I spend a lot of time re-educating my students, assuring them that my job as a college professor is not to give them a checklist, and then award points for each item they ticked off correctly; nor is my job to teach to a test.
Shortly after I started teaching in my current job, a student in a literature class nearly had a meltdown when she learned the final exam would ask students to read and analyze a short poem we had never discussed in class.
It had never occurred to me that a student would feel it was unfair that I was interested in testing her critical thinking skills rather than her memory skills.
I have, since then, adjusted my teaching, and spend much more time directly addressing differences between high school and college.
Post was last modified on 26 Nov 2017 4:36 pm
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This is very timely, Dennis, very timely.
Everyone should hear this.
Yes! Standardized testing doesn't evaluate things like the staying focused if you make a mistake while hundreds of people are watching you, or thinking on your feet to save a scene if your scene partner misses a cue, or having the social skill to get clueless little kids out of your way so you don't miss your cue but do it in a way that doesn't make you look (too) mean.
I think I remember that particular student having that particular meltdown...