The Real World, The Real Test

Academic rigor, higher-order thinking and real-world application go hand in hand at New Roots Charter School.  David Streib’s Contemporary Science and Technology I (CST I) class’s recent “quiz” provides an inspiring case in point.

David’s students have been learning about light, optics, and how the interactions between light and materials drive technological innovation.  As an assessment of their learning on this topic – a “quiz” -- students had to develop a demonstration that showcased a property of light, or of light/material interaction.

Then, the real test:  they had to present their demonstration (with a visual aid) and explain its relationship to light and optics to students at the Beverly J. Martin Elementary School.   It was a great assessment of their learning, David said, because “as I tell my students, you know you really understand something if you can explain it to someone else.”

Now the “someone else” he chose REALLY made it a test.  As a former elementary school teacher, I know that young scientists are interested but skeptical, they ask hard questions, and they are pretty relentless until they feel that they’ve got all the facts straight.  And they don’t sit still unless you engage them.  That's one tough “real world” audience!

As David notes, the benefits to this type of “quiz” go far beyond giving a teacher a way to assess a student’s knowledge. It’s community service.  It engages multiple intelligences.  It requires public presentation skills.  It demands clarity of expression and immediate accountability to an audience.  It requires collaboration and coordination.  Students get immediate feedback--they know if they've "passed."  And in this case, those who are good with children really have an opportunity to shine.

We have paper-and-pencil quizzes (and their keyboard-and-screen counterparts) at New Roots, too.  But our teachers are always on the lookout for opportunities to create “high stakes” assessments—experiences that put our students to a real-world test.  If they need support or inspiration, David Streib is there to help in his role as our education for sustainability program coordinator.   More about this another day. . .