Response to Inquiry into Assessment and Evaluation of Learning

After the discussion we had in class, my mind is focussed on the following two questions:

1. Are marks accurate?
2. Are marks effective?

For both questions above, I found myself to be in the middle of yes/no. This is mainly because it's not easy to give a definite yes/no answer to such questions as they can easily lead to never-ending discussions. For instance, accuracy of marks/grades can be multifaceted depending on many factors including personal experiences, the way marks are computed, teachers, subjects, etc. Speaking of personal experience, marks were more/less accurate for me especially during Secondary education. For me, marks were an excellent indication of the areas I needed to wrok on. Moreover, I almost always knew the marks I would get based on my comfort level, confidence, and effort I would put into mastering the test/exam/course content. This is different from my understanding of my classmates' experiecnes.

Furthermore, depending on how marks are computed, whether or not teachers modify marks once they are calculated, and the models used to do that, grading may/not be effective. The effects of grading is highly dependent on the personality of studernts and their perceived notion of grades. For example, grading was definitley effective for me as a student that is not willing to accept anything less than A or A+. Low grades or grades not meeting my personal expectations and standards became a great motivation for me to improve, do better, excel, and enhance my leanring/studying.

Databases Search Plan

Ideas for Inquiry Project

I'm considering the following to focus on for the inquiry project:

- Integration of Culture into Mathematics (and/or the implications)
I wonder if we can interview Susan...
- Math & Poetry
- Embodied View of Mathematics

Note to self: Make connections with the real world!

I've finally decided my inquiry project!

Math & Poetry/Dance it is with Sid and Pacus.

Ancestral Genres of Mathematical Graphs

This articles draws inspiring connections between Math and the world around us. I found this piece to be a great motivating factor for changing the attitude of general public toward Mathematics. It allows us to see Math above and beyond numbers, and calculations.

While reading this article, I stopped at a few places including the following:

“Mathematics is a system of human interpretation of the world and has human qualities inextricably woven into its very nature.” (p. 14). I found this perspective unique, as Math is usually thought of as something that’s abstract, dry, and boring. The terms ‘human qualities’ caught my attention and I found myself asking questions like:

Can Math be flexible? Can it help reform the society?

Similarly, the description of graphs in the Cartesian plane as having their bases in “fundamental human metaphors of up and down, horizontality and verticality that come from embodied experiences of the world” is intriguing (p. 15). I found the metaphors familiar, as they are seen as the standards the society sets and maintains, yet I paused and said to myself ‘No, I disagree with the societal definition of what’s “up” and what’s “down”’. For instance, “rational is up and emotional is down” is no surprise, as that’s the way the society has been. However, I want to take this opportunity and challenge the notion that emotions are bad. Emotions that are bad are bad, e.g. hatred. Being emotional is ‘down’ only when emotions are not balanced or left unguided. To me, emotions are amongst the most beautiful aspects of human life. They are what make us human. For example, love and hate are the strongest human emotions, yet they both have the tendency and potential to turn impossible possible.

Lastly, the table displaying equivalences/connections between human bodies, houses, cosmos, and graphs is absolutely new to me. These connections are convincing, and remind me of the definition of Math as ‘human thought’ and interpretation mentioned in the beginning of the article. The culture we grow up in is usually integrated in us, and make us who we are, just like our bodies define us. Thinking of Math as ‘human interpretation of the world’, culture, physical human body, and cosmo being in acquaintance with graphing is rational.

Previous Learning Experiences

Speaking from the student’s perspective, learning and schooling has been both fascinating and uncomfortable. During my Elementary and Secondary school years, I had always focused on marks/ranks than the learning itself. This, as a result, affected many aspects of my life. I would always worry about getting best marks, best grade, etc that I lost track of my social life, my friends, my relatives, etc. This was mainly becasue my family wanted me to attend Meidical school. Although, they never forced me, I always obliged to consider their expectations. 

Based on the stories we shared as group, we found frustration was a common emotion we had felt while experiencing what we experienced.

In addition, one of the ways to deal with negativity is positivity, i.e. we don’t make others feel what we felt.

 

Entrace Slip - Pedagogical Sensitivity

"Jeff learns that it is not good to seem smart among his peers, and Siri seems to feel special and yet also seems to feel embarrassed for feeling special." (p. 4). I find the above quote intriguing, as it is an indicative of the notion that teenagers' percepton is most dominantly influenced by their peers' perception of them. There is no sense of the outer world or reglistic/practical life as of yet, their innocent minds seem to be dominated by their constant desire to fit in and seek their peers' approval. This poses a challenge for teachers/educators and requires additional tools in the teachers' toolkit. In other words, teaching is above and beyond knowing the subject matter, teachers are expected to be "pedagogically sensitive". Pedagogical sensitivity requires that teachers are not only aware of the class atmosphere, relationship between students, and their impulsive feelings, behaviors, and attitudes, but also take them into consideration as they teach. For example, asking one self what needs to be done or can be done in order to promote peer-peer encouragement as needed in the above case. 

In order to incorporate the above which Van Manen refers to as "pedagogical sensitivity" into the tact of teaching, we need to become reflective of our actions and plans, as Manen describes: "[Reflection] converts action that is merely appetitive, blind, and impulsive into intelligent action." (p. 6). Reflection is not limited to official documentation, but getting comfortable with the uncomfortable, expecting unwanted/unexpected situations, and being ready for almost everything is all part of the reflection process. In addition to being self-reflective, teachers are to be open-minded, flexible, adaptable, understanding, and most importantly selfless, as least for the time they spend in classroom settings. Selflessness allows one to be calm, open and less-reactive in situations where anger and frustration can easily take over.  

The above tact of teaching is what Manen views as 'practical wisdom'. It is one of the mandatory skills for teachers that can't be taught in the Teacher Education program, instead they are acquired and learned by being in classroom settings via experiments and experiences, as Manen agrees:

"Tact can neither be reduced to some kind of knowledge base nor to some set of skills that mediates between theooy and practice. Rather, a third option is offered in the realization that tact possesses its own epistemological structure that manifests itself first of all as a certain kind of acting: an active intentional consciousness of thoughtful human interaction." (p. 15).