and creativity. Creativity is developed and enhanced through a combination of creative acts and the assessments that capture these acts. Robinson (2015) says:
Being creative is not about having off-the-wall ideas and letting your imagination run free. It may involve all of that, but it also involves refining, testing, and focusing what you are doing. It’s about original thinking on the part of the individual, and it’s also about judging critically whether the work in process is taking the right shape and is worthwhile, at least for the person producing it. (p. 147)
Edges are soft when we explore ways to assess and meet the creative and intellectual needs of our learners.
How We Speak About Assessment
Even when we approach education with the intention to empower and the desire to nurture the whole student, our language can often contradict these aims. Although unintentional, the language we use about assessment and its connection to learning can be at odds with what we are trying to communicate and accomplish. We may tell students that practice is important for developing learning but then ask them to rush through an assignment because time is short. We may explain that self-assessment is about developing independence and determining how they perceive their own progress toward goals but then use phrases like “Tell me what you liked” or “Justify to me why you made the choice you did,” implying that the audience for a self-assessment is still just the teacher and not themselves. Our language reflects our beliefs, and our beliefs impact our decisions. As Anne Burns (1992) notes, “The teacher’s verbalisations reflect something of the interplay between belief and decision-making constantly operating beneath the surface of more observable classroom language and behavior” (p. 63). When we hear students talk about point grabbing (demanding additional marks for effort or compliance alone) and how to get out of work, we need to examine the paradigm our language is establishing and the effect it is having on the beliefs of our students in our shared spaces. Furthermore, the language around assessment we use as adults both reflects and forms our own beliefs.
The messages in our language around assessment practices and learning can be subtle, but over time can establish a wider belief about what assessment is for, what it means, and who it serves. When our language aligns with our assessment practices, and both communicate responsibility and authentic purpose, we can avoid the dreaded question, “Is this for points?” Table 1.1 provides some examples of language considerations.
Table 1.1: Language Considerations
| Instead of … | Try … |
| We need to help students make connections in their answers. | Students will make connections in their answers. |
| This is a subtle difference, but anytime our language implies who is responsible for the learning, and that person is someone other than the learner, we have set ourselves up for an ownership problem. Our language must always communicate a belief that students are responsible for their own learning and that we believe they can handle that responsibility. We cannot let ourselves believe that we will make anyone learn; the finesse of teaching is creating circumstances in which students are able to learn and then gradually releasing that responsibility to them. | |
| This counts; this doesn’t count. | Every bit of learning matters, and every bit of learning counts. |
| In reality, everything counts if it is part of constructing new understanding. As long as we continue to delineate, we inadvertently create a paradigm where formative assessment, practice, and daily learning do not count and will not be taken seriously. When we use these terms, we reinforce point grabbing and undermining intrinsic motivation. However, clarifying the difference between learning and assessment to improve versus reporting is important when talking about formative and self-assessment. Our work as educators is to know where our students are going, to support them in reaching those goals, and to verify learning once it happens. At the core of these responsibilities is professional judgment, and when we are making reasoned and well-informed judgments, everything counts. Learning counts. | |
| We will be covering … | You will be learning … |
| Covering is a verb that relates solely to the teacher. When teachers refer to covering content, they are often referencing the work they need to do with the course topics and resources. Again, this implies that the teacher—and not the student—owns the content. The student is passive in this equation. True learning happens when the learner is an active participant. We have to move from discussing what we are teaching to discussing what students are learning. | |
| Prove your understanding; justify your thinking. | Support your understanding; clarify and expand on your thinking. |
| While we certainly want our students to be persuasive and comprehensive when they communicate understanding and share opinions, these terms again can imply that the sole reason for doing so is to give the teacher what he or she wants to hear; the teacher becomes the only audience and purpose. Asking students to prove or justify their thinking to us can establish a singular purpose dependent on another person’s opinion. This isn’t all bad, but we want to shift the purpose away from the teacher and toward the students’ personal messages and encourage their commitment to ensuring they are clearly represented. We can achieve this by searching for audiences and purposes that invite true student investment, supporting their students’ desire to be heard and understood. In those cases where the teacher truly is the sole audience, changing our language to reflect a purpose that rests with the student is important. Prompts like “How can you ensure your message is clear and convincing to others?” is a slight shift in language but reminds students that their message is what is most important. | |
| This is worth ten points. | This will show your understanding and hard work. |
| When we state that an assignment is worth a grade or a certain number of points, we can inadvertently communicate that the only reason to do the assignment is because it has a quantifiable value. We engage our learners in a game, where they weigh their effort against the value of an assignment. Students who are accustomed to experiencing failure will often see this reward as insurmountable, while high-achieving students ready themselves for playing the game of finding the best way to please the teacher. We want the learning experience to be intrinsically motivated as much as possible. Assessment responses show learning, and this is worth more than any grade. | |
| Great response. I am impressed. | Thank you. |
| When we offer students feedback like this, we can create a cycle of compliance and a desire to please the teacher as opposed to thinking deeply. This can greatly reduce creative and critical thinking as well as risk taking. Before we know it, students are looking to us to confirm learning, and the opportunity for self-regulation is lost. Furthermore, students will also acquiesce to those in the room who everyone accepts as being the knowers. Praise like this can support this paradigm and diminish participation when it is handed out to some. Simply thanking students for thinking without offering general praise can better support students in developing independence and authentic engagement. | |
| I am going to … | Your job is to … |
| It is important to consistently place the responsibility for learning where it belongs—in the hands of the learners. We can offer support, but it is far more valuable when that support follows self-reflection and goal setting by the student. Too often, we step in too early, believing this is what good teachers do. We have to empower students in their quest for knowledge. | |
| Once we finish this unit … | This learning leads us into … |
| One of the biggest misconceptions our education system perpetuates is that learning has a beginning and an end. Our day is divided into timetabled segments, and our teaching is divided into subjects and units of study. This can promote the idea that the skills and knowledge students gain in a unit only matter for a short time. Students will cram for assessment events and leave learning behind as soon as the marks have been given. To shift this story, we have to continually strive to connect learning for students. Learning is continual and so, too, is assessment. New learning replaces old; clarity takes the place of misconceptions. The skills and knowledge we gain in one unit will serve us in future learning. These connections need to be explicit. |
Our language around assessment and learning
