When children are engaging in meaningful learning, it can be difficult to assess what they have learned, as each child will have learned something different and perhaps in a different way. This means that regular assessment forms such as tests and quizzes cannot work as accurate evaluation pieces. I found that meaningful learning is best assessed through reflective feedback pieces or through portfolios, as these allow the teacher to track a child’s development, to see where new knowledge has been formed and to see a child’s problem solving attempts/techniques. Through these forms students can show the teacher what they have found meaningful and what growth they have had individually.
A great tool that has come out with the technological age is E-portfolios. E-portfolios allow children to document their development and work. This works just as a regular student portfolio would, expect for the fact that the student has access to it and they put all their work in it. I believe this is a great tool as it allows teachers to track a child’s work, while at the same time allowing the child to track it as well. With regular portfolios once the work has been collected, it usually goes away into the cupboard only to resurface during parent-teacher interviews or the end of the year. With E-portfolios children can go back and look at their accomplishments whenever they please. They even have the opportunity to further explore and modify them if they choose. This allows a portfolio to remain up to date and current. It also gives the children an opportunity to share with their fellow peers through displaying their efforts and achievements.
Since children are becoming meaningful learners through technology, I believe it only makes sense that teachers choose technological methods to assess them. We are working with a new generation of students whose interests vary and who display learning in multiple ways. We as teachers need to be aware and skilled with the necessary methods available to track our students’ development. At the same time, we must not be afraid to introduce these programs to our students. We must follow their interests and become familiar with various programs and technologies that will add meaningful learning experiences into the children’s lives. It is through fostering their interests that we will be able to see a child true potential and abilities. Being a great teacher means constructing a classroom environment that is reflective of its students; we must all strive to be great teachers.
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