For the month of June, my two kids and I set up weekly "camps". Each week there is a theme, such as "Disney" or "outdoors", and we listed activities that would accompany each. Anything to keep them off screens during this long summer...
Last week was Cooking Camp. One of our activities was the opportunity for me to teach them how to grill. They came out while I showed them how to start the charcoal, clean the grate, and put on the protein.
I left for a moment to get a plate. When I came back, my daughter announced, "I saved the patties!" Having watched me flip them prior while explaining that we didn't want them to burn, she took the initiative to also flip them when she thought they might be burning from the sizzle.
My wife came out at that point. "Dad gave us a little test," she told her and explained what she had accomplished. Yes, I thought, ...a test! I went with that instead of admitting that I was not paying attention to the grill as closely as I should have been.
The silver lining here is, if I had not been distracted, I may have forgotten what we were there to do: teach and learn. I might have done all the work myself while they watched.
When we hear the word "assessment", what comes to mind?
a quiz or a test
an authentic project
a written reflection on an experience
This is the noun, an event. In my family's context, I might have next asked my kids to grill on their own and evaluate how well they cooked the food. If I had handed over the spatula to my kids without any "little tests" before they tried it on their own, I don't know if they would be successful.
This approach is not necessarily the same as the verb "assess". The word derives from the Latin root assidere, which means "to sit beside". In this context, assessment is not an event but a natural part of the learning process: embedded, formative, almost invisible to the learner.
So, we might think of assessment in two ways: Big "A" as an event, and little "a" as process. Both are important parts of instruction. Yet it's wise to remember which one, as minor as it might appear, is more effective for learning and building independence. We explore the ideas of authentic assessment more this week on the newsletter. If you have not already, please sign up below.
Photos by Hugues de BUYER-MIMEURE and Taylor Grote on Unsplash