Assessment and Problem-Based Learning

The school schedule was redesigned this year in order to accomplish two purposes.  First, we set out to maximize student learning using the best available research on how the school schedule affects students.  The second goal was to set aside periods of time for our teachers to further hone their skills through professional development and collaboration with their peers.  What I would like to do over the course of the year is share the topics and themes we are working through as faculty.  

Our first meeting focused on Problem-Based Learning.  We are committed to making teaching applicable for students and a problem-based approach does this.  Mr. Riddle leveraged his experience as a teacher and administrator to guide the faculty through the topic.

In many ways, the driving force behind problem-based learning is the increasing use of and access to technology in schools.  Shannon Forest is striving to be a part of an education narrative for the 21st century by encouraging the use of technology in the classroom in order to create opportunities for innovation, global connections, collaboration, teamwork, and multi-disciplinary learning.  The following video explains these goals further:

Our second faculty development session focused on student assessment.  Education generally gets this wrong, and we want to get it right at Shannon Forest Christian School.  

What we don't want:

Instead, Mr. Riddle emphasized two types of assessment: summative and formative.  Summative assessment usually takes the form of a test and is completed after instruction and used to determine a student's competency.  Formative assessment is ongoing throughout the school day and takes the form of frequent reviews, observations, activities, and general feedback.  As a school, Shannon Forest is seeking to move away from the concept of assessment as judgment and competition or as a way to obtain grades and to move toward a vision of assessment as a reflection that can improve classroom instruction.  Useful assessments should determine if students can use their learning - not just regurgitate information or facts.  With this information in mind, SFCS teachers, administrators, and staff are working to improve the effectiveness and use of assessments in the classroom.

"What is assessed signals what is important to learn.  How it is assessed signals how it should be learned."

Jay McTighe