In order to become a teacher, I had to be a learner. In my own k-12 experiences, in my university classrooms and in the pre-service teaching field experiences I was influenced by the experiences I had and learned more than just content. In relation to assessment, what I experienced in these different learning spaces, will affect how I conduct assessment and what form assessment will be in my own classroom.

My Struggles

Looking back on the types of assessment that I was exposed to in my schooling, there was a lot of testing, review questions, homework, and presentations in front of the class. Many of the testing, review questions and homework situations showed up in Science, Math, and Social Studies classes. The presentations tended to be in English classrooms. I was a student who had a lot of anxiety around tests which could have been attributed to the social anxiety I had outside the classroom due to bullying. In my grade 12 math class, I was more than capable of completing the problems at home doing homework questions and I understood what was happening during class time. In exams, I completely blanked and couldn’t understand what was being asked of me. I had no idea what I was doing. My parents and teacher were just as confused as I was about this situation. Thinking about what was going through my head at the time, I wanted to do well so I could have more choices of universities and programs after I graduated. From this I understand how much pressure students can put on themselves to do well. That’s not to say that I won’t ever give a test in my future classroom. Tests do have a purpose and there are certain subjects that lend more to testing at the end of a unit than others. remembering this experience, I will try to structure my examinations and tests to reduce anxiety for students. I will make sure there are no surprises as to what is expected of them and the type of questions that will be on the test.

During one of my field placements, I was able to see what my co-op teacher did in her classroom before a unit test. I was in a grade 6 classroom where I was to start teaching for the next unit. I was able to see that my co-op teacher gave her classes review questions that were short answer to longer answer, requiring a paragraph answer. This review was taken in for a summative mark and would also serve as a mandatory way to make the students study the material for their test. Another practice I was able to see my co-op do in her classroom was giving the students choice in when their test was. She gave the class three options of days in which they could write their test. She was thinking about the students and what else they had going on their lives like sports, or other extra-curricular activities. I could see that she cared about the mental health of the students in her classroom when she did this. Students have more going on in their lives than just school. In my own experiences in junior high and high school, I played competitive soccer where I was practicing 4-5 times a week and had at least one game a week. The choice in when an exam could be would have saved me a lot of stress in high school. For this reason, I want to integrate these types of practices into my future classroom.

One of my most hated experiences that I remember from my schooling was reading a part Shakespeare in front of the class in grade 12. I had just switched schools and was the new kid in school. I was already nervous enough about being new and then I had to read a huge part of a play that I could barely understand let alone read out loud. By the end of the short scene I had seat through my t-shirt and my hoodie I was so nervous. I could tell while I was reading that it was painful for the whole room not just me. What I hated most about this part of our assessment was that I didn’t have the choice to perform this part of my assessment in a different way. Looking back, I am not totally sure what was being assessed, if it was the ability to read Shakespearean English or our public speaking skills. remembering this experience, it is going to transfer into my pedagogy in that I will give more choice to students who have a lot of anxiety around public speaking.

Struggles to Strength

My past experiences in classrooms and in my pre-service practice will transfer into my own practice as a teacher. I have more understanding for students who want more choice in their assessments and be more flexible in how assessments can be completed. Going through the negative experiences I did in high school creates more understanding of students in my future classrooms. Although I had to be uncomfortable and did not know how those experiences would impact my future at the time, I am thankful that I will be able to use these experiences to better my future classroom and teaching practice.

“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”

Oprah Winfrey