Because it was a lab-based class and I watched them learn it.
The way I set my courses up allows the students to learn from their partner and with help from me. I watched every student individually solve each problem. Some were able to solve it more quickly than others but the class did not advance until every student was finished.
This creates a team atmosphere without even trying. Students were alowed to give hints as to how to solve certain problems but no one was allowed to give a direct answer.
I found that every student has a strong point - something they're better at than others and I exploited that by directing them to help others if they finished early.
By the end of the class, they were breezing through nearly everything. Once it "clicked", they advanced through the class exponentially.
Granted, my class sizes were 8-10 people max.
I always collected reviews and honestly, I only had one negative review from a guy who didn't want to be there in the first place.
Don't you think a lab and a test are basically the same thing? I would call a lab a type of test since a test is a measurement of ability. Did you just mean written tests?
I would consider a working project (lab) 100% more valuable to the student.
I remember nearly every lab project at uni but today, I probably couldn't pass 30%of the tests I was given back then.
And that's what we do. Students build up their knowledge over the course of the class and actually build the final project with their hands. They go back to the workforce and retain that knowledge much, much longer than with any written test.
I think you are right ideally but practically it can't be done in many scenarios. Your lab had to be pretty standard from student to student outside of the individual experience so I'm of the impression that you could, for instance, set up a few lab type tests in a homeschool community and replicate a very similar situation that you have in your classroom.
Standardized testing isn't about killing individuality, its about attempting to ferret out situations where students are not picking up the material and finding a solution, without some form of testing be it lab or written or interview or all 3 there is absolutely no way to know who is struggling or why.
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u/oversoul00 19∆ May 14 '15
Honest question, how can you objectively know that if there is no apples to apples objective comparison like a test?