The purpose of standardized tests

It was explained to me that the purpose of standardized tests is to measure a student's level of retention of material.

I don't disagree with this statement, but it shines a light on the fundamental problem and philosophy of standardized tests.  By default, this assessments can't require critical thinking or problem solving, and the primary skill a student needs to be successful is a strong memory.

Last year, a former student would use my room during lunch to tutor students in other classes.  One day, he was trying to explain how to solve a particularly difficult math problem.  One of the students in the group turned to him and asked him how he could possibly understand how to do this when no one else in the class did.  He said that when he was in my class, I had the students watch videos that explained topics in the class.  Whenever he doesn't understand what his other teachers are saying, he just goes on the Internet and finds other resources that explain it in a way he understands.

cenblog.org

To all my students who read this blog:  I am not preparing you to win at Chemistry Jeopardy.  Hopefully,
during our time together, I will help you develop the skills to solve problems creatively and, if nothing else, learn how to find the answers you seek.

Winning at Jeopardy doesn't prove you are smart.

Creating the show Jeopardy does.

Awesome #2

I thought since my first Awesome post was about things non-education related, that I should jump back and talk about a couple of things my students do that feel awesome.

#3  When former students come to visit
I love it when graduates come back to visit, even if it is students I was not particularly close to.  It is amazing the transformation they go through in the 1st year of college.  Last week some of my former students showed up randomly and one ended up spending nearly 2 hours just chatting with me during my classes.  He is not really that different than when he left, but his confidence level is so much higher.  He just went on and on about the different things he was doing, the people he was meeting and even the places he was traveling to.  I was only his teacher for 1 year, but I am proud of the man he is becoming.

#4  When a plan comes together
One of the philosophies of the Flipped Classroom is to increase peer teaching to allow the teacher more interaction with all members of the class.  In my classes, there is much more collaboration than there is peer teaching.  But, in one class I have three guys who just fight with each other over who has the right answer.  And when I say fight, I mean disrupt the entire class as they argue back and forth as to who has the best method for solving the problem.  Normally, you need to squash this kind of behavior, but after the argument they sit down and explain the solution to each other.  It is so amazing to watch this sudden shift from combatants to teacher to combatants again.  I love it when a plan comes together.