Today is the second day of the Bring I.T. Together Conference, and both conversations and presentations over the past two days have made me contemplate various blog posts. As I sit down for a little quiet time at the end of lunch today, I realized that I needed to write one of these blog posts before the start of the afternoon sessions. A special “thank you” to Jamie Reaburn and Andrew Bieronski for inspiring this post and my growing thoughts on Growing Success.
I decided to attend both Jamie and Andrew’s sessions this morning: one was about giving students voice and choice in their learning, and one was about assessment. During their sessions — especially the second one — Jamie and Andrew discussed the triangulation of data, and how we can use observations, conversations, and work products to assess students. They delved into their own growth in these areas, and addressed how their high school students respond to classroom learning opportunities and feedback options within their rooms. I found out that I’m not alone in loving Growing Success, and it’s great to see these secondary school educators providing a more open model of education that we provide to our Kindergarten learners.
It’s talk on the triangulation of data in @msjrea & @AndrewBieronski’s second #bit17 session. Like Andrew, I ❤️❤️❤️ Growing Success.
— Aviva Dunsiger (@avivaloca) November 9, 2017
While I cannot say enough positive things about the learning opportunities that these two educators are providing for their students, their story leaves me with a deeper worry.
What do we need to do to make Growing Success no longer new? Worries me that it’s still seems “new.” Why? #bit17
— Aviva Dunsiger (@avivaloca) November 9, 2017
Using Growing Success seems to be novel.
- Does it just seem this way because these educators are focusing on their professional growth and changes in assessment?
- Is this “newness” as true for both elementary and secondary school?
- What does this mean when it comes to the Growing Success — The Kindergarten Addendum? How long will it remain as “new?”
- When might Growing Success no longer become “new?” How do we support this change on a bigger scale?
- What impact might a bigger, total adoption of Growing Success have on how students view assessment, how they view themselves as learners, and how educators view them as learners?
I don’t have any answers to these questions, but I’m hoping that this blog post might continue an important conversation around assessment. #BIT17 is often viewed as a “tech conference,” and I love how this conference has made me contemplate programming, assessment, evaluation, and the full implementation of an important Ministry Document. Pedagogy is definitely alive and well at #BIT17.
Recently, in our classroom, we’ve had a lot of success with a “drop and draw” space.
Thanks to Jamie and Andrew for inspiring me to create an adult version of this space today and “dropping and blogging.” Some topics call for immediate sharing. What would you add to this assessment/evaluation discussion?
Aviva