“A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem” – Albert Einstein

Justin Lanier (@j_lanier) recently blogged a story that succinctly captured my current thoughts on pedagogy. Justin’s post was a welcome relief with what seems to me a growing pre-occupation with trends, styles or approaches to teaching – (guilty here, see related post). For instance, a Twitter conversation highlighted to me that my way of Project-Based Learning (PBL) could confuse some as  it did not follow the 8 Essential Elements of PBL published by BIE. That conversation shook me enough to hide the link to my PBL page; however, I stand by my way because it’s been gleaned from my personal and professional experience which is really relevant to the computing subjects I teach…. I just don’t say I do PBL anymore.

But let me move on to what I really want to write about here….

The tagline of this blog is – It’s all about learning – and I’ve come to appreciate that this is precisely why I blog…to share my learning journey, mostly through my teaching practice. Part of this journey is my search for what it is that optimises learning and my Tag cloud shows quite a variety of these. Truth be told, what really works for me in optimising learning is not a teaching approach or style. It’s no secret either. It’s building relationships….and relevant posts are under the tag: You Matter, a phrase largely credited to @AngelaMaiers, and one I’ve extended to You Matter, I Care.

Regarding content, my Tag cloud also includes metaphors and analogies, stories, focus on literacy, and lots more under a very generic tag of learning strategies. When asked, I often say that what learning needs is a context – real world or make-believe.

Here’s a book that explains why what works for me actually works….and it contains more tools/strategies….and how-tos….and encouragement …and it is called ….

image courtesy of thebookdepository.com

an imaginative approach to teaching - by Kieran Egan

The premise of the book is to tap into the students’ emotions and imagination using cognitive tools they develop as they grow.

The book is narrative in style and you can almost hear the author speaking. Egan encourages teachers to make use of these tools, mix-and match and leverage growth in students (i.e. can still use stories and play even when they are ready for theoretic thinking or abstraction). Being practical-oriented, the book is perhaps better used as a reference, e.g. select tools, rather than read from start to finish.

The tools are so ‘obvious’ from one’s own learning experience that they seem ordinary and perhaps why they aren’t used more often. What tools are there?

Part 1: A Tool kit for Learning

• story
• metaphor
• binary opposites
• rhyme, rhythm and pattern
• jokes and humor
• mental imagery
• gossip
• play
• mystery
• embryonic tools of literacy

Part 2: A Tool Kit for Literacy

• sense of reality
• extremes of experience and limits of reality
• associate with heroes
• sense of wonder
• collections and hobbies
• knowledge and human meaning
• narrative understanding
• revolt and idealism
• changing the context
• literate eye
• embryonic tools of theoretic thinking

Part 3: A Tool Kit of Theoretic Thinking

• sense of abstract reality
• sense of agency
• grasp of general ideas and their anomalies
• search for authority and truth
• meta-narrative understanding

The list certainly affirms tools that worked for me such as stories, metaphors, changing the context (e.g. problems vs exercises, teaching equations big-picture style),  association with heroes (e.g. Polya, Jedis), sense of agency (Cloud, Dream),  as well as some I haven’t blogged about.  AND I’ve now got a host of other tools to explore including mystery, revolt and idealism as well as meta-narrative understanding.

and since I’ve fallen in love with Inquiry learning, it may just take that form. A mystery would make a nice inquiry, no?

p.s. If you don’t want to buy the book, resources are available online on ierg.net.

Today I took my year 10 IST students to the Microsoft headquarters in Sydney. This was the first school excursion I’ve ever organised and after jumping so many hoops, I was really hoping it’d all be worth it.

The free event was organised by 2realise, a government-funded initiative to help students explore career pathways. The pitch was promoting careers in IT for women and this was good enough for me to jump the hoops to take my girls.

The event ran for 2 – 1/2 hours, comprising of an overview of career pathways in Microsoft, a Q and A session with a panel of women employees from various divisions, a tour of the office and finally a session on gaming (er, Interactive Entertainment Division), including playing Xbox Kinects.

The Good

All-up, I think the event was a success in enthusing students about IT, in general, and the potential of careers in IT. One student said, “I thought that I really couldn’t work in an office environment but I could work in that office”. Microsoft had funky furniture in different configurations, shapes and colours – meeting hubs, workspaces, etc.  Employees had cool lockers – because they have no desks. Each floor had a kitchen/dining area where employees could get free hot and cold drinks. There were also chill zones for relaxation or playing Xbox, table soccer, etc.

Panelists spoke passionately about their different roles and how they loved the flexible work arrangements, travel, opportunities for professional learning and career advancement. The graduate program sounded really good. They all seemed to love what they were doing and genuinely loved working at Microsoft (maybe I should go back to IT and work for Microsoft).

My students were a-buzz and the de-brief on the way home indicated that they really enjoyed the experience…. I even got a ‘thank you’. (Aside: I’m sure I read a while ago that students remember excursions more than what they learn in the classrooms).

But then

The downside, I think, was that there were no panelists who were “real” techies – the geeky side of IT. It’s not a real surpise given that Microsoft research and development are all outside of Australia (maybe I won’t go back to IT or work for Microsoft, after all). The focus in Australia is sales, marketing and technical support.  All good professions, I’m sure, but not for me.

I felt disappointed every time a panelist said that they’re not a techie as I felt they were saying they were not good enough for it. Maybe they’re too cool to be a geek? OR maybe, I’m just reading too much into it? However, I felt short-changed for not hearing techie stories of women thriving in a techie world.

It was certainly good to hear that the company is working towards further raising the current 29:71 ratio of women to men. I do wonder though if that ratio is higher in Sales and Marketing and so the disparity and stereotypes continue?

Here I am trying to enthuse my girls to get excited about IT research and development. Yet, how much of that actually happens in Australia? Are exciting IT jobs off-shore?

So then

So, was it worth it? I am not so sure yet. But hey, I’ve learned how to organise excursions. The class feels closer and I’ve also got something concrete I can refer back to in future lessons.

Hmmm, where can I take them next?  Requests are in for Apple and Google. How hard can it be to score an excursion to these places?

They were supposed to get started with planning for the next  stage of their multimedia projects; maybe even get started developing components of it.

BUT

My year 10s were visibly unsettled today at period 1. They said they had an English assessment next period – speech. They exchanged stories of how late they went to bed to get this ready and the ‘winner’ (not in my class) went to bed at 4:30 a.m. How anyone could function with such little sleep is beyond me!

We ploughed through the work that needed to be done but they were easily distracted and not really focusing.

SO

In the end, I succumbed and gave them the last half hour of the lesson to practice for their speeches. They had to pretend it’s the real thing so they had to perform in front of everyone as against doing it quietly in their own ‘corner’.  I figured, they weren’t really being productive in my subject so they might as well be productive in something.

Here’s a gist of what happened:

• I had a glimpse of their creativity, literacy and thinking skills in another context (English)
• Students took on roles voluntarily as time-keeper and editors
• Students gave each other constructive feedback
• I gave constructive feedback
• Students felt more settled and ready to face their assessment, even those who did not perform but still got editing help
• We’ve got a concrete example of positive collaboration – one I’m going to keep promoting in MY class

Part of me feels like I’ve been sucked in. Yet, was it really a waste of time?

The incident revolve around Alice being called a hero teacher and Bianca being stumped as to what sort of support she needed to sustain the [amazing] work that she does. I encourage you to read their blogposts for their responses.

I’m posting to present another perspective and perhaps, in response to some of the negative reactions towards Hannon – a lady I’ve never met or heard of until now.

See, when I first saw the word ‘hero’ in this whole thing, my first thought was the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) levels - something I came across when still working in software development (my career prior to teaching) in the process of effecting business process change (yes, in the era of Business Process Re-engineering…geez, I feel old). That’s when I first heard of an organisation being predominantly of hero-mentality and that this wasn’t good because successes depended on individuals who can not be with the company forever (people move, people die). So then, it was important to capture expertise (think Knowledge Management) and roll out ‘best practices’ (think Process Management).

Business Process Re-engineering meant Change Management which meant having change agents, across all levels of the organisations – a combination of top-down and grassroots change. I worked as an IT Process Manager, I knew that without grassroots support, none of my “peddled” best practices would’ve been implemented, let alone managed or optimised.

Back then, we were in Level 1 – chaotic, ad hoc, hero mentality and aiming for Level 2 – Repeatable processes….and the holy grail: Level 5 – Optimising.

I think Hannon may be coming from this perspective, i.e. for good change to be sustainable, it’s got to be more than grassroots level – her response to Bianca suggested as much (you’ve read Bianca’s post by now, right?). One cannot be behind GELP and not push for the value of leadership as necessary in effecting sustainable change.

I agree.

It’s not that being a hero is undesirable as such. We need heroes. I certainly do.  Really, it’s just that heroes are not  enough.

I love that Bianca and Alice blog because they actually document and share their work so others can do them, too (think Level 2 – repeatable). They blog and tweet about their successes and questions and doubts ….altogether painting a very human picture; these are the type of heroes I love. I’m not a hero nor do I aspire to be. That’s not really the point, because I am a teacher, grassroots level in the educational hierarchy. I am dancing with the lone nut, awkwardly, but dancing nonetheless. I blog even, in the hope that some of the stuff I do can be repeated (OR AVOIDED).

BUT, I also believe that heroes are not enough.  Change has to happen at many levels. I see hope because I know people like Cameron Paterson, John Goh, Edna Sackson, Matt Esterman- and many many more who are trying to effect sustainable change in different ways, at different levels of the organisation. Of course, I would MUCH prefer that we actually worked in the same school!

As for CMM, check out the critique. In an environment where there are so many variables, even heroes doing exactly the same thing can get different ‘results’. We are dealing with people, individuals – not programmable software with predictable results. By the way, this is an insight to my critique of applying corporate practices into education, e.g. performance pay, but that is subject of another post…if I get ”round to it.

Change is afoot. I am part of it. Are you?

A few weeks ago, I introduced the archetypal learning spaces (Bianca Hewes makes an appearance here yet again as a source of inspiration). Since then, we used campfire, waterhole and cave on a regular basis. To my surprise today, my year 9s decided to voluntarily form a campfire because apparently, “it’s tradition” and “it’s fun”…like, checking in with each other (not quite the definition, I know, but still….). Also, one of the students used her tablet to display a roaring fire. We soon realised that this was indeed fun and a photo opportunity…..smartphones galore…mine included.

This class is shaping up to be a real community of learners, happy to be in the classroom and almost reluctant to leave even for recess or lunch. Go figure! They have become comfortable with the self-directed approach and regarding each other as resources for learning AND me as NOT a font of all knowledge…more like the font of questions! Subsequent iterations of Medals and Missions (mentioned in this post, Making Progress) are better with me being less austere with the medals (haha). I don’t even have to prompt them to do their missions…they just get done.

No deep post here; rather, a celebration. A good reminder that sometimes, things work and when they do, life’s good.

yes.

Life’s good.

Anyway, I had to watch that video lots and lots and lots of times. What really hooked me was this notion of variability as aid to learning and transference, even if the performance gain (observable stuff we teachers measure as evidence of learning) is non-existent or slow. See folks, this is why I love Algebra! And in fact, that’s how Algebra should be taught, i.e. change those variables so students can see that the relationships expressed in an equation will yield different values as variables change. This is transference in number terms, literally.

I’m not going to pretend I understand the video completely. I don’t. What does spacing even means? I’m guessing interleaving means making connections. Interleaving vs blocking new things to be learned. whoa!

This is exactly how my PBLs are progressing. Variability. Interleaving vs blocking new things. Conditions are neither constant nor predictable (these terms are from the video, ok?).

Precisely because of how the Year 9 Digital Media Jedi Academy is set up, there is so much variability. I’ve got kids learning to write HTML code, writing ebooks, creating wikis, typography and critically analysing their process…yep, writing their applications to level up. And they’re excited about what they’re doing that invariably (haha) I have to boot them out when bell goes. Comments heard today: “I’ve done so much”, “I’ve learned so much”, “This is exciting”.  They’re collaborating, giving peer feedback and affirmations and best of all, learning how to help themselves.

Their applications to level up are done in Word, submitted to our virtual classroom (a Sharepoint site). I annotate these. Then it hit me that I had no idea of checking if they’ve really read these annotations – we’re talking individualised feedback here that took time and effort! Bianca Hewes (@biancaH80) to the rescue. More specifically, her post on feedback (a must read so go there, will you?) that mentioned the Goals, Medals, Missions framework. I told the students that they had to hunt down the medals and missions in my feedback. This had the added bonus of student feedback on my own annotations. It was clear that I was rather austere on the medals department. haha. I’ll fix that. I wish Sharepoint has notifications like edmodo.

My Year 10 PBL on the school purpose has taken twists and turns I could not have predicted. These kids are getting so engrossed on making sense of the school purpose and want to take the rest of the school with them. I’m actually rather flabbergasted though obviously proud of them taking ownership.  They designed surveys for staff and students and we had amazing discussions on the art of writing surveys and the challenges of collation…we were optimistic we’d get heaps of responses. Now they’re talking about making it a game and what do I know really of Game Design. Well, I’m learning along with them. Like my year 9s, I have to dismiss them a few times before they actually leave the room.

This post is long enough methinks. Anyway, I’m feeling good about the progress. Yeah, I still feel lost but I think I might get used to it and welcome it. That’s a good thing, right?

And just to end on the idea of abstraction: neither Bianca nor Kelli teach maths or computing; yet, see how I’ve abstracted from their work and applied to my context (steal like an artist - go on, check it out….interleaving, see?). This abstraction is Algebra IRL. really.

Can teaching be approached the same way, i.e. seek different perspectives, enjoy the unusual (every student is an individual, after all), maybe inject a bit more art and fun, maybe dare go where I’ve previously not dared?

Little did I know that I would face up to it so soon. Here’s what I’m doing with years 9-12.

When I introduced each of these, all classes seemed surprised and lost because they got tasks they knew not how to approach (PBL vs doing projects). I very nearly gave up then and thought perhaps, being a new teacher in this school, I should ease in and start with traditional teaching approaches….approaches the students were used to. I had doubts, i.e. felt lost…just a little.

BUT since I’ve invested time and effort setting these up, I thought I’d keep going.

This was good because the Year 9s really stepped up since.  Though they could choose any digital media type, I insisted the first one should be text, being the easiest theory-wise and to ease them into the process of self-direction. Some students have opted – with a bit of encouragement – to challenge themselves and try new things like writing an ebook, creating a wiki and learning HTML.

The Year 10s have started to wonder why a school would articulate its purpose at all and why bother to understand it.

The Year 11s have started to wonder how data can indeed be transformed into information to serve one’s purpose.

The Year 12s have started to wonder how the current HSC course connect to last year’s preliminary course.

BUT it’s not all wins.

Today one of my year 12s expressed her (and one other’s) panic on discovering, through our PBL, how little they remember of the preliminary course AND now considering dropping the course.

While it is good “to know that you do not know”, I realise it is uncomfortable for one not used to it and certainly for one facing the high-stakes HSC exams. 

Not long after I spotted @MaryAnnReilly’s tweet that piqued my interest:

Some things I want 2 remember: getting lost opens us to wonder.How do you afford your students the privilege of getting lost? #edchat

— Mary Ann Reilly (@MaryAnnReilly) February 6, 2013

Getting lost is a privilege? An affordance of being in the classroom? whoa!  I did not intend for students to feel helplessly lost and now I wonder what to do.

@malynmawbyThe made map is different from the given one, yes?I’m all for making maps.I have little patience for ones given. #edchat — Mary Ann Reilly (@MaryAnnReilly) February 6, 2013

I really liked the idea of making maps.  

Yes RT @malynmawby: @maryannreilly I might use that language., i.e. “Let’s map our learning journey. What does your map look like?”. #edchat

— Mary Ann Reilly (@MaryAnnReilly) February 6, 2013

I am feeling lost – did I push some students way out of their comfort zone? – and I’ll have to map my own. I’m not quite sure how it will look yet. I cannot promise students will do well in the HSC but I can promise I will do what I can to help them.

I seek other perspectives and writing this post, while unnerving, helps…especially if you’ve got perspectives to offer; perhaps this has happened to you before?

Aside, I find it interesting that my year 9s seem more assured, even happily challenged in discovering what they don’t know.  Some are intentionally getting lost and excited about way-finding and sense-making …. making their own maps. Year 10s are showing similar signs, though perhaps with less enthusiasm.

Anyway, your thoughts welcome. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

I don’t feel organised. I don’t feel prepared. I don’t feel calm. I feel jet lagged (just lost your sympathy then, eh?).

Actually, I feel excited BECAUSE I start a new teaching role. This time ’round, I’ll be with TAS (Technological and Applied Studies) rather than Maths. Full teaching load and no official tech integration duties. It’s at an independent girls’ school and I’ll be teaching mandatory Technology in years 7 and 8, Info and Software Tech in years 9 and 10 and Info Processes and Tech in years 11 and 12. I’ll be teaching years 7-12! Big focus on Design and projects.

That’s why I’m excited.

I was wrong to say that I’m not teaching Maths this year because there’s actually a lot of maths in the subjects I’m teaching. The big difference is that now, the maths will be in context and applied….the way I want to teach maths.

That’s why I’m excited.

The TAS curriculum has core content with several options to apply the core content via projects. What this means is that PBL becomes the natural pedagogical choice (for me, anyway) as pre-cursor to the assessed project work. And yes, I distinguish between project-based learning and project-work.  PBL becomes the norm.

That’s why I’m excited.

I’ve never taught mandatory Technology before. My rotation will involve Digital Media but mostly it’s Textiles. How cool is that? I get to bring in my interest in colour theory, design principles and sewing.

That’s why I’m excited.

It’s all new really and there’s so much to learn.

That’s why I’m excited.

Now if I can just channel some of this excitement into focusing to get organised….

But wait, let me share these photos with you first:

I spotted this sign in one of the back streets in Montmartre, Paris; in the residential side, not in the tourist hub.  It took me a while to figure out that the sign was your usual no entry sign but had been altered in a more fun way, I think. Granted, it looked to be a completely different sign, e.g. different meaning BUT I just fell in love with the artistic approach to defacing the sign (if you can call it that).

Also in Montmartre, I spotted this lamp post with emoticons on the glass panels.

Can teaching be approached the same way, i.e. seek different perspectives, enjoy the unusual (every student is an individual, after all), maybe inject a bit more art and fun, maybe dare go where I’ve previously not dared?

Now, that’s exciting.

As 2012 comes to a close and with Christmas cheer in the air, I’d like to wish one and all a very Merry Christmas! Not everyone would see this post (or my front door) but I thought I’d write this anyway.

Increasingly commercialised, I need to remind myself that Christmas is so much more than shopping or even exchanging gifts…fun as that can be. It is a time to share with family and friends, celebrate traditions, and also a chance to look back on the year about to close (a good one for me) and forward to the year about to start (a promising one for me).  Ironically, it’s a stressful time for many, lonely even.  So this is a reminder for me as well to chill out and enjoy the time I do have with family and friends.

I  have no new year’s resolutions; haven’t had any for years!  Perhaps I’m never resolute enough early in the year.  Anyway, change, if desired enough, can happen at any time.

Merry Christmas! Here’s to a happy 2013, full of pleasant surprises, peace and goodwill.

…one can wish….

I didn’t make any more of it until this  article from The Guardian showed up a few days later,

The article was written to elicit response (clickbait as @lasic cleverly puts it) – the choice of photo included.  Aghast would sum it up for me.  Daniel Willingham, who inspired Gove, later tweeted a reasonable reaction, i.e. wait for the speech to be published and then perhaps write a blog post about points of accord and discord. It’s kind of what I’m attempting here though highly unlikely to be in the same calibre, nor perspective, as Willingham’s.

Anyway, the speech did become available and elicited more response – adeptly by Greg Thompson (aka @effectsofNAPLAN) as evident in his tweets which I’ve Storify’ed here. This time for me, “aghast” did not come into mind and also I was struck by the difference in my perception – or interpretation – of the speech compared to Greg.

I think that’s a big whole problem here – how things are interpreted can vary from the original intent, if in fact that can be discerned given the limits of language.   So here’s my opinion, fwiw, and that’s all it is….ok? Opinion….based on my experience, observations and yes, interpretations.

What a prologue! onwards…

Is there another way to look at all this?

Rote Learning / Memorisation

I’m not very good at memorising; in an English assessment in high school,  I challenged myself in high school to talk about Improving Memory.  I kid you not, I forgot the first few lines of the introduction and improvised! Ha! Fortunately, I got into the groove as my teacher looked up from a hardcopy, smiled (laughing, I’m sure) and encouraged me to go on.  To this day I regard highly a speaker who memorised his/her speech as more engaging than one reading it; I don’t think I’ll ever make an engaging speaker.

As a parent and a maths teacher, I challenged the need for rote learning multiplication tables and ‘facts’. However, I observed that students (and my 2 daughters) who struggled remembering their ‘times tables’ generally thought themselves ‘bad at maths’ even though they showed competence in other strands such as geometry and spatial reasoning.  I noticed that the problem was not in understanding the concept – they understood what multiplication meant; teach it even – but rather, remembering ‘facts’ quick enough, perceptions of which varied from person to person – i.e. what’s quick enough for some could still be perceived as too slow by others – which then affected self-efficacy, motivation and performance.  Cognitive Load Theory helped me understand why this could be happening.  Basically, students expend so much effort in their working memory doing calculations as against recalling ‘facts’ from their long-term memory.  So they were working hard, in fact, except  not necessarily on the crux of the maths problem they were trying to solve or understanding a new concept….then they lag behind and the consequences mount. And this self-efficacy persists beyond school making it the norm/acceptable to be ‘bad at maths’.

A few years ago, I was moved to blog about Conrad Wolfram’s idea of Maths not = Calculating.  Shift the focus from calculating as computers can do the grunt-work.  Simple idea but much harder to implement, especially since there are still non-calculator tests to deal with (my maths faculty had common assessments) and, to be honest, I really didn’t know how to take the idea into practice, a change for good.

There is also a matter of fluency. If one is to do mathematical reasoning, it helps to know the language, i.e. terminology. This applies in other subjects as well with each subject having its own jargon (partially why I think literacy is important in every subject), some with overlaps and worse, a different meaning (obtuse, anyone?).  Having attempted to learn a few languages, I know that vocabulary just needs to be memorised. I can understand why Gove referenced Willingham.

Daniel Willingham again makes the point powerfully in his work when he points out that, “research from cognitive science has shown that the sort of skills that teachers want for students – such as the ability to analyze and think critically -  require extensive factual knowledge”.

My view is…memorisation is useful as part of the learning process and as a skill in itself.  Think of how we expect this from professionals and tradespeople.  As with most skills, deliberate practice is important. Gove interpreted Willingham as that the ‘thought and effort required to build memory,  can be developed by preparing for tests and exams, which The Guardian article took for as rote learning.  I’m not sure this is what Willingham or Gove meant but I know from experience, as a teacher and as a student, that exams nudge (need for) memorisation along.

Exams

Exams, it would seem can have several meanings and therefore, subject to conflicting interpretations.  Greg has interpreted Gove’s exams to mean standardised, high-stakes exams (one of the tweets here) and on this built his lucid and succinct argument (I’m blogging because I can’t compress my thoughts into 140 character chunks).

I’m more inclined to interpret Gove’s exams to be more broad than that because he said,

and why the success of any technical or vocational assessment depends on satisfying the requirements to practice trade or profession.

This to me means that he may contemplate having different exams (more on this later), just as there are different types for career pathways, say, or having written and practical tests. Lawyers take different tests to medical doctors. As an aside and because I’d love to share this story….my grandfather, Attorney Leonardo Amores, is one of the top 10 Philippine Bar Topnotchers of all time. He had photographic memory (not so much now) and incredible analysis skills.  He said he never lost a case and takes pride in declining an invitation to work for President Marcos (yes, the President Marcos – also a bar topnotcher) – hearsay perhaps yet I’m proud to accept because I love him and none of that really matters; he was disappointed that his favourite granddaughter, me, did not go into Law.  He gave me his blessings to go into Computer Science and was very polite, thankfully, when I said I was going into teaching (not highly regarded in the Philippines) because love conquers all.

Gove would do well to cite my grandfather as an example for his assertions of what exams can do.  Gove justified exams for the potential they can bring and reality, as Greg pointed out, is nowhere near those assertions.  Stories like that of my grandfather’s are mere anecdotes then….just don’t tell my lolo (Tagalog for grandfather).  Actually, my sisters and I are anecdotes as well.  We all gained academic scholarships, doing well on requisite tough exams. These scholarships were government-funded with opt-in exams administered nationally and quota adjusted regionally. Not saying it’s perfect but it did aim to provide equal opportunity.

Another story. My mum got up to Grade 6 in piano. My dad could not even read notes and yet could seemingly play any musical instrument.  He had not taken any music exams but he was very good and he definitely enjoyed music….very much. Music was very much a part of my childhood memories. Exams give you certification (and possibly motivation) but it does not imply enjoyment.  Anyway, here is another type of exam which I don’t know anybody ever questions.

As a student, I hated open-books exams the most which really did away with the need for memorisation (so much for rote-learning to prepare for exams!). Or maybe it’s just because I only had them for Physics.  I was also very shy (truly) and oral exams were nerve-wracking.  As it happened, my last exam for my undergrad was an oral exam on Philosophy of Religion. I got surprisingly emotional and cried as I began; my professor gave me a box of tissues and waited for me to get myself together….a very human encounter during an exam! Who’d have thought it possible, eh?  I got a B+.

No NAPLAN or HSC for me as a student. Universities, even courses within universities, had their own entrance requirements. I had to write an essay as part of one uni application and sat an exam for another. I think this approach helped unis select students that would fit in with their culture. There was, however, a national exam which was more like an overlong IQ test.  Standardised. Unis used this as one of their requirements, e.g. uni I went to only accepted students upwards of 98%. It was one of the unis preferred by employees and following this line, one can see why Greg argues against exams as providing equal opportunities….reeks a bit of Animal Farm, I know.

Gove’s speech also reminded me of what a learning support teacher once said to me, “I wish teachers would have more assessments that assess students rather than their parents.”  This goes more than the modular assessments Gove spoke about but also touches on issues of equality and opportunity.  Some students can afford to get more help and they do.  Exams cannot do away with it.  Those who can afford it can get tutors, for example. Aside,  I thank @veritasium for helping me see that tutors are not merely there to exploit standardised tests but that indeed for some, it is the only chance to learn at all.

I wonder if corresponding professions question the need for exams as part of the certification process. I wonder how external exams could look. I wonder how teachers would react to such a policy, i.e. changes in their practice. I wonder how parents would react. Schools? Students? Universities? Employers?

What then?

As a teacher, I struggle with writing exams because a good one is really hard to write. Those things that Gove said exams give? Yeah well, they’re I’mpossible if the exams are not well-written.  My post-grad certainly had nothing on writing exams. Fortunately, I have no trouble consulting (read: look like a real n00b); I seek to learn from teachers with more experience. I see Gove’s point on making it external.

I am hopeful that this is true:

we will be consulting soon on what a future – more intelligent – accountability system would look like. And I would welcome as many views as possible as to how that might develop.

It would be silly to create policies from mere anecdotes/stories. However, I’d be sad too if policies are informed by research alone, statistics devoid of personalities – with every majority (average), there is a minority (outliers); with every generalisation there are exceptions.  Also, I hope policy-makers will help teachers make this work.  There are tons of good ideas out there, much less bridges into practicalities (interpretations of the ideas).  Getting it right is important because even with good intentions, sometimes we break them (kids).

Like Gove, I believe education can serve different purposes. Education has served me well and I wish the same for my kids and every student I come across with, whatever their paths are. For now, I am keeping an open mind that Gove’s assertions have potential to come good, as is my experience. 

Epilogue

I’m still wondering how I got sucked into this time vortex thinking about something that does not even affect me directly. Not yet anyway.  To be sure, there is joy in reminiscing and engaging in a joint discourse with esteemed friends (here’s looking at ya: @effectsofNAPLAN and @lasic). So while this is what I think now, it may change yet again subject to further discussions.

This as an opinion piece. I am not qualified to critique Gove.  There is a reason I didn’t go into Law (reasons, in fact). Yet, my experience ever groweth…and hopefully, so will wisdom.

Important Update (after @lasic’s comment)

Tomaz, like my English and Philosophy teacher mentioned above, has shown kindness in egging me on, even on the face of my ignorance and ineptitude.

Tomaz reminded me of the paper linked through by Greg re: Ball’s policy as effects (PDF here).  Immediately, two things became clear. One, I gained a greater appreciation for Greg’s Twitter handle – @effectsofNAPLAN. Two, I became aware of my open-mindedness as a (unintentional) guise for ignorance and narrow-mindedness, i.e. the exact opposite of what I thought I was doing.

Basically, my argument above was limited to policy as text and policy as discourse, as per Ball’s framework. What’s glaringly missing is policy as effect because the stories above are of winners – not losers…and there are losers, a lot closer to home even. While my grandfather, sisters and I were winners, my brother can be deemed a loser. He struggled with issues of self-esteem (not being as good as his sisters) and it took him years to see his own strengths. In fact, far from being a loser, he was one of few electronic engineering undergraduates hand-picked by a Japanese company.  He worked in Japan for 10 years, became fluent in Japanese and its culture; he has since moved to the US, working for another Japanese company. The point is, he was a ‘loser’ in the game of exams and the consequent effects of such a game; he was lucky the effects were not permanent.

Thus, my decision to get sucked into this time vortex is justified.  I am affected directly, after all, because of NAPLAN and the HSC and I am a mother as well as a teacher. It is important to be aware as well as spread awareness – this could go some distance to help diminish negative effects….I’m sure Tomaz and Greg are happy to further my education along these lines.

I also continue to stand by the hope that consultations will help inform policy and its implementation/interpretation. This may mean that there’ll be different types of exams, perhaps having the choice to opt-in/out, or better appreciation of its potential and limits.  I could hope for it to go away but somehow I don’t think exams are going away, not in my lifetime anyway, so hopefully we can find a way to make it work with far less losers, if any at all.

I live and learn.