INITIATING AND SUSTAINING CONVERSATIONS:

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION IN THE AGE OF NETWORKED LEARNING

Konrad GlogowskiOntario Institute for Studies in Education

University of Torontohttp://www.oise.utoronto.ca

http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog

Assessment Needs to be Conversational

Image Credit: dhammza http://flickr.com/photos/dhammza/88536167/

Blogs in the Classroom

• Away from “School Writing”• Inquiry-Oriented Approach

Inquiry-Oriented Curriculum(Gordon Wells, 1995)

• Theme should challenge students to extend their interests and develop new skills.

• The theme should awaken a sense of curiosity.• Forum where students can freely express

ideas and ask questions.

Conversational Assessment

• Take advantage of intrinsic motivation.

• Assess and evaluate through conversations that guide and engage.

Image credit: ecstaticist: http://flickr.com/photos/ecstaticist/447721982/

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

FLOW

The mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity.

FLOW

1. Goals are Clear.2. Feedback is Immediate.3. A Balance between Opportunity and Capacity.4. Concentration Deepens.5. The Present is What Matters.6. Control is No problem.7. The Sense of Time is Altered.8. The Loss of Ego.

GOALS NEED TO BE CLEARInitiating and Sustaining Conversational Assessment

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How to Grow a Blog

How to Grow a Blog

How to Grow a Blog

FEEDBACK NEEDS TO BUILD AGENCY, BE MEANINGFUL AND IMMEDIATE

Initiating and Sustaining Conversational Assessment

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FLOW: A BALANCE BETWEEN OPPORTUNITY AND CAPACITY

Initiating and Sustaining Conversational Assessment

Self-Assessment Sheet

Who Am I?

Who Am I?

Who Am I?

Who Am I?

Instructional Scaffolding/Conversations

“a dialogue between teacher and learners in which the teacher listens carefully to grasp the students’ communicative intent, and tailors the dialogue to meet the emerging understanding of the learners” (Tharp & Gallimore, 1991).

Instructional Scaffolding(Langer, 1984)

• Ownership of the Learning Event• Appropriateness of the Instructional Task• Supportive Instruction• Shared Responsibility• Internalization

Two Pillars of Happiness

Differentiation:

“involves realizing that we are unique individuals, responsible for our own survival and well-being, who are willing to develop this uniqueness wherever it leads, while enjoying the expression of our being in action.”

Two Pillars of Happiness

Integration:

“realization that however unique we are, we are also completely enmeshed in networks of relationships with other human beings, with cultural symbols and artifacts, and with the surrounding natural environment.

Linda Rief:“When kids are given choices in what they read and what they write, and time to think about what they are doing, their writing and reading get better. When we trust them to set goals and to evaluate their learning in progress, we will begin to realize that they know much more than we allow them to tell us through our set curriculums, our standardized tests, our writing samples.”(D. H. Graves, and Sunstein, B. S. (Eds.), Portfolio Portraits.)

Thank You!

Konrad Glogowskihttp://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog

Initiating and Sustaining Conversations: Assessment and Evaluation in the Age of

Networked Learning