5.5 Assignment: Critical Reflection Journal/Blog

What is new to my thinking or learning this past week?

             I learned a lot about assessment and the various types of assessments.  If I were too frank, I have never been a big fan of assessments.  Nor have I been a fan of “teaching to the test,” essentially teaching students just what they need to know to pass the test.  I think that education, for the most part, has put too much stock in assessments and has used them to determine school funding, teacher raises, and recognition/awards for schools.  I have always struggled personally with taking tests. While I know the ‘test’ is supposed to be representative of a student’s retention of the information that was taught, I am not convinced that it is truly representative of what a student has learned. 

            I found Carl Hookers’ take on the three types of assessment – Assessment OF Learning, Assessment AS Learning, and Assessment WHILE learning.  This seems to be an effective way to approach assessment and get the best understanding of a student’s retention of information.  I particularly like this methodology because it considers the students learning styles.  I have always thought the best way to assess a student’s retention of information is to evaluate them in the same way they learned the material.  I also found the various types of tools available to assess learning.  This week challenged my traditional methods of assessment. It opened my thinking to more innovative and unconventional ways, which have been proven to be more effective than the conventional methods I have grown up with.

How has this new information challenged me? How has this stretched my professional growth and development? How has this stretched my professional growth and development? What are the implications of this week’s learning on my professional practice?

             Learning about new ways has challenged me to be open to new methodologies and techniques for assessment.  Another thing that I learned about this week is the use of Bloom’s Taxonomy in the assessment process and how to design and develop engaging activities to help students effectively gain knowledge.   I recognize that I have much to learn about the learning process and how best to present information to students.  However, engaging in the learning process myself through this course will help me better understand the most effective ways to engage with students.  By doing so, I will become a more effective practitioner.

How can these new learnings be used to impact my personal faith journey and my impact for the Kingdom?

             I read this week that ‘The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.’  I believe the reason Jesus called the 12 disciples was to develop them into leaders.  He did this through the learning process. He used stories called Parables to teach the disciples how they were to live their lives.  Now, 2000 years later, we have a guidebook on how we too can become a disciple of Christ and how we are to live our lives.  One day when our time on earth is over, we will face the ultimate ‘assessment’ as to how well we have learned what He has tried to teach us through scripture.  Will we pass with flying colors and hear ‘well done, my good and faithful servant,’ or will we hear, ‘depart from me for I never knew you.’  Though I have failed many ‘assessments’ in my educational journey, I hope and pray that I don’t fail the most critical ‘assessment’ of all.