Questionairre

After reading Eisner's article, I feel that his fifth area of reform is what most pertains to the field I want to teach, English. I feel that it is nearly impossible to test students in the standard multiple choice format, in regard to teaching English. Because books are so open for interpretation, who am I to tell these kids that what they interpret is wrong? Instead, I would rather access kids in ways that allow them to explain their interpretation, and justify their reasoning for it. An essay, for instance, would be a more effective way of evaluating my students than just giving them a test and expecting them to think the same way I am a thinking.

Also, I would put more of a focus on classroom discussions and having students talk with one another to try and figure out certain aspects of the novel. By having everyone give their ideas, it allows students to be exposed to completely new ways of thinking than they normally would have been. This discussion between students is what is going to help students really learn, not just answering the questions to a test. When a student studies for a test, they usually forget the information immediately after the test. To prevent this from happening, I would rather have these students openly discuss new topics and ideas with one another, so that they can form ideas for themselves, as opposed to just answering what they think I want to hear.

With these alternative methods of assessment, I will be able to see who understands the content and who is struggling with it. The benefit of doing it this way, however is that I don’t have to fail students who don’t understand the content based off one test. Instead I can help them and have students help one another to understand the material and think critically about it.