COVID-19 or no COVID-19 – It’s time to re-examine a few grading, assessment and instructional practices.

Never let a good crisis go to waste.

Winston Churchill

Significant events cause paradigms to shift.

COVID-19 or No COVID-19, It’s time to re-examine a few things…

Throughout history, whenever a system gets a significant shakeup some things change forever. In what seemed like an instant, an obscure virus called COVID saw our  students and teachers step out of our schools and into a new world – literally. We suddenly needed to adapt to remote learning situations, to define essential outcomes and connect virtually, digitally, distanced.

We will undoubtedly have learned a few things through this experience. Some of our epiphanies have involved innovative instructional, grading and assessment practices. Appropriate digital literacy skills were brought into sharp focus, and we were again reminded that relationships are central to all that we do. What we’ve learned will undoubtedly shift our landscape to some extent when we do return to a ‘new normal’. Join this session for a positive and hopeful conversation around rethinking a few things before, during, and after a shake-up. 

Key learning outcomes include:

• Examining the language we use in grading, and whether it is appropriate and useful with contemporary standards and the COVID challenges of remote learning
• Exploring the learning tools we use such as rubrics and their importance in sharing success criteria with our students.
• Questioning the definition of digital literacy and examining ways we can assist our students in developing appropriate and timely skills for digital interaction.
• Considering shifts to standards-based instruction and assessment that have proven effective in the remote learning realities of the COVID era.
• Leveraging the importance of home and community relationships in our delivery of curriculum.