Examples of activities
We use activities to engage students in a project that demonstrates to both them and to their teacher that they understand the concept or concepts in a particular knowledge domain. A general rule is that the activity should simulate, as closely as possible, a real application of the skill or knowledge that the student has hopefully learned.
For example, if the skill is to play a particular scale on the piano, the student should be able to play the scale on the piano, not just point to the scale. If the concepts include being able to read and comprehend a novel at a particular reading level, then the task should be to read and respond to questions about materials at that particular reading level, not just pick an answer from some multiple choices.
One of the reasons that there is resistance to standardized tests is that frequently these tests are far removed from the conditions under which students normally need to use their skills. Multiple choice tests can measure certain types of knowledge but they also introduce their own idiosyncrasies. One of these is the confusion that very similar options in multiple choices can introduce. Another is that multiple choice tests require choice elimination, a process of decision making that tests the student’s puzzle-solving capabilities more than their analysis and synthesis abilities.
Good examples of activities are projects that require the synthesis of various skills from a knowledge domain. A good example of a project that tests students’ knowledge and skill in geometry, biology, and analysis might be to landscape a plot of land to sustain Neotropical migrant birds. They would need to research the needs of Neotropical migrant birds, to do a physical survey of an available piece of land, plan out a bird-friendly layout, select appropriate plants, decide on other environmental attributes such as water and protection, and finally develop a plan to landscape the plot. Such a project tests the knowledge and skills that are explicitly taught, but they also test and exercise other skills such as the ability to develop a step-by-step plan.
For example, if the skill is to play a particular scale on the piano, the student should be able to play the scale on the piano, not just point to the scale. If the concepts include being able to read and comprehend a novel at a particular reading level, then the task should be to read and respond to questions about materials at that particular reading level, not just pick an answer from some multiple choices.
One of the reasons that there is resistance to standardized tests is that frequently these tests are far removed from the conditions under which students normally need to use their skills. Multiple choice tests can measure certain types of knowledge but they also introduce their own idiosyncrasies. One of these is the confusion that very similar options in multiple choices can introduce. Another is that multiple choice tests require choice elimination, a process of decision making that tests the student’s puzzle-solving capabilities more than their analysis and synthesis abilities.
Good examples of activities are projects that require the synthesis of various skills from a knowledge domain. A good example of a project that tests students’ knowledge and skill in geometry, biology, and analysis might be to landscape a plot of land to sustain Neotropical migrant birds. They would need to research the needs of Neotropical migrant birds, to do a physical survey of an available piece of land, plan out a bird-friendly layout, select appropriate plants, decide on other environmental attributes such as water and protection, and finally develop a plan to landscape the plot. Such a project tests the knowledge and skills that are explicitly taught, but they also test and exercise other skills such as the ability to develop a step-by-step plan.
posted by Emiliano De Laurentiis at Sunday, November 05, 2006
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