Assessment and the Visual Learner

A response to David and Peter's posting...

I completely agree with both of you - I think teachers (especially those who have been teaching for many years and perhaps it's all they know) tend to teach in content in order to have tests and exams as assessment tools. Teachers are often very reluctant to assess using anything but tests and exams because they are tangible, paper and pencil tasks that are "easy" to assess because they can be seen with the eye and decided whether it's the right or wrong answer.

I think a lot of teachers tend to avoid teaching in other fashions, because they are unsure of what to do to assess. I think there should be more PD on assessment in areas that are more abstract - such as oral language. Some teachers often assess the process rather than the product, and that might be a solution - but how many times can you do that?

I would be interested to find out more about this subject - as I completely agree with you. Is there some way we can cater to the students who do not learn well using the traditional model of teaching?