In the world of ed-tech, STEM, and international comparisons, it can be easy to overlook art, music, and drama teachers; career and technical education instructors; and athletic coaches. Yet, as Peter Hofman argues persuasively, these are the very teachers who the most adept at “stimulating student performance and the complex tasks of evaluating substantive demonstrations of student learning, relating them to the success criteria and pathways as well as students’ trajectories, fashioning formative feedback to foster continued growth, and at some point making summative judgements (grades; work product recognition; selection of soloists, leading roles, starting positions, etc.).”
More and more, research is showing the importance of deeper learning skills and student-focused education. Above and beyond the need for the aforementioned subjects in school and teachers who know how to bring out the best in students in these subjects, Hofman urges an increased focus on the work of these educators because they are the ones most equipped to help other teachers make the shift to a style of educating students that focuses on real-time formative assessment of student performance. Perhaps the methods of these teachers are less easy to define or notice, but that does not mean that they are not crucial or effective.
For more information, please visit: http://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2015/07/13/overlooked_educators_key_to_personalized_deeper_learning_1208.html
