Week+Four

I want to focus my comments this week on the UDL Readings from the CAST site. I found them very insightful. In Factor 1 it was talking about how “the natural variety of recognition strengths and weaknesses within a typical classroom prevents any single presentational medium from yielding an unbiased, accurate assessment for the entire class.” It is so hard meet the needs of our students at all times. Maybe it is the way we teach that gets in the way. I also really liked when they said that we so often change the way we taught something when it very well might have been the assessment that needed redesigning. I had not really thought about that before.

In the section on “The Value of UDL in Assessment”, it talked about how technology can transform assessment. This was also something I had not considered before. I wonder what a “smart” test (one that learns how I learns best) will really look like, to be able to ensure learning. Isn’t that what teaching is really all about? It is not about the teaching but about the learning – isn’t that why we assess in the first place to ensure learning? I can’t wait to see what the future holds.