Student assessment – A two-way street

One of the IB Learner Profile traits is Reflection. But this doesn’t only apply to the students. Naturally, teaching staff need to constantly reflect on their students for assessment – their ability in completing a task; their skills; how well they engaged with the task or interacted with fellow group members; their overall understanding and more.

This observation process is integral for grading the student. But at HBIS, it is more of a two-way street. Teachers don’t simply instruct, observe and grade from a vantage point, but instead involve the student in the assessment process.

By asking students why they did something a certain way, or even asking them how they felt they did in a project teachers are able to obtain insight into a student’s learning process. They are able to gain a better understanding of the students knowledge on a certain topic.

Did they misunderstand? Or did they make a mistake? Acknowledging this difference is paramount to an accurate assessment, and therefore grade.

But perhaps even more importantly – better insight into a students learning process allows for the teacher to react to difficulties a students may have in learning a certain skill, and adjust teaching strategies accordingly.