Technology Teacher: Rubrics … OR let your students play in class

Shelley over at Teach Paperless is a fantastic teacher (from my view here in Cyberland!)

He teaches what many consider a DEAD SUBJECT (Latin) in a very CURRENT method. (He actually teachers other subjects as well!)

Stop by his blog to see what I mean.

Listen to what his students also have to say about his teaching methods.

His recent blog post “Rubrics Were Great” says that Rubrics fail to teach students what life and learning are all about.

Isn’t that what we should be teaching students? How to learn and live life successfully?

Rubrics give students a checklist of what to do, but Real Life is not a checklist.

When will students learn that Real Life is not a checklist?

How disappointed will they be when they “grow up,” graduate from high school, (or even college) and find out that what they were taught about the world was not really true?

So Shelley says

Well... let your students play in class. Give them open-ended assignments with no possible correct answer and no single conceivable way to get the assignment done. Don't explain things to your students, rather talk to them and allow what they say to teach them how they think. Teach your content through conversation whether f2f or online. Teach your content through trust. And don't give your students a list of things that suggests what you want, rather allow your students to figure out what it is that they want.
Because, in the end, this is about them learning. It's not about us proving why we gave a particular grade.

How do you assess your students?

Are they ready for the REAL WORLD?

or just the End of the Grade Test?

[As always, in my author quotes, the underlines, color changes, and bold type is mine, not the author’s.]