Knowing
Question time:
How do we teach so that all students learn?
Do they understand the concept we’ve been teaching?
Is there a foolproof method of measuring learning?
Be careful before diving into any answers because there are as many answers as there are teachers.
Instead, here’s another question:
How do we know they know? Here are five ways:
Re-hash facts using quizzes or tests. Don’t get me wrong; head knowledge is essential for effective critical thinking. Handing back your teaching in the form of quiz answers measures what, precisely? The most likely answer is your teaching, not the students’ learning.
Research more information and fact-check. Have students present their findings in a manner of their choosing. Possibilities? Podcasts, dramatisations, reports (verbal and non-verbal), charts, dioramas, drawings, sketches, lectures, or slideshows.
Design a better system. This one is great for science investigations. Does it have to be feasible? My eleven-year-old grandson’s recent technology assignment was to design a vessel that could collect plastic from the ocean.
Create something new. Again, feasible doesn’t need to play a part. But … the concepts you’ve taught should be there.
Analyse prior learning. This last one combines the first four. Employ a quiz so students can recognise gaps in their learning. Use the next three to help them plug the gaps.
