Reading the Teachthought blog (www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/great-teaching-means-letting-go/) and watching the video at https://educatorinnovator.org/webinars/chris-lehmann-inquiry-the-very-first-step-in-the-process-of-learning/, really got me thinking about the way I "do" my class. I teach Graphic Design at the High School level. We end every semester with tests that are little more than a benchmark over what I believe to be the most interesting assignment/chapter work covered in that 17 week period. I try to make my tests simple since my class is an elective. I make study guides and give the students plenty of warning. The study guides sometime become the tests even, and I still have students that do not do well. I have looked for reasons, blamed apathy, reading skills, busy lives, and solar flares. I am still puzzled.
After watching the google hangout and reading the philos about letting go so that 'athletes can learn to adapt to situations not practiced for', I thought about my testing practice. After hearing the comments on being "agents of change", and how outdated methods are "hurting our kids" made me think deeper about the end of semester tests. What purpose do those tests really serve? When I looked from that vantage and in light of SLA's methodology, I saw some things that concerned me. Who benefits from the end of semester tests? How do the students taking the test view the testing itself? What might I do that would better serve my students as they go out into society?
What purpose do the tests serve? I was empathetic with the librarian who was berated in the video for the school systems' poor internet coverage. I thought, "What can she do about the systems policies?" My school system, at least as far as I know, mandates end of semester tests for students who either fail to carry a 'B' average, or miss more than three days over the course of the semester for any reason. I do not enjoy the extra work involved with final exams. Even the name sounds so terminal. There is very little instructional use in these "last day" tests (see? creepy). Many standardized tests allow students to take them multiple times, so taking those tests over and again teaches students how to take the test. Finals because you missed too many days or lost interest seems more like a punishment than an exercise in useful course instruction.
This leads me to how the students taking the test might view the testing. Some may see it as a chance to bring up a grade. Maybe they procrastinated through the semester and let their grades slip by missing a deadline? I can speculate about several reasons, but none seem legitimate. So I ask you, is the final a sort of punishment for missing days or not keeping your grades up? Is the practice outdated? Should I reconsider my methods so that students can be more self-directed graphic designers? Am I critical of myself? Do you like my hair like this? It can't be my deodorant because I don't wear any. Seriously, I need to be critical of my curriculum. I adjust it every semester, but I end up falling into what is easier. I use a textbook that the students hate. It is the same textbook I used at the college level and it gives projects that give the students what they need to pass a standardized Adobe certification exam. The images are static and the students do not relate to them because they are someone else's photos. As a plus, the students have to read.... my how they love that - NOT!
This brings me to my third thought; What might I do that would better serve my students as they go out into society? I teach in a county that is dominated by the carpet industry. My subject matter is divided into three sections that are called a 'pathway'. The last (advanced) class ends with a 'End of Pathway' exam. This is a high-stakes test and the kids rightly stress over it. Before my tenure began, the former regime used the 'Work Force Ready' test for the end of pathway. I had never heard of that program. My background was as a Customer Service manager for a CAD/CAM software company that serviced the carpet industry. My customers were artists that worked in color and pattern design. I knew the Adobe software suite as the market share leader for graphic design, and that is the software that my lab already employed. It made sense to me to teach toward the Adobe certification as something that local industry would recognize. So, I proposed that we use that certification exam as the End-of-Pathway (EOP). In my mind at the time it seemed like a grand prize trophy to be won for finishing the pathway. The kids do not see it that way, and less than one per semester get their certification.
Most of the kids taking my courses think they want to become game designers. I'm not talking about simple games, I'm talking about the immersive multiverse gaming experience kind of games. The ones where when you get hit, cut, shot or blown to bits it actually leaves bruises. My lab is not set up for that kind of development. I do not have the needed experience to help much beyond the creation of 3D characters and masks. The school system would have to invest in different software. And, lastly, would giving the students opportunity to delve into that level of creation, software development, Alpha, Beta, Real time testing, product launching, and probable failure be good for them? How do we justify the expense? What would those same students do for a living after? Athletes who never get the opportunity to play at the highest levels never know for sure if they were really good enough. I do not want my program to be the place that designers dreams got crushed under a boring textbook whilst being driven toward an undesired certification. I suppose I need to let go and let them research what they need to get to that level of design. Maybe there are open source packages that are powerful enough that the kids can get some attention.
Let me know your thoughts
Cheers! J
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