Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Assessment (Day 12)

Interesting discussion today on assessment. We read a couple of articles, including the first chapter of Rethinking Rubrics. I admit mixed feelings about rubrics--I share the author's general philosophy about grades, about authentic assessment, about anti-standardization, etc. But when I get to the end of the day and face a stack of 50 essays--well, I love me a rubric. I suppose it's like any educational concept--can be used for good or evil. Discussion will continue tomorrow, with Lori and Jan Schaeffer (our Open Institute leader) leading a discussion on A2I--the assessment to instruction research project of the CTWP.

My haiku log was well received. Fabulous demo today, a great exercise in observation and writing from different points of view. It involved writing about a picture, but ended up forcing the writers to focus in on small, seemingly insignificant details. It's amazing what kind of stories came out of that one little teeny-tiny detail.

No comments: