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In an op-ed Dr. Hoodhboy has outlined the issues of exam-taking during Covid.
He focuses mostly on the inability to ensure 'cheating', & the ways to get around rudimentary barriers to this.
Here's why I think this is a poor way to approach this (1/n) https://www.dawn.com/news/1603040/cheating-on-online-exams
He focuses mostly on the inability to ensure 'cheating', & the ways to get around rudimentary barriers to this.
Here's why I think this is a poor way to approach this (1/n) https://www.dawn.com/news/1603040/cheating-on-online-exams
My critique will be structured 3-fold:
1. Around surveillance theatre that ensures students don't "cheat"
2. Around assessments & barriers to fix needed changes to assessment
3. Why the teacher/student model requires significant change to create better students (2/n)
1. Around surveillance theatre that ensures students don't "cheat"
2. Around assessments & barriers to fix needed changes to assessment
3. Why the teacher/student model requires significant change to create better students (2/n)
1. I find the term "Cheater" to be so outdated. If a student can find answers to a problem online with basic googling, they are exercising problem-solving. This is not a good way to showcase their understanding of a problem. (3/n)
The onus should be on the teacher to create a better assessment criteria. One of the problems most associated with modern academia is the "Robert & Susan" problem, where Robert will engage in surface learning, & Susan will engage in deep learning. (4/n)
This is because Robert is there to get a degree, while Susan wants to learn. No teacher will ever have a class of Susans', but we can't blame Roberts for not performing well. It is our job to engage them, make them reflect, & bridge the gap between the two. (5/n)
Is an end of year exam the best way to go through this. It's assesment OF learning, whereas the better way to go about it would be assessment AS learning, characterised by formative & summative assessments. (6/n)
2. The biggest barrier to this is time (something Prof. Hoodhboy refers to). The biggest barrier to collaborative, experimental learning is time. Assessments must be practical, not to mention reliable.
(7/n)
(7/n)
They must also be credible by external bodies. An example of such a body would be the QAA in the UK, or the HEC here.
These bodies are always conservative & throw teachers back towards year-end assessment.
But, this means poor outcomes for students. (8/n)
These bodies are always conservative & throw teachers back towards year-end assessment.
But, this means poor outcomes for students. (8/n)
Great strides have been taken in how hard science classes are taught, especially during Covid. Peers teaching Medical Studies in the UK have moved to case study formats, collaborative problem solving, etc. (9/n)
3. Our current student/teacher model is passive learning. This is objectively poor. It furthers gaps between Susan's (who will fill in gaps left out by the teacher) & Robert's (who will learn enough to maybe pass).
This means we aren't creating lifelong learners (10/n)
This means we aren't creating lifelong learners (10/n)
It also means we aren't creating people who are taught reflection, the holy-grail of modern academia and most pedagogies/andragogies.
The current assessment model ensures students have incentive to shut up & not object. We need to make them speak up. (11/n)
The current assessment model ensures students have incentive to shut up & not object. We need to make them speak up. (11/n)
The teacher is never infallible, and treating them as being able to fail opens up great avenues of collaborative growth and the sort of good outcomes that will make honest, good learners. (12/n)
Are, as Prof. Hoodhboy mentions, "grades given too much priority"? Yes, but in having this view the flawed way one gets to good grades is obscured.
We are teaching poorly. (13/n)
We are teaching poorly. (13/n)
My views and opinions here are shaped by my experiences during the University of London School of Education's PG. Cert. in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education.
I by no means claim to be an expert on HE, let alone in Pakistan.
(14/n)
I by no means claim to be an expert on HE, let alone in Pakistan.
(14/n)
However, I can send a list of reading resources and guides which might prove useful if you are interested in learning more about how to teach & how to learn. (15/15)
