Real Learning First | A Discussion on Student Testing in Alberta

Our family arrived in Calgary from Australia when my daughter was entering Grade 10. She enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program of a public school, because she had always been a keen learner, and wanted the extra challenge. Throughout that school year, we were ecstatic to see our daughter excited and engaged in what she was learning - often spending hours doing research, not because she had to, but because she always wanted to know more. However, teachers and fellow students often warned her that, because of the extra workload and expectations, her marks would probably go down in the IB program (And of course, marks are everything). Some people suggested that she might have more difficulty getting into university as a result.
Against our wishes, she decided to transfer into the regular Grade 11 and 12 program. She was no longer challenged, became bored with her studies, and in fact her grades went down because she was no longer an excited and engaged student. To make a long story short, she graduated from Grade 12 with an average in the mid-90s...and decided that she was not interested in furthering her education. Her perception was that teachers were only interested in marks, and that, in fact, most of her Grade 12 course work was for nothing, since 50% of her mark was based on the final test score. That was 3 years ago, and she still will not entertain the notion of going to university, because, in her own words, "school is not about learning...it's about getting marks...." If, indeed, we want to create a nation of "life-long" learners...we are failing miserably when the current system turns a bright, engaged learner into someone who can't wait to turn her back on the school system. Is this really what we want?

As a student, I believe that a construtive learning system is crucial for the success of students, whether they are kindergarten youngsters or adolescent 'Grade twelvers' bordering maturity. However, in Alberta, the teaching system is pockmarked with flaws and weaknesses. Dr Stephen Murgatroyd challenged the current system to advocate for his vision for real learning. Issues such as misuse of test results, exponentially large class sizes of 30-40 students, teachers feeling pressure to teach to attain "good results" on provincial achievement tests were a few issues he discussed. As a student learning within the system, these issues are commonplace in my learning environment. The curriculum is currently focused on more definite knowlege. In Social Studies classes, the focus is on memorizing dates and events: In Math classes the focus is learning basic math facts, -2+2=4, 4x5=20, etc. However, this way of teaching fails to look at applications of the material in real life. An alternative method suggested was to teach by using "Authentic tasks" which allows students to use innovation and apply a broad range of skills. Authentic tasks also deal with solving current problems and developing valuable life skills, instead of the more irrelevant 'fluff' of the current curriculum. To create the future citizens of tomorrow, we must adapt to our present global situation and bring the teaching system along with it in order for students to benefit. This conversation about real learning first is a powerful first step toward a brighter future fo rthe education system and the students of tomorrow.

Last summer I attended a wonderful conference at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) where I learned so much about space, the history of space exploration and Canada's role in developing technologies for space. When I started school in September I was so excited about teaching Space Exploration to my grade nines. This unit, one of five I will teach this year, contains about 40 knowledge, skills and attitude objectives. I expect to cover these in about 7-8 weeks. A week before I am to teach this unit, I begin to sort through all of the wonderful resources and information I compiled at the CSA conference. It doesn’t take long before I realize that we will never finish the unit if we do all of these activities! I start to feel discouraged. I start to think about the Provincial Achievement Test. The creativity, innovation and critical thinking skills that students will demonstrate in these activities will not be tested in June. They will need to know information. Why did I bother with this conference? A lot of what I gathered takes time to do, it meets many of the objectives, but not enough of the ones that will be tested. I know I can squeeze in some of it, but not much. I start the unit less enthused than I was in September. I hope that students don’t get too excited about what we are learning because I just won’t have time to explore all of the concepts and issues in-depth.