PLC meeting April 26, 2011
The conversation we had was based on a few online articles based on curriculum differentiation, challenging gifted students and creating alternative assessments:
http://www.teach-nology.com/edleadership/curriculum_development/differentiation/
The first part of the conversation revolved around defining some of the terms in the reading. Many of the terms we defined were related to systems in place in America. The first was the idea of gifted and talented programs which try to provide teachers with helpful resources to challenge their brightest students. These students are often recognized through their test scores and possibly through interviews with the students and parents.
The second term was advanced placement. These are classes offered to stronger students who wish to take a subject-specific examination at the end of a one or two year program. Depending on the examination results, the students can get credit for university courses and possibly skip some of their pre-requisites.
Once these terms had been defined, we discussed what types of changes could be made within the school and if these are possible. Many of the members agreed that with the pressure put on teachers to complete certain teaching objectives, it was hard to imagine project-based assessment methods being put into place at school. Another major problem is that most Turkish universities do not put an emphasis on project-based assignments. Finally, since many students are pushed to take university entrance exams, it is hard to take time out from the classes we have to do project-based assessments or to justify this type of curriculum adjustment to parents.
That said, some teachers shared that they were doing more projects with their students. One of the challenges they face are that some students are completely unaccustomed to doing project work. We discussed how important it is to go over rubrics with students and how sometimes it can take a long time to explain the nature of the assignment and how it will be assessed. One of our members reported how she had surveyed students after a project only to find out that a very small number had actually read through the rubric! Again, taking time to set up projects and explain rubrics can take away from instruction time. Another problem with projects is that many students immediately think of the end result, in other words their grade, rather than the creativity associated with preparing the project and enjoying the learning process.
In the end, all members agreed that project-based assessments are wonderful but may be very difficult to implement at our current school. It really takes a whole culture shift to make this type of instruction or assessment valuable, and culture shifts can only be adjusted if the dialogue happens on a larger scheme – not only between primary and high school, but also with universities and the whole national education system.