d.
Assessing Learning
As
with any form of teaching, when the work is done it is essential
that accurate and valid forms of assessment take place. When you
are using ICT in teaching, several dangers arise that are not
otherwise so obvious. They stem from the easy availability and
the ease of manipulation of information and ideas, and it is best
to be clear about them in this case study.
- You
need to be confident that the information received and used
by pupils has been arrived at 'deliberately' - that is as a
function of their acquisition of reflective or other subject-based
skills rather than by some accident of the World Wide Web, the
ease of a spreadsheet or the activity of a control device.
- You
need to be confident that the ideas are the pupil's own, or
that new ideas presented to them through the technology have
been assimilated in a way that is appropriate - this is especially
the case when pupils are using ICT to model and need to understand
the behaviour of the patterns behind the model.
- You
need to be happy that both you and the pupils appreciate the
differences between presentation and content, and that the pupil
is not merely using the technology to make better-looking work
of the same standard as before.
- The
key measure of success is of course in the pupil's understanding
of the Design and Technology related elements in the key objectives
of the lesson or project. There is a danger that the technology
and the processes will become interesting in themselves, and
thereby detract from an understanding of the basic and critical
processes of food, graphical production, handling materials,
running systems or producing textiles.
- Individual
and shared progress and achievement - often the technology will
have been used by pairs and groups, as well as by individuals.
Here you need to have a method of ensuring that credit goes
to the right pupil or pair/group for the work done or learning
achieved.
- ICT
use and opportunities to assess learning. Throughout the time
you are using ICT to develop pupils' learning it is crucial
to keep an eye on where ICT allows you to intervene with an
assessment, or whether the ICT has provided you with an assessment
opportunity that you had not foreseen. Where pupils realise
that a small change can make a big difference, you are presented
with a generalisation-opportunity. Where they apply that difference
to the design and construction of a product in a commercial
setting, you are presented with an application-opportunity.
For discussion with your mentor:
-
How many of the points made above have you seen in the course
of your work developing the case study, and are there any others
you expect to come across?
 Part
3: Evaluating the Use of ICT in Teaching and Learning
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