Getting started

Originally posted to eBridge on Monday 19 March 2012

This is going to be an interesting module as we start to look into the culture of assessment itself. My first and most resounding revelation has come from reading one of favourite books on education, Making Learning Happen (Race, 2010). Throughout the course to date, the primary means through which I have been assessed is essays. Race is particularly critical of the use of essays for assessment, and one of the key areas in which essays generally fail is validity, since the skill that is actually being assessed is the ability to write essays, which isn't valued outside of the higher education context.

So this brings about uncomfortable questions, such as:

• Have I developed any skills other than essay writing?
• Have I really mastered the content, or just learned to write eloquently about it?
• Will I be able to convince my employers (present or future) that I have developed during the course?
• What will I be able to do differently as a result of being on this course?
• Have I been valuing the right kind of skills?
• Will my skills enhance my future practice and make a difference to others?

I think my participation on the course constitutes more than just writing a few essays, since I have developed my critical thinking. I have always been drawn to introspection, but perhaps not been so good at communicating my thoughts to others, so taking the time to develop my writing skills has been of benefit, as evidenced through my keeping a public blog to communicate to others within a new medium - some people actually seem to have taken notice too! My colleagues do seem to appreciate that I have been pushing the boundaries of what I do, although how I progress within the organisation seems to be a very uncertain issue, particularly as we are undergoing reorganisation at the moment, although perhaps that's a good environment for finding new opportunities?

For the future I am resolved to thinking and questioning how the assessment process is really working, and how I can influence others to make a real difference; after all I am working for the largest of the assessment bodies in the country...

References:

• Race, P. 2010, Making Learning Happen: A Guide for Post-Compulsory Education. 2^nd ed. Sage.