Module 5: Assessment Portfolios - Can they work to show authentic learning?

Authentic assessment through the lense of curricular conceptions and educational philosophy is the focus of this discussion. In what ways can students best demonstrate deep understanding of curriculum content, ideas, and competencies? This is a big question, and my ideas and answers seem to shift each year that I teach. As we begin to understand our own philosophy of education and how we best see curriculum carried out in its design, however, we may have a better understanding of how students might be able to effectively show what they know.

It has been said that the big debate in education is "what can and should be taught to whom, when, and how?" (Eisner and Vallance, 1974, p.2). With this in mind, we can expect healthy discourse as individuals' personal values, background, goals, and ideas differ. Certain curricular conceptions, however, have lasted throughout the years and have been organized into four predominant mainstream approaches: academic, social efficiency/systemic, learner-centered/humanistic, and social reconstruction (Shiro, 2008, p.2). Below is a raw synopsis of each conception.

Academic: Students are encouraged to use their knowledge and analytical skills to deepen their understanding and be able to solve problems in the real world. Students collaborate, learn to ask good questions, investigate, and find evidence to draw conclusions.

Social Efficiency/Systemic: Students are trained for skills needed in the workforce, and the focus is on product and mastery of skills. This structure is standards-based which aligns with efficiency and effective delivery of content.

Learner-Based/Humanistic: Students are unique individuals and education provides the proper conditions for them to reach their full potential. Education should be child-centered so that children's natural curiosity drives their learning.

Social Reconstructionist: Students are educated to change or reform society. Group experiences (cooperation and community) are important and students work together to help find solutions to problems or injustices in society.

It is difficult for one to solely adhere to one curricular conception. Although curriculum ideologies differ, none are mutually exclusive and as we teach, we can borrow from each to enrich the ongoing learning experience of students. Humanity is complex and to authentically assess student learning, we as educators cannot prescribe to one approach alone.

Before we move to assessment strategies, we can also learn from our philosophical standpoint as educators, as that this provides "a framework for organizing schools and classrooms." (Ornstein, 1991, p.102). Just like our curricular conceptions, philosophy is what determines how we assess our students. Academics have also categorized four major philosophies described below.

Perrenialism: Based on Realism where the classic subjects are taught to educate the rational person and cultivate the intellect. Teachers teach traditional values, literary analysis, and rational thinking using the Socratic method.

Essentialism: Based on Idealism and Realism to educate students to be competent in academic subjects and essential skills (back to basics/three Rs). The teacher is the authority imparting knowledge to students.

Progressivism: Based on Pragmatism to promote democracy and community. Knowledge leads to growth and learning is active, inter-disciplinary, and based on students' interests. The teacher is a facilitator to help students solve problems and discover.

Reconstructionism: Based on Pragmaticism to improve and at times reform society. Learning is active and skills and subjects are a means to solve problems and change the community for the future. The teacher is the research leader to help students become aware

Thus, we are left to analyze our own direction as educators. With which do you most adhere to or are you, like me, a combination of multiple philosophies? Curricular designs across school districts reflect these philosophical views and can be seen in Subject-Centered, Learner-Centred, and Problem-Centered Designs.

I see myself as a Learner-Based, Social Reconstructivist with a Progressivist, Pragmatic philosophy of education. As a primary teacher in British Columbia, Canada, I am able to follow our new curriculum with all three curricular designs. It is set up with Big Ideas which is conducive to a backward design model, it easily lends itself to Problem-Based Learning, and the student can learn through self-discovery.

When it comes to assessment then, the what or content is less important than the how or process of learning. Standardized tests and skill content tends to hold children back from thinking, analyzing, debating, and reflecting. Students should be able to show their learning in a variety of ways and analyze and explain how they came to that understanding. They should be encouraged to figure out how they learn best and to utilize those strengths when communicating their learning. Students work well at the center of curricular planning and can even take part in co-creating criteria for assessment. This gives students a deeper understanding of what good work looks like, and they can measure or compare it to their own. I have found that electronic portfolios have helped to showcase student learning (both formative and summative assessment) in a meaningful way.

Electronic portfolios offer a wide variety of options when it comes to showing where students have come from, what they now know, and what their next steps in learning might be. Videos, interviews, written communication, apps like Explain Everything, and pictures are some examples of ways to assess on e-portfolios. Students can select their own evidence to show (and upload themselves in most cases), and teachers can do the same. Parents and even grandparents can speak to the child's learning immediately instead of at conference time, and triangulated assessment ensues. Students take ownership of their learning, and can comment on a piece of work. They may compare their evidence to the criteria given and comment on how they have shown that they have met the criteria, and where they need to go. As Anne Davies, Sandra Herbst, and Brenda Augusta argue, "students develop insights into their own learning…and engage in metacognition as they gain an awareness and understanding of their own thought and learning processes." (Davies, Herbst, Augusta, 2017, p.27).

In Reading in my primary classroom, for example, after our initial individual reading conferences in September, I had students reflect on the CAFÉ menu (comprehension, accuracy, fluency, and expansion of vocabulary) to figure out their reading strength, and what they needed to work on to become a better reader. We found a strategy to help them with their goal, and students spoke to this in their videos which was uploaded to Freshgrade (our e-portfolio site). Eight months later, after fairly frequent reading assessments throughout the school year, students watched their initial videos, and spoke to where they had come from and where they were at the end of the school year to celebrate their success. Goals for future reading were also included. Each assessment was completely individualized with no standard attached. Students were motivated to reach their own goals and knew exactly how to do it.

E-portfolios provide evidence of learning that tests and rubrics cannot always capture. Those students that speak to their learning benefit from such methods. With so much technology used in the classrooms in the 21st Century, e-books, electronic presentations, and other forms of technological learning can be uploaded and saved as evidence of learning.

Portfolios are also a method of assessment that engage students and challenge them to analyze, evaluate, and self-regulate. These are deep-thinking skills that go beyond recall and simple output assessment strategies. Students need to figure out what evidence it is that would best reflect their learning, and speak or write about whether they have indeed met the criteria. Students are often more motivated to learn when they are involved in this process.

Student assessment is complex and I am still learning and growing as I experiment with different methods. Right now, I see the student at the center of my curricular design, but I also think that students need to be pushed to see how they can transform the world around them to better our future as in the reconstructionist design. I would love to have feedback on assessment and what works for you in your teaching environment. What educational philosophy and curricular design do you lean towards?

References:

Eisner, E., & Vallance, E. (Eds.). (1974). Five conceptions of the curriculum: Their roots and implications for curriculum planning. In E. Eisner & E. Vallance (Eds.), Conflicting conceptions of curriculum (pp. 1-18). Berkeley, CA: McCutchan Publishing.

Davies, Anne, Herbst, Sandra, & Augusta, Brenda. (2017). Knowing What Counts. Collecting Evidence and Portfolios: Engaging Students in Pedagogical Documentation. Courtenay, BC: Hignell.

McNeil, J. D. (2006). Contemporary curriculum in thought and action (6th ed., pp. 1-13, 24-34, 44-51, 60-73). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Ornstein, A. C. (1990/1991). Philosophy as a basis for curriculum decisions. The High School Journal, 74, 102-109.

Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2013). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Read part of Chapter 1, pp. 1-8.

Shiro, M. S. (2008). Introduction to the curriculum ideologies. In M. S. Shiro, Curriculum theory: Conflicting visions and enduring concerns (pp. 1-12). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.