Eric Pollock teaches 9th and 10th grade English literature at Gunma Kokusai Academy in Ota, Japan
IB teacher shares the value of engaging students in creating their own assessment tasks.
One of the best things about being in an IB World School is the continual engagement of teachers in the PYP, MP, and DP programmes. As a 9th grade teacher, I regularly have conversations with my PYP colleagues on how best to improve student learning. We had a discussion on Bloom’s taxonomy and how this can be implemented in classes. We talked about engaging students in their own learning by involving them in creating their own assessment tasks. This gives us teachers valuable insights on how students learn when we see what their questions are, and see what they consider to be meaningful and important details.
When students are completely engaged in their own learning, they will have a more meaningful inquiry and see things from multiple perspectives. Constructing assessment tasks on their own creates invaluable information for teachers and reflection experiences for students.
Here is a sample task: after reading a section of, or the whole story, engage students to generate their own questions, question-stems, and complex questions (depending on where they are in their learning). Teachers can model this exercise by showing students how they unpack and ask questions after reading a piece of information or material. Allowing students to develop their own questions will develop creativity and imagination, and reveal what they are able to do. Students see things in material that may surprise us as they bridge what they learn in the classroom to what they do outside. Students get to play detective and discover, and look for answers to their own questions.
Giving students control over what they do in the classroom will go a long way in developing a positive classroom environment. It will also further their own sense of autonomy and responsibility.
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Eric is an English Literature teacher and author. He has extensive experience in both AP and IB school systems. Eric is currently involved in curriculum development and instructional design. He is the author of The One Hour Student and the creator of Great Student Voices on Soundcloud.com.