TechIntersect

It’s true. I earned an “F” on my report card in high school Chemistry. It’s not a fact I’m proud of, but I bring it up because I’ve been thinking about the disconnect between assessments and learning. On paper, you wouldn’t think I learned a thing in Chemistry. Perhaps I could have learned more than I did had I been more serious in my approach. But I wouldn’t be surprised if some of my classmates earning A’s & B’s in that class all those years ago who remember less about Chemistry than I do.

That’s the disconnect between learning and assessment. I participated and I learned. But I was not successful in the class.

On the trip home from the Wakonse teaching a couple of years ago, I was able to visit at length with a K-State chemistry professor, Sundeep Rayat. (That’s a very cool thing about the Wakonse conference- you get to interact with people outside of your discipline.) For some reason that day I was full of chemistry questions, and after a while she commented that I have a pretty good understanding of chemistry. She was surprised to learn that my only exposure to the subject was a high school class that I failed over 20 years ago. (Since then, we’ve stayed in touch. She even gave my 8 y/o daughter a tour of her lab this spring.)

But the truth in the matter is that I am not a good student. I don’t play the game well. It is true to this day. Even as a doctoral student in graduate level classes, I find that it is a struggle to do well in traditionally structured courses that require listening to lectures, taking notes, doing homework, etc. It takes me a couple of weeks just to figure out what I should be doing. (Not a good thing when your class is only a month long.) Those old feelings I had as a youngster, frustrated in school, well up inside of me. I sometimes feel inadequate or even angry at myself, the teacher and the system. But then I realize I’m no longer a teenager, and have a little better control over my self & emotions, so somehow I am able to muddle through. If I recognize it’s just a difference in styles I can manage it better and even learn to appreciate the differences.

It have to wonder about how many kids are  out there in the system right now who are like me, a square peg in a round hole, but instead of recognizing it is a lack of square holes that is the problem, they think that there is something wrong with themselves. It is possible to learn, and for whatever reason the system doesn’t recognize that you are learning. It’s hard when you are young and can’t see the big picture yet. It’s kind of a problem, don’t you think? I guess that’s why I’m in education. At least a few of my students who happen to be similar to me will have a chance at being successful.