Evaluative Techniques & Feedback

In my experiences in school, I remember completing essay questions and formal tests as means of being assessed. With that said, different learning styles were not taken into account. If students’ different learning styles had been taken into account, teachers would not continuously use essay questions and formal tests as assessment tools. In A Teacher’s Guide To Cognitive Type Theory & Learning Style, Mamchur (1996) notes that sensing students do not perform well at essay questions and formal tests. If that is the case, why would teachers want or choose to put some of their students at a disadvantage?

The big problem with essay questions and formal tests is that they value the end result, rather than the process it took to get there. Mamchur identifies one of the six traps of evaluation to avoid as measuring what is easiest to measure. It is likely that teachers continuously use essay questions and formal tests because these are the easiest ways to assess students, but this is a trap that teachers should be avoiding.

Through my Designs for Teaching Language Arts class, I have begun to understand how important the process really is. Through my LA class, we have learned about the 6+1 Traits of Writing. By individually teaching students the 6+1 Traits of Writing, teachers emphasize the importance of process. Writing is a process. Unfortunately, I did not experience writing or any other projects as a process. I recall writing a story and handing it in to be graded. Working with the 6+1 Traits allows teachers to provide students with comments and suggestions about how to make their written piece better. Students are able to write multiple drafts of the same written piece to make their piece better. Through the written process, students are able to see immediate improvements in their writing. By recognizing the importance of the process, students will not just be focused on the final result, but everything that comes in between (eg. all of the revisions in a written piece).

I think that all students can benefit from feedback in all subjects and that it should be provided as much as possible. Along with letter grades, teachers must provide specific and positive comments that identify the students’ strengths and areas needing improvement. Just providing students with a specific letter grade is not efficient because students are not informed about their actual performance. Teachers must acknowledge that students with different learning styles will appreciate written feedback to different extents. Specifically, Mamchur (1996) points out that “judging students expect a lot of feedback on assignments. They want everything to count and to be evaluated” (p. 48).