oRIGINAL RESEARCH OFAUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT/TASKS
The two following inteview and observation show how authentic assessment or tasks are important for any age group and for any child. As you will read, authentic tasks begin when children are as young as three years old.
INTERVIEW
Questions about providing authentic tasks and the importance of this were asked to an experienced Senior Educator at a local Mackay Childcare/Kindergarten Centre.
Q1: How do you ensure that you are providing authentic leaning tasks to your children?
A1: Students make own choices on what activities they participate in (student centred tasks); tasks are based around students interests (student engagement); children are given real life responsibilities in the room using correct tools (eg: bloom for sweeping floor, cloths for wiping tables and chairs); and children learn about their environment (plants, trees, wildlife) by actually participating in activities in real life contexts (eg: learn about edible plants by planting and looking after a veggie garden).
Q2: Why do you think it is important for children as young as three years old to participate in authentic learning tasks?
A2: Teaches life skills; builds self-confidence; gives real life experience of responsibility; gives a sense of self-worth; teaches children how to be respectful; and gives children rewarding experiences in real world contexts.
Helen Arthur - Diploma in Children Services.
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YEAR SIX CLASS OBSERVATION
An example of authentic assessment taking place in a year six classroom is when students were learning about their environment. Instead of the teacher teaching the students and assessing them inside the classroom where they would only have books and videos to watch on the environment, the students went outside in the school grounds to learn and observe their environment. Students were taken out to the context of learning to take obervations, draw pictures and to conduct some activities with the teacher such as planting insect traps and recording the environment's features. This gave the students a more rewarding learning experience as they were able to work collaboratively and conduct some of the experiments and observations that real scientists do everyday in similar contexts.
INTERVIEW
Questions about providing authentic tasks and the importance of this were asked to an experienced Senior Educator at a local Mackay Childcare/Kindergarten Centre.
Q1: How do you ensure that you are providing authentic leaning tasks to your children?
A1: Students make own choices on what activities they participate in (student centred tasks); tasks are based around students interests (student engagement); children are given real life responsibilities in the room using correct tools (eg: bloom for sweeping floor, cloths for wiping tables and chairs); and children learn about their environment (plants, trees, wildlife) by actually participating in activities in real life contexts (eg: learn about edible plants by planting and looking after a veggie garden).
Q2: Why do you think it is important for children as young as three years old to participate in authentic learning tasks?
A2: Teaches life skills; builds self-confidence; gives real life experience of responsibility; gives a sense of self-worth; teaches children how to be respectful; and gives children rewarding experiences in real world contexts.
Helen Arthur - Diploma in Children Services.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
YEAR SIX CLASS OBSERVATION
An example of authentic assessment taking place in a year six classroom is when students were learning about their environment. Instead of the teacher teaching the students and assessing them inside the classroom where they would only have books and videos to watch on the environment, the students went outside in the school grounds to learn and observe their environment. Students were taken out to the context of learning to take obervations, draw pictures and to conduct some activities with the teacher such as planting insect traps and recording the environment's features. This gave the students a more rewarding learning experience as they were able to work collaboratively and conduct some of the experiments and observations that real scientists do everyday in similar contexts.