve their students test scores. While test scores can be a valid indicator on the success of the student, there can be many other techniques that are better indicators on the academic success of the student.
The author John Seely Brown introduces two types of authentic assessment in his book. The first is a national certification, where the student is taking classes in high school with a specific focus in mind. That focus usually depends on a particular career, so if the student is looking to become an engineer he/she will take more math and science classes. Students can be divided into groups such as classes aimed at addressing academic, generic, and technical skills.
I don’t necessarily agree with Brown’s view on national certification authentic assessment. These types of programs have a place with technical schools, but introducing this type of program to the general population would have a positive outcome. If students focus too much on one or two subjects they miss out on skills of the other subjects. If a student is only taking math and science classes their problem solving and mathematical skills will be high, but the student will most likely struggle in their reading, writing, and comprehension skills because they are not taking any English or Social Studies classes. This path also puts too much pressure on students to choose a career at a young age.
How Has Technology Changed Kid Lives?
Growing up in the 1990’s and early 2000’s I can say that my generation was one of, if not the first to experience technology in almost every aspect of life. I would consider my adolescent’s pretty typical. I went to school, played sports, hung out with my friends, and did the normal activities any teenager would do. It was common when I was growing up and is even more common today to experience technology in every day life. Kids are playing video games,
watching TV, on their computers browsing the internet, kids are using technology constantly.
Schools need to catch up to this technological world. Students are coming to school and becoming bored techniques and activities teachers are using because they know that they can be stimulated so much more by staring at a TV for five hours. It is our jobs as educators to do something about this. I am not a proponent for technology to take over every aspect of education, but I do see a large need for students to experience and benefit from this technology boom. Some school districts are more fortunate then others with the their budget and the resources they are able to get, but there needs to be a state wide or federal push to make sure classrooms are some of the most technology friends institutions around.
No comments:
Post a Comment