I was really engaged by this presentation. The Shakespeare references were right on target. The idea of proof of learning being complex is refreshing considering our current testing atmosphere.If we are truly engaging our students in deep learning, we need to rethink evaluation and its relationship to learning, creativity and the magic that occurs when students really get caught up in their own learning.

I loved the comparison to Shakespeare. I feel evaluation should complement the learning involved. We cannot put all learning into the same box and evaluated the same. When we ask our students to “think outside the box” and then we grade them within the box, it seems an injustice to their creative thinking. However, caution should be taken to not “dumb down” to a lower think but to encourage students to dig deep within themselves and pull out their potential.

Gardner, I loved the way Shakespeare was interwoven throughout your presentation. Very, very nicely done. I also appreciated your thought-provoking idea (and careful discussion) about putting student work online as a form of performance assessment.

Although I think it’s an appropriate direction to head, I don’t have much hope that we will move to a more performance-based assessment system anytime soon. Even if we could get over the mental blocks, we still have a large sector of society that thinks that standardized tests are THE way to go (e.g., the ‘back to basics’ group, which I’m guessing is roughly half of America). Plus the time issue is huge. Standardized tests are in place because they’re relatively quick and easy and cheap compared to the alternative. While I think standardized testing has its place in P-12 education, I’d love to see us move in the direction you describe.

Thanks for a great presentation.

The Shakespeare theme really gave the presentation a nice flow. I think one of the hardest issues to deal with when we try to work with performance-based and self-determined assessments is that everyone isn’t being evaluated by the same standard. Heaven forbid that we stray away from everyone being assessed the same way with the same assessment tool on the same day in the same room…well, you get the idea. It’s also very time consuming for teachers to create innovative assessment tools that allow each student to showcase their learning.
I really liked the “Apgar test”. What a great way to make students reflect about how much of themselves they are actually putting into their learning.

[...] 9, 2008 Dr. Campbell gives us a lot to think about in his presentation on assessment. He draws us in immediately with his creative opening revealing how he learned about assessment [...]

Thanks for providing your clear opinion on the value of shared and showcased student technology products and experiences as a form of assessment. At my school there is a desire to prove that our students have ‘basic technology skills’. My emphasis, however, has always been on providing experiences that enhance learning and letting the products and experiences demonstrate that the ‘basic technology skills’ have been attained through the process.

Read a reflection in my blog entry.

[...] chose to review the session Asking Bigger Questions About Assessment by Gardner Campbell. I picked a topic that I know is on the forefront of educators’ minds. I [...]

[...] The third presentation that I am reviewing is the one that I found most valuable. It is called Asking bigger questions about assessment by Gardner Campbell. He starts off by explaining how Shakespear is very concerned with assessment. He looks at A [...]

[...] 2, 2008 · Filed under Uncategorized xAsking Bigger Questions About Assessment How can we demonstrate that what we do with teaching and learning technologies makes a difference [...]

Wonderful and thought-provoking presentation! This topic interested me because we are in the process of talking about assessment and re-evaluating what is real assessment for the 21st century in our school. Although we see a need to be data driven because these types of assessments are practical and will never really go away (SAT, SAT II, AP, aka. standardized tests), kids are going into a world where execution of knowledge and intelligence will also be evaluated and considered of utmost priority. This presentation caused me to sit down and think about how I could transform assessment, using Web 2.0 skills, to not only satisfy the need to provide scientific data, but also involve my students in a way that incorporates the values of old (oral exams, witnessing and testifying) with the values of the new (play, technology, collaboration). I really came up with some interesting ideas to try!

[...] selected the presentation entitled “Prove It Keynote – Asking Bigger Questions about Assessment“.  I really enjoyed hearing the main points of this thought-provoking presentation and [...]

[...] online Conference I attended was PROVE IT KEYNOTE: “Asking Bigger Questions About Assessments“.  Gardner Campbell gave an insightful talk about basing assessments on something that has [...]

[...] also listened to Asking Bigger Questions About Assessment by Gardner Campbell under the Prove It section.  Since using Web 2.0 requires collaborative [...]

[...] attended Gardner Campbell’s talk regarding assessment of these 21st century tools in a classroom [...]