FIAE Chapter 2

Learning about the different levels of understanding that students need to achieve in the classroom is very useful to a teacher. It is easy to think that showing they can perform a certain skill is all the knowledge necessary for them to really understand a topic, but it does go a lot deeper. I didn’t realize until reading this chapter just how complicated it is to determine whether or not a student has mastered the content, but understanding that it takes more than just one or two exercises to have proof of it is something I will definitely take into the classroom with me. This chapter taught me a lot about the many different ways that it is necessary for students to be able to apply what they have learned. Most modern teachers know that rote memorization and useless busy work doesn’t promote the kind of active learning that we should be striving for, but it was helpful to learn that even hands-on, active assignments and activities aren’t always enough to judge how well a student has mastered the content. This chapter enforces the idea that assessment must be an ongoing process that measures all stages of learning and all aspects of it. Knowledge and content mastery are not one-dimensional things, and this chapter taught me a lot about appreciating the different ways of applying that mastery. When I am teaching a class, I will try to remember that what matters most is not my students simply regurgitating the information I teach them, but their ability to express that knowledge when I am not around to lead them through it.