A sleeping baby and a cup of coffee

Katie's changed her form of protest. It used to be hands to her ears whenever she didn't like something. She did it so much that Eric checked the symptoms of autism (I'm laughing as I think about the day he told me he did that- I'm also laughing because Eric nearly ran a red light yesterday morning when he got so excited after seeing a new gyro restaurant opening down the street from us). Hands to the ears changed to stiffening up, and now, she just lays down on the floor. It's really odd. But she kept doing it this morning, so I eventually put her in her crib and now, she's back asleep.

So I made some coffee and plan on napping myself because Katie and I have a long, busy day ahead of us. She's back to MWF at day care before she starts at the new place in June. The last time we spent all day at home like this, there was a foot of snow on the ground, it was below freezing, and we couldn't easily leave the house. But I feel like a load has been lifted since I finished grading my students' papers Monday night- the papers were generally unremarkable, if not awful altogether. Refer to my post on NCLB for my thoughts on why that is.

Speaking of NCLB, I had an epiphany yesterday in the car on the way home. One of my students has complained that the testing format in the class I TA for does not accurately reflect her knowledge of the course material. My first thought was, can anything reflect your knowledge? But sarcasm aside, other students have said the same thing to me last semester. Here's the thing, though: my course is a pre-requisite for those seeking journalism major status, and a gen-ed for everyone else. It had a reputation for being the easier of the two pre-reqs. Then, my supervising professor, clean from the research demands of tenure at a Research I university, had the time to reinvest himself in his teaching. As a result, he changed the testing format of the class, and now the tests are all essay.

In their essays, the students are given a concept that we've discussed at length in lecture and the discussion sections and they have to apply it to two of the historical cases that have also been identified in the question and obviously, been discussed in class. They can't just regurgitate information; they have to show that they understand the material. This is very, very different than a multiple choice test which can hardly gauge understanding but is very good at indicating memorization.

And that's the thing: these students are so adept at regurgitating information that our testing format is foreign to them. In order to perform successfully on our exam, they have to be able to identify and define the key concepts (a phrase eerily similar to one repeated over and over in my very first graduate-level theory class), and then apply it to the cases stated. In this way, they demonstrate their comprehension of the concept, which is drastically different than rote memorization. That is to say, memorization is not the same as comprehension.

My professor has filled the essay questions with prompts like "evaluate," "compare," "assess," and "analyze." You don't see those words on tests on which you have to fill in little bubbles, particularly since these terms evoke subjective responses. And because subjectivity is often conflated with bias and opinion, two buzzwords in any journalism curriculum, students shy away from analysis. The result, as evidenced in my student who couldn't provide her own analysis when she came to me for help and I quizzed her on the material, is recitation of facts without any interpretation as to their significance.

But it all makes sense in it's own sad way. Why would students be able to write good essays of any sort when they simply haven't been asked to do so? For them, assessment of their knowledge of the subject material comes in standardized tests and it's corollary, standardized answers. If there's a set of acceptable answers out there, why rely on your own abilities to reason and interpret to construct an answer? This conjures all sorts of critical theory that demonstrates how the concept of objective knowledge and inquiry has been used to oppress...but I won't go there.

So the weather outside is beautiful. Instead of going stir-crazy in the house like the last time Katie and I were here together, we've got to get the oil changed today and I really need to clean the floors. Katie put a petal from the ornamental tree out front in her mouth this morning, so it's time to clean. There are pens and papers all over the floor from Katie getting a hold of things while sitting on our laps as we try to study. We might go for a walk. I may find time to read while Katie plays, and we'll make dinner while we wait for Eric to come home.

But I refuse to grade my students' finals today. I'm prolonging my peace and putting that off until tomorrow, so I can praise and smile at all the answers from students who get it, and shake my head and rub my neck from all those who simply want the fact pattern and the ill-gotten A.