EDUCATION 830 ASSSIGNMENT C IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES & SUGGESTIONS:

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Implementation of an IE program is both successful and unsuccessful in some contexts. This section of the paper will attempt to describe two: assessment and increased role of the teacher. One of the problems lies in the fact that the more qualitative methods of data collection result in ambiguous findings about what the student has actually learned.

The data collected by qualitative methods are typically so diverse and ambiguous that even dedicated practitioners often feel overwhelmed by the interpretive task. The difficulty is exacerbated by the absence of clear prescriptive procedures, making it necessary not only to determine the quality of a program but also to figure out how to determine the quality of a program Maubry, 2003, p. 173 How can we attempt to assess the imagination? What are acceptable representations of students learning? For Linda Payne Young, one of the solutions lies in re-conceptualizing the rubric. Rubrics should not attempt to quantify products of students learning but rather assess student growth during the creative process (Young, 2009, p. 74). She reminds us that we are not assessing creativity and its tangible products. Instead the criterion of a rubric should reflect the development of the students imagination and thinking. Instead, a well-crafted rubric can serve as a heuristic to guide students in their imaginative exploration and teachers in their growing understanding of individual students and their needs. The purpose of using criteria and rubrics is not to dictate the teachers response to student work, but to facilitate a fruitful discussion. Young, 2009, p. 77 For this reason the students voice is a necessary component during the assessment. For successful implementation of an IE program, the teacher must 1) on commit to redesigning rubrics based on process and 2) engage in dialogue with the student. The learning should be reflected in the students language and their ability to identify the complexities within a subject area.

EDUCATION 830 ASSSIGNMENT C

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In an IE program we see a growing responsibility on the teacher. If done concertedly, the teacher is not only responsible for designing powerful lessons which engage the imagination and employ an array of cognitive tools, they are assessing throughout the students interplay with that knowledge by way of rich descriptions and observations. The role of the teacher becomes that of an educational critic. To Eisner, the educational critic [looks] in on a series of lessons on a topic, situating the topic relative to their educational function (Eisner, 2001, p. 203). The teacher must be highly aware of the nuances in the students journey in order to establish what the student has taken from the lesson. It is similar to the role of a connoisseur who is skilled at determining the essence of something. Not only must educators know their content extremely well, they must know how to appreciate what they encounter as representations of learning. Appreciation here means an awareness and an understanding of what one has experienced. Such an awareness provides the basis for judgment (Madaus & Kellaghan in Stufflebeam, 2000, p. 30). If we are moving towards successfully implementing IE in schools, teachers must re-conceptualize the role of educator to include this.

Imaginative Education programs aim to unlock the potential in students. This potential takes many forms and as such schools must be ready with the appropriate qualitative assessment tools. There must be a commitment by the community of teachers to redefine and expand their responsibilities if we are to expand the capacities for thinking in students