How do we identify learning?

The Basics

"How do we identify learning?" is an intriguing starting point for problem-posing dialogue, especially among folks who acknowledge mindful assessment as a necessary aspect of every learning process. But the phrasing of that question only sort of identifies the intended focus of this week's sessions.

As it's phrased, the question could imply we're going to chat about supposed "best practices" in student-learning assessment and grading. It could suggest we'll be seeking answers to perpetual educator questions about how to most effectively (and efficiently) gauge, describe, and represent what students have or haven't learned. It might be tempting to expect conversations that produce a concrete, stress-free how-to guide for evaluating learning.

But most of us aren't there yet. We're not ready for a how-to guide because we haven't done the difficult work of figuring out why we want to do what we think we're trying to do.

Before adopting any method that seems like a helpful answer to the question, "What's the best way to identify student learning?" we need to be much more self-aware about why we do most of what we do as educators. We need to be more aware of our intentions and the beliefs that drive them. Most of us haven't been encouraged to have those sorts of conversations with ourselves and each other. Questioning academic norms can put us in vulnerable or even dangerous positions.

But critical dialogue is all about question norms, so questions such as these can and will be part of this week's collaborative inquiry:

What do we actually do when we're trying to figure out if students have learned anything? Can we clearly name our own methods and the intentions and beliefs they're based on?

What are our habits, and why do we rely on them?

Why do we do what we do? Because it's what we were told or taught to do? Because it "works" in some way? Because it's just what we and folks in our field have "traditionally" done?

When we think we're seeing evidence of learning is that actually what we're seeing or is it evidence of something else?

Come to think of it, do we and students we work with even look for the same things when we look for evidence of learning?

That's the type of stuff we'll be talking about.