Week 2 Response 1: Understanding Teaching and Assessment

Any teacher knows that there's no such things as "one size fits all" when it comes to instructional techniques or assessment methods.  Sure, it would make life a lot easier if there were, but the fact remains that we are constantly changing as human beings--teachers and students alike.  Day to day, our environment also evolves to accommodate our mood, our thoughts, and our preoccupations.  Individuals know that they can be a completely different person from one day to the next... so why do we expect our students to remain the same?  This is unrealistic and detrimental to overall student success.  And isn't that ultimately what our jobs come down to?

I really appreciated the book looking at assessment and teaching from the very start: our theoretical and philosophical perceptions of education.  The way in which we conceptualize teaching heavily influences the approaches we take in the classroom--from involvement and interaction with the students to the evaluations we use to measure their success, however that may be defined (19).  Despite having taken numerous education coursework, it was by these readings that I determined what my educational philosophy really is: values-based.  The importance of learning as a tool to improve society at large is evident in my lessons and my attitude towards students.  It was interesting to read the other varying philosophies and how they might work together or contradict one another.  For me, it seemed unfair that the book criticize the values-based approach to teaching as "not subject to accountability" (24).  In the end, it is my belief that we all must hold one another accountable for our actions and our attempts to love and help each other reach their full potential.


Another issue I had with the readings was the apparent contradiction in regards to teaching philosophy and the manifestation of such within the classroom--via instructional techniques and assessment methods or materials.  It clearly states, "commitment to a single method of teaching may impede the teacher's full potential" while then going on to say that "eclecticism is not an option" (23).  How can both of these statements be true?  While there may seem to be distinctions between, say, a science-research teaching philosophy and that of art-craft, it does not mean that a teacher is confined to their respective methodologies.  This type of thinking stifles creativity in the classroom and hinders students from experiencing varied types of reasoning and thinking about things.  As an educator, I choose to pull resources and inspiration from all different places in the hopes that each eclectic piece stimulates the mind of a different student, responding to their intellectual and emotional needs as language learners.