For students worldwide, success only means one thing: marks or grades.
It is the only way to understand where a person stands vis-a-vis their class or their cohort. In life outside education, however, this definition of success has been rapidly changing and education needs to keep up with these changing trends.
Traditionally, success is measured through examinations and other related methods like essays and other projects. Marks are given at the end of such summative exams.
The limitations of these criteria have been discussed extensively in research over the last 25 years. That is, when marks become the sole criteria for learning, it is reductive and, in fact, even a step backward. As an article in The Atlantic magazine said, “Quantitative grades also diminish student interest in learning, reduce academic risk-taking, and decrease the quality of thinking”.
Such studies are important because testing has broadly been associated with rote learning and memorising – hardly useful skills in a time when information is readily available at the end of one’s palm at all times in a digital device. It is not the ‘what’ that needs to be tested anymore because this is not very useful outside of being just an academic exercise.
Academic success today needs to be re-defined in a way that takes into account modern needs, applications, and abilities. This essentially means that students should be tested on the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of ideas and concepts rather than be asked about years, dates, and definitions.
Such changes are important, particularly in higher grades in schools and tertiary institutions because the nature of knowledge itself is changing and people need to know what to do with the available knowledge rather than just remembering what it is.
This is particularly true in today’s world of fake news and digital platforms where anybody can give information that sounds convincing in tone but could be completely wrong or deliberately misdirected.
Today’s learners need to be taught how to detect, judge, and use OSINT (Open source information), including those generated by Artificial Intelligence, whether they be text or in the form of images or film. Such detection is not only done through software but a combination of contextual, logical, and comparative information that is put together to fact-check.
The top skills required to be tested today are the important Cs: Critical thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity. All of these use already existing information but test how they could be used in different ways, from creating new technologies, understanding market trends, or anticipating future action.
There are many ways in which learners can be made to succeed in specific fields through alternative assessment. Such techniques involve creating out-of-class group projects, internships to understand real-world applications of learning, and even industry involvement with students through collaborative projects.
Today’s world demands swift and prompt responses to changing demands. Education at every level needs to keep up with these trends and ensure that students do not lose out on opportunities for success in any field they choose.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
