Week 15 - 21/01/14 - Mission Impossible?

Petty,G. (2009). The learner's practical and emotional needs. In: Teaching Today a practical guide. 4th ed. Cheltnam: Nelson Thornes Ltd. 68.

As was true in the original late 60's TV show and the later movie spin off, the mission was never impossible, just tricky. It was always made easier by having specialists added to the team that could successfully meet the challenge. This was not possible unless Mr Phelps knew his teams and knew the mission. One without the other would certainly have ended in disaster.

For a tutor, the concept is similar. We have Goals and indeed as referred to by Petty, Medals or commendation are invaluable, but what takes things forward for any student is the Mission - what is the next step?... A blanket, class wide mission will not help, but tailored missions to the individual are best.

This is why the class discussions this week were key. ASSESSMENT in it's various forms will allow the tutor to know the specifics of each student under their care.

• Summative - a final measure / test of the progress, usually in the form of a grade.
• Formative - steps along the way that prepare the student for the final Summative asessment - such as a mock test.

Summative, what's the point? was what we discussed. The benefits to the student are minimal, all they are aware of is that on one specific day they met a minimum standard. For example, you can pass a driving test one day, does it make you a good driver though?

The only true beneficiaries are the future employers, university administrators and clients that can look and say... " Oh, they have achieved this standard." end of story.

Education should never be just about summative assessments.

Within this assessment world exists various forms of referencing:

1. Norm referencing - this is the approach education has often used. It measures a student against his fellow peers, using the Government standard that has been set, for example a C grade in English is the standard for acceptance into colleges.
2. Criterion referencing - Using specific, objective criteria within a program of education to measure the student against. It's flaw is in that once an element of the criteria is determined by the subjectivity of a tutor, it reverts back to a Norm referencing.
3. Student referencing - Using the student's present accomplishments as a bench mark to build upon.

Like most things in life, there is a right and a wrong way to go about assessing a student and giving feedback.

From the class discussion certain key elements became very evident.

Be Kind, Specific and Honest.

Make the effort to give out medals - remember though to be sincere. Note the benefits referred to by Geoff Petty.

Petty,G. (2009). Praise and Criticism . In: Teaching Today a practical guide. 4th ed. Cheltnam: Nelson Thornes Ltd. 71.

It's interesting that the Medals referred to in the above quote are not Grades or Marks, these are measurements. Rather medals, written or verbally given are specific pieces of information about what was exactly done well. Then by following the same template by being clear, specific, constructive and honest in the mission assignments will only aid learning.