Making the Right Assignments

In Is this blog written by AI? From Blue Skunk Blog, Doug Johnson states,

“If you are assigning writing that can be written by a computer program, you are making the wrong assignments.”

I totally agree! I hear too many of my colleagues are concerned about plagiarism or cheating on tests. I find this very interesting because if they are cheating, then the questions must be required answers that can be memorized. I know that just because a student memorizes things doesn’t really mean that the concept is understood.

Most of my lessons did not require a test asking for specific answers that could be spit back to me from my lessons.

Instead, I wanted my students to create something using the knowledge that they had learned.

Examples of this might include:

• Brochure
• Poster
• Video Commercial
• A shadow box of items
• A skit
• A letter written to a specific character
• A soap sculpture

There are so many ways that students can show their understanding without just repeating the information they have learned. Not only will they remember the information better this way but years later, this assignment may still be remembered.

Not only will the student be more successful in the classroom but this strategy may help them be more successful in life.

What other creative ways would you suggest for the assessment of learning? Please share.