Education Needs Different Evaluation Methodology
Unfortunately, we are still holding on to the past method of evaluation where a student learns and then answers a three-hour-long exam. Learn and vomit, and what do you remember? Nothing! Technically.
No doubt the method has produced great stalwarts for our country and abroad, but the current developments all over the world ask for a change in the way we evaluate the students. The evaluation should build confidence in students to face the reality of the world. Because the world offers a challenging situation which at times a student is unable to handle. A question we ought to ask, are we creating robots? If you notice the trend, it seems like we are creating robots that do similar things as others do, not knowing what they are doing.
The one attempting a different route is considered abnormal or unconventional. None of the evaluative systems can be proven a hundred percent successful but the following methods prove highly beneficial.
Formative evaluation, as and when the teacher is teaching, the teacher must devise ways to evaluate whether the student has grasped and understood what is taught in the class. The dissemination of information therefore at this point is very important. Finland’s educational system is considered to be one of the best; it is because they flip the classroom. The method involved here is different. The teacher divides the class into groups and provides them with the material. The group then sits together and tries to understand the material provided, explaining it later to the class in a creative manner.
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The children get to learn more while they understand from their peers. And as they explain tend to affirm what they have learned. The teacher thus facilitates the information gained by the students. The trainer in the case of Finland is highly qualified with knowledge of atleast five languages. Regular evaluation will affirm part by part understanding of the students. Making them feel interested to learn.
Finland’s education also thrives because the students learn not to be tested but for life. There is no standardized testing like we have in Goa and India. In India, you will notice students solving umpteen question papers getting a hang of how a question is asked. Although that is an art and involves the dedication of once precious time this reduces student’s capacity to do more. One gets accustomed to learning only for exams. The student may score the highest marks or get the highest rank, but if one doesn’t know how to apply what one has learned then the education that one is going through is a futile process.
We have got accustomed to waking up early even when one doesn’t want to wake up just to go for classes and then when the class begins one sleeps or is wondering about not learning anything at last. If the students are given their time to approach the subjects the way they would want to then the atmosphere will be conducive to study. This would mean a drastic change in the way the teachers teach and would involve flexibility on the part of the teachers.
The teachers regularly need to evaluate the process of one’s education. Because every method will work at one particular time and will fail at another. Evaluating one’s method and bettering it according to the given time always helps. Process evaluation is also a key to better education.
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Two other evaluation methods are very necessary i.e. impact and outcome evaluation. Find out from the students what they have learned by way of asking questions during the class. This might be difficult when the number of students is more. But there could be other ways to know how much the student has grasped in class. Give the students an activity to perform and one will be able to know how much the students have learned.
The best way to learn is by understanding and one comes to know what one has understood only by application. The application can happen in real life which will take a while for students. So creating an artificial world and allowing them a chance to perform the same way they would perform in the real world is a great way to help them understand the drill.
The student will be better able to handle fears as one is being formed rather than facing them later out in the world when one is by oneself. Education undoubtedly has become business-oriented and therefore you notice a disproportionate number of professionals created in a field as against the job opportunities available. It is sad to know and notice the unemployment of our youth.
If we had a better evaluating system unlike the current standardized testing system we would not have had students coming onto the streets protesting to shift or cancel their exams due to the second wave of the coronavirus. And undoubtedly, the situation of the scare of the pandemic will continue for quite some time and therefore there is a dire need to restructure our evaluation strategy.
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