The current system of learning and assessment seems outdated as they're mostly based on memorizing facts about a subject matter rather than being well grounded and knowledgeable about how things actually work, and with the continuous evolution of technology, there seems to be a need for a change in this aspect and paraventure. If we happen to be in a work where smartest is valued over hard work, then I can't agree more on the need to seek out new ways of doing things, especially regarding assessing students to get the best out of them.
To start with, it's worth noting that there's no doubt about the importance of education and the impact it's having on our world, and with the outcome of these, the best way forward is to keep passing on this knowledge while also giving room for students to not just memorize facts but to understand the nitty-gritty of a subject, how it comes to light, and how it can be integrated to solving real-world problems.
There's no doubt about the impact of hard work, but through the years most of us will agree that life isn't all about working hard but working smart, and when you take a critical delve into the lives of most of the successful people across the world, one thing you'll notice is that their smartness is what attracted success towards them and not hard work. If it were by hard work, then I guess the wealthiest people across the world should be bricklayers and other relayed professions that drain one's energy.
Now, when relating this to a school and academic settings, I'll say that it'll be a good thing to see the curriculum of education change as well as the assessment method, as the previous ones don't encourage thorough understanding of how things work; they're too rigid and don't encourage creativity or understanding how things actually work and how they can be run, but just being able to remember key terms and write them down when asked at the point of assessment.
I personally feel this is outdated, and we should start integrating new methods that not only encourage creativity but go on to improve the problem-solving skills of students, their critical thinking, as well as resourcefulness, and if these are allowed, it'll give room for students to showcase their understanding of subject matter in a more innovative way.
The world innovation in technology doesn't need obsolete methods another, but to be able to find, filter, and apply the knowledge gathered into making something mind-blowing, and one way such can be achieved is by changing the contemporary style of assessment and integrating a project-oriented assessment, setting questions and tasks that are real-world related, and tasking students to solve them.
If these were to be adopted, it'd change the face of things, pave the way for new inventions and discoveries, and as well expatiate the critical thinking and problem-solving skills of students, making understanding of subject matter easier and more relatable to students since teaching and assessment are more focused on assessment than memorizing terms, definitions, and key words that'll most likely not be useful in the real world.
Students having their phones during these project-based assessments, in my opinion, won't be a bad thing. As we are in a technology-driven world, I believe it's better to let students get familiar with it, explore to learn, filter, and brood their ideas in crafting a masterpiece. Since the assessment would now be project-based, it'll still require a thorough understanding of the subject before a student would be able to easily apply what they're learning in making what they're asked to make.
All photos used on this article are mine.