Multiple Methods of Assessment
Home Up Testing & Evaluation Train the Trainer BECOMING A TEACHER Program Development Implementation Orientation to College Teaching

My Philosophy of Education

 

The aim of schooling is to put students in possession of the:

  • •intellectual tools [knowledge & skills]

  • •efficacy beliefs [confidence]

  • •intrinsic interests [motivation]

to educate themselves in a variety of pursuits throughout their lifetime. This will
result in well-rounded individuals:

  • •who are able to cope with life,

  • •who are capable of adapting to it when required, and

  • •who can change it when necessary.

 

The aim of education is to help people make better meanings, and hence better realities,
so as to live fuller lives.

 

The outcome of education should be successful students who are:

  • •knowledgeable: acquire a substantial body of knowledge that they
    can use fluently to make sense of the world, solve problems, and
    make decisions.

  • •self-determined: feel capable & continually strive to acquire & use
    the tools they need to learn.

  • •strategic: have a repertoire of thinking & learning strategies that they
    use with skill & purpose to think about & control their own learning &
    guide their learning of new content.

  • •empathetic: able to view selves and world from perspectives other
    than their own, including those of other cultures.

 

and who have their knowledge, skills, and habits of mind:

  • •in their possession,

  • •understood,

  • •able to be used/applied, and

  • •chosen to be used/applied.

 

 

The Classroom System

 

To ensure that these outcomes are realized, a classroom system analogous to
the building of a house is implemented:

a. bedrock consisting of:

  • •intentional, engaged learning and

  • •diversified, personalized instruction;

b. six supporting pillars that hold up the entire structure:

  • •success: resulting in competence, goals, plans, strategies

  • •self-esteem: developing confidence and self-worth

  • •empowerment: resulting in responsibility, autonomy, independence, and
    interdependence

  • •quality: developing pride in the value they produce

  • •community: building support through a sense of belonging that provides
    inclusion and a sense of influence

  • •authenticity: resulting in meaning and relevance

c. a climate that invites and encourages all to learn to their potential through:

  • •trust, safety, risk-taking, mutual respect, responsibility, openness,
    encouragement, free and open communication; all embodied in the
    acronym DESCA: dignity, energy, self-management, community,
    and awareness, where the teacher plays the role of creator and
    curator of the classroom environment.

 

The Life Guidelines

  • trustworthiness

  • truthfulness

    •

  • personal best

  • appreciation, no putdowns

  • positive, encouraging, supportive interaction

  • active, empathetic listening

  • safety

  • mutual respect

 

The Lifeskills

  • caring

  • teamwork

  • responsibility

  • common sense

  • initiative

  • effort

  • perseverance

 

The Classroom Approach

 

The Classroom will have descriptors like:

  • •inside-out and self-discovery

  • •active, interactive, thoughtful, and reflective

  • •multimedia, multilevel, multidisciplinary

  • •diagnostic, prescriptive, monitored, & tracked

  • •intervention to capitalize on strengths, compensate for weaknesses,
    and correct misconceptions

  • •open, challenging, & conceptually-demanding

  • •positive, motivating, risk-taking, & willing to try

  • •inviting, encouraging, supportive, inclusive

  • •experience-based, problem-oriented, issue-resolving

  • •task-oriented around essential questions

  • •meaningful, relevant, involving, engaging

  • •involving higher-level thought and real-life issues

 

The Methods will be described as:

  • •underexplaining with active processing

  • •cushioning with other supports

  • •making thought transparent and challenging common conceptions

  • •developing lifetime habits of mind

  • •collaborative learning

  • •exploring to get at the framework and method of operation of the subject

  • •questioning, discussion, information-rich

  • •intake for gathering of information, processing or acting on the information,
    & applying or producing a product that demonstrates in-depth understanding
    and connections or links to many different areas of knowledge

  • •adaptive and adjusting in terms of these major elements: input [reading,
    listening, viewing], output writing, speaking, representing], quality, quantity,
    rate, scaffolding [teaching toward the Zone of Proximal Development where
    the student can succeed with assistance from the instructor]

 

 

The instructor will fulfill roles such as:

  • •cognitive coach and mentor

  • •facilitator, guide, and prober

  • •co-learner and interventionist

  • •motivator and challenger

 

 

The student will fulfill roles such as:

  • •cognitive apprentice and explorer

  • •teacher as well as producer of knowledge

  • •searcher and questioner

 

 

My Philosophy of Evaluation

 

I believe that evaluation is:

  • •improvement-oriented through continuous, ongoing
    progress in both teaching and learning

  • •part of the learning cycle by determining achievement of
    both instructor and learner

  • •broad-based, multidimensional, varied, and seamless

  • •built on a classroom base that is thoughtful, active, interactive,
    and reflective

  • •the demonstration of performances of understanding and of
    expertise

  • •set up to assess the whole array of capabilities and talents

  • •mainly formative in nature, designed to use varied approaches,
    such as selection, supply, product, performance, and
    process-oriented evaluation

  • •also designed to make effective use of observation,
    exercises, questioning, and discussion as well as self- and peer-reports.

 

Reasons for the Evaluation Program

My evaluation program exists mainly to:

  • •improve and inform teaching and learning

  • •provide students with an opportunity to display their
    achievement and progress to date

  • •demonstrate accountability

  • •coach students to higher levels of achievement

  • •promote high standards and reasonable challenge so as to
    enhance motivation and persistence and lead to mastery
    and feelings of successful accomplishment of worthy life-related tasks

 

 

Nature and Scope of the Evaluation Program

My evaluation program is:

  • •ongoing

  • •outcome-oriented

  • •improvement-oriented

  • •seamless

  • •multidimensional

  • •multiple-assessment oriented

  • •criterion-referenced

  • •performance-based

 

Tools Employed

 

My program utilizes these tools:

  • •observation

  • •performances of understanding & of expertise

  • •rubrics

  • •keys and guides

  • •checklists

  • •oral and written feedback

  • •graphic organizers

  • •portfolio assessment

  • •attitude ratings

  • •metacognitive reflection

  • •journaling and logging

  • •sizing up assessment

  • •reviews and practice

  • •interviews and conferences

  • •setting of expectations and goals

  • •monitoring of progress and adjustments as necessary

 

Outcomes

attainment of challenging, worthy, and worthwhile goals
leading to:

  • •successful students

  • •satisfied instructors

  • •accountable administrations.