Week 6 Reflections “Navigating Students through the Rubrics”

While grading papers for my students, I wondered if I was really teaching anything to my students. The article, “Alternative Assessment and Second Language Study: What and Why?” by Charles R. Hancock http://www.cal.org./resources/digest/hancoc01.html makes me think the tests that I give my students in my class does not fully help and motivate their learning.

Charles Hancock mentioned in his article that there is a difference between tests and assessment. “The test is usually kept hidden from the students until it is administered and it is sometimes viewed as feedback concerning students’ progress, while assessment is usually ongoing strategy through which student learning is not only monitored but by which students are involved in decision making on the degree to which their performance matches their ability.”

Through assessment, students can evaluate their own performance. I think implementing assessment using a rubric to show students clearly what is expected of them in my class is very beneficial. In this way students will become more responsible of their learning and adjust themselves to the expected level. I see that it is important for a teacher to set the course for students’ `self-assessment` and `self-adjustment`. It is one way to create an autonomous student.

This week we learned to make a rubric with the help of “Creating a Rubric: Tutorial” (http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/default.htm/ ). I found it very challenging and amusing. I made rubrics for my webquest, ”Exploring Castles in Okinawa”(http://questgarden.com/96/22/9/100211050643). The most essential work was to keep the objectives in mind and make criteria clear. I am still not sure of my rubric being effective enough to create motivation in my students. I am a little afraid to even use it. What if it is over their heads?

Another thing I learned this week was that learners have their own styles and we all have our own preferences of different learning styles. “Learning Styles and Strategies” by Richard M. Felder (http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Learning_Styles.html) teaches me to see students from different angles and makes me feel responsible for my students’ learning.. If the technology is to broaden the chance for any type of learners to be successful, why should I not take an advantage of it?

The newspaper article in Japan Times on Feb.20, “Wakayama school uses iPod Touch for English lesson” says that an elementary school is implementing i-Pod as a teaching tool. (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100220f2.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+japantimes+(The+Japan+Times%3A+All+Stories)&utm_content=Google+Reader)　
We teachers need to prepare for the surging waves of this new educational revolution coming from Web.