There are a variety of problems with this approach. There are problems with the role of the instructor, the role the text plays, the format of the formative assessment, and with the comprehensiveness of the summative assessment. The final goal of instruction should be both retention of the information beyond the learning experience, and transfer of the knowledge to all appropriate problems, even those not experienced in the learning situation. These goals are not achieved optimally in this structure.
In this model, the role of the instructor replicates the role of the text. While this may be a comfortable position for instructors, it is not a useful component of learning. Instructors generally express desire for a more creative role, but are not necessarily sure how to achieve such a change. Repetition of the material is not necessarily valuable unless there’s additional processing of the learning.
The formative evaluation is typically structured to determine whether the knowledge in the text has been retained. These assessments usually do not do a good job of seeing whether the learner can actually use the knowledge to solve problems. Studying for this sort of exam is not particularly motivating, and consequently is put off until the last moment. This does not lead to good knowledge retention.
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This leads us to a problem with the text. Typically, learners are expected to read the text prior to the assessment, but there's again little motivation to come to grips with the materials, as there's no context to the learning. Again, learners put off the learning until the pressure of an imminent assessment.
The summative assessment mimics the structure of the formative assessment, and consequently suffers from the same problem. While ensuring that learners have acquired the knowledge is important, it is also important to determine whether learners can apply the knowledge in ways that reflect the desired outcomes.
How can we remedy the problem? To do so we must first understand what facilitates learning, and then we can reconsider these elements from a new perspective. |
