- chapter 6 of How People Learn
- "The Fundamentals of Formative Assessment" from What Teachers Really Need to Know About Formative Assessment by Greenstein
These readings covered the basics of what formative assessment is - basically, checking in with students' learning in order to tailor lessons to their needs and development - and why it's important. Because it's where I'm headed, I read the chapters through the lens of public librarianship. I have to say, I'm not sure how to two go together.
Certainly, when doing library-based instruction, it's important to understand patrons' prior knowledge and/or cultural context, something that was covered in the reading. But for the most part, the concepts of formative assessment and learner- and knowledge-centered environments that were discussed seem best suited to the long-term teaching of children. I don't know how well these theories would play out when conducting short-term teaching of adults.
If a workshop in, say, how to use an e-reader lasts an hour, it would be possible to pause at the half-hour mark to ask the patrons to do a quick exercise to assess their understanding. But how then can the lesson be tailored to help those who need it? Getting to know your students also seems to be a vital component of creating a learner-centered environment, and it would be difficult in the context of teaching a single lesson to a group of busy adults. Or busy college students, for that matter, if you force me to think about academic librarianship.
I can also see adults not responding well to teaching methods developed for children. Even I bristle a little at the thought of someone conducting something called "formative assessment" on me (even though I'm a student and it happens all the time).
I'll be interested to see how these concepts play out in class discussion this week. I'm sure Kristin will say something I hadn't thought of, as usual.
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