Have a look. What do you see?
I could say …
- lots of paint.
- blobs of colour.
- many handprints.
- swirly lines.
- tons of plates.
- dirty brushes.
- a container of water.
- upright and knocked over bottles.
- a self-regulation nightmare. 🙂
- a big mess.
Or, after looking closely at our day today, I could say …
- collaboration.
- reflective practice.
- problem solving.
- responsibility.
- creativity.
- artistic license.
- compromise.
- sharing.
- perseverance.
- meeting goals.
- metacognition.
- student leadership.
- student ownership.
- student voice and choice.
- fun, thinking, communication, application, learning.
When we only look at the final product, what learning are we missing? How do you acknowledge and celebrate the messy “process” of learning? After today, maybe I finally understand what “evaluating the process” really means.
Aviva
Great post! I think that paying attention to the process is so important when giving feedback to students. If we don’t have an understanding of the how they got there, and what they did along the way then our feedback may not hit upon the next step that will help move them forward. With today’s tech tools it makes it easier for educators to capture the process. We need to really start leveraging this more as educators. Thanks Aviva.
Thanks for the comment, Blayne! Excellent point. I think that it’s so easy to remember to use these tools to capture the final product (through a photograph or a video), but what about for capturing the process? How would you recommend that people get started with this? It would be neat to hear about different approaches.
Aviva
In writing I think the revision history that is available in Google Docs is amazing. I used this feature to go back and look through what my students accomplished day by day. I also used this to look at their editing and revising. Are they making surface grammar and spelling changes? Or are they getting right in their and evaluating the impact and meaningfulness of ideas?
In math I will often pair a struggling student with an iPad and Explain Everything (if I cannot sit with them myself). I will get them to record their problem solving process so I can review it with them later that day, or later that night and pinpoint some next steps that will help them move forward.
Other options I have used are screencasts using Smart Notebook.
Some low tech ways:
In math, when problem solving ask students to NEVER erase or cross out any of their work. I asked my students to use thought bubbles to explain their thinking.
If you ask students to reflect during different parts of an activity or project you can also gain insight into what they are struggling with etc.
Thank you so much for sharing so many practical ideas, Blayne! I love using many of these same tools/programs, especially Explain Everything. I also podcast a lot, as then I can hear the student discussions and thinking behind their work. It would be great to hear how others use low-tech and high-tech options to capture the process of learning.
Aviva