Thanks for highlighting explanation. Getting a student to explain has always been a great way to assess-- and now in the age of AI responses, it is even more crucial! Great post.
The reminder that performance in the moment isn’t the same as learning is important. It’s easy to be reassured by correct answers during a lesson, but the real test is what happens later, and somewhere else. When students can use knowledge flexibly or explain it in their own words, that’s when it starts to feel secure. It also reinforces the importance of revisiting, spacing, and making learning a little harder in the short term. What feels successful in the moment isn’t always what lasts.
This is why I use interactive demos or examples excessively. I make my test short answer and essay. They are a pain to grade but they show me what the students can explain in their own terms. So many teachers use multiple choice (multiple guess maybe they get lucky) tests. One of my favorite ways to teach the sharing of electrons is that my students toss stress balls around the room according to the type of bond created.
Hi Darren, thank you for your reply. That’s a great question!
I tend to rely upon a few imperfect proxies rather than any single measure. Such as how well pupils can explain ideas in their own words, whether they can apply knowledge in a slightly different context, what happens when you come back to it later (not just in the moment) - how much of the essential knowledge have they remembered, and how they respond to questions that require thinking and application / analysis, not merely recall.
I have become wary of “in-the-moment success” on its own (although I felt quite differently earlier on in my career). It can look convincing but it often doesn't stick. For me, it’s less about finding a perfect proxy and more about building a pattern of evidence over time.
Thanks for highlighting explanation. Getting a student to explain has always been a great way to assess-- and now in the age of AI responses, it is even more crucial! Great post.
The reminder that performance in the moment isn’t the same as learning is important. It’s easy to be reassured by correct answers during a lesson, but the real test is what happens later, and somewhere else. When students can use knowledge flexibly or explain it in their own words, that’s when it starts to feel secure. It also reinforces the importance of revisiting, spacing, and making learning a little harder in the short term. What feels successful in the moment isn’t always what lasts.
This is why I use interactive demos or examples excessively. I make my test short answer and essay. They are a pain to grade but they show me what the students can explain in their own terms. So many teachers use multiple choice (multiple guess maybe they get lucky) tests. One of my favorite ways to teach the sharing of electrons is that my students toss stress balls around the room according to the type of bond created.
What proxies do you use for learning? What evidence can we use to make inferences from?
Hi Darren, thank you for your reply. That’s a great question!
I tend to rely upon a few imperfect proxies rather than any single measure. Such as how well pupils can explain ideas in their own words, whether they can apply knowledge in a slightly different context, what happens when you come back to it later (not just in the moment) - how much of the essential knowledge have they remembered, and how they respond to questions that require thinking and application / analysis, not merely recall.
I have become wary of “in-the-moment success” on its own (although I felt quite differently earlier on in my career). It can look convincing but it often doesn't stick. For me, it’s less about finding a perfect proxy and more about building a pattern of evidence over time.
Curious to hear your thoughts.