Beyond Testing by Deborah Meier & Matthew Knoester

Author:Deborah Meier & Matthew Knoester
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Published: 2017-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

In this chapter we raised many of the strengths and limitations we see in the use of Descriptive Review as a form of assessment or as a tool for professional development of teachers. It takes time and effort. The description at the center of the Process is aimed at deeper understanding and not necessarily breadth of knowledge about more than one person or narrow topic at a time—the kind of assessment and methodologies that dominate educational research journals. However, we hope we have made it apparent that the limitations of the Prospect Center’s Descriptive Review Processes are minor compared with the enormous benefits they can offer. A Descriptive Review creates opportunities for educators to talk about particular children (or other important topics, including our own cultural biases, a review of curricula, or even of whole-school restructuring), while helpfully focusing the discussion and reflection and pushing participants to notice more. Pat Carini (2001) wrote, “To describe teaches me that the subject of my attention always exceeds what I can see” (p. 163). Although we may have to teach the next day, taking the time to reflect and listen, with humility, as the Descriptive Review Processes require, can and should be part of our ongoing growth as educators and is among the most powerful tools we can use to make wiser decisions about teaching and learning.

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