Two sides of the same coin: authentic assessment

I think that teachers carry that around. Every day is a test for me as a teacher. Am I going to do as well today as I need to do? Are my students going to go out and talk about this class as a success or a failure? What are my colleagues going to think about me? I think many people who go into college teaching are actually true introverts. They come to this profession because of the love of the discipline and are not so accustomed to stepping outside the classroom where they have had control and going into a more public arena.

Berg: When I tell my students that, by nature, I am very shy, they laugh.

Harris: Exactly right. I think that happens to many of us. It is as if when you walk into a classroom something gets turned on and you become that academic, that teacher, that coach, or whatever you are. Then you walk out of the classroom and go into your office and close the door.

Berg: In the history department, we have just looked at our course objectives and are now beginning to collect best practices to share with each other. In the process of doing that we will be talking about authentic assessment. I don't know how to teach geography well. My thought is that if I am willing to say that and no one is faulting me; then, it will be easier for my colleagues to say, "I need help with technology" or "I need help with this or that."

Harris: Ego is always an issue. I don't know if that is something that is unique to academics or if everyone everywhere feels this kind of threat. But I know it is an issue. One way we have tended to circumvent that is through our composition workgroup or our literature workgroup where we truly gather and talk in a very personal way about what we are doing in the classroom. "What assignments are working?" or "Did you try this?" or "Let's collaborate on that." or "What assignment are you using to achieve this?" As a result, we have had much more open conversation. I don't know quite what has made that happen, but the fact that we have a workgroup and meet on a fairly regular basis has opened people up a little bit to the discussions.

Berg: That makes sense because you have a supportive environment.

Harris: It doesn't mean that we all agree on everything or that there are not moments when you don't want to share. I think we are human beings and all human being have moments when they do not feel secure in revealing something publicly. But I think, on the whole, that this method has really worked for us and is continuing to do so.

Berg: Recognizing that there is more than one approach, the fact that a colleague takes a different approach doesn't make them better, just different.

Harris: Also, we can share those experiences. I can share my success not as, "This is the way that everyone has to do it," but this exercise worked for me on that day in that classroom. On the flip side, I can say, "I can't make this work. Why can't I get this? What is going wrong with that particular kind of assignment in my classroom? Why can't I get students not to write a summary but to write an analysis?" Things like that.