Bloom's taxonomy and distance assessment

Distance assessment is a real challenge for many teachers. During the CréaCamp on September 25, Sylvain Desautels, specialist in technopedagogy at Chenelière Éducation, facilitated a workshop to better equip teachers for this purpose. We spoke with him to find out more.

“It is important to take the time to reflect on the evolution of evaluation practices. During the workshop, I take on the role of mentor to support teachers in this journey, ”says Mr. Desautels.

He first presents the Bloom's taxonomy, which "makes it possible to situate actions and interventions according to the degree of complexity, and to be able to determine whether they belong to knowledge or to the development of skills". Based on this cognitive model, we can understand different levels of assessment and their criteria. We often wonder how to avoid cheating? "We can reverse the question," said Mr. Desautels. What do you want to assess and how do you ensure that your students have achieved the educational goal stated in your educational intention? If the final exam is only a test of knowledge and the only endpoint is that the answer given is the one that had to be memorized, we stay at the bottom of Bloom's taxonomy and it is easy to cheat. . " 

Aiming for higher levels, when the student's risk of error is low and the appropriate strategies are used, allows learning situations that are more effective for them to learn.

The ieducational intent as support

Its starting premise is that all evaluative practice must be based on a clear educational intention, whether the exam takes place in the classroom or at a distance. 

During his workshop, he leads the participants to formulate a pedagogical intention to communicate to the students. An example: at the end of this period, the pupil will be able to [infinitive verb of your choice].

Then, from this intention, it is possible to construct an evaluation grid at five levels, as shown in the skill level scales proposed by the Ministry of Education. Sylvain invites teachers to share the pedagogical intention and the evaluation grid in advance with the students, regardless of the nature of the exam (diagnostic test, formative test or summative test). Thus, the student can situate himself in relation to expectations, this can guide him in his preparation and reduce his level of stress. “The hardest part is usually finding the right words to describe where the threshold for success is. What will make the difference between success and failure? ".

The choix of a tool

After completing these first steps, the teacher can choose the form of the exam and the right tool to carry it out. “This is the time to ask other questions. Can we give flexibility in the production: written text, video recording, sound? Should the task be performed live or offline? The educational intention, again here, must guide each response ”.

The workshop presented by Sylvain Desaultels is part of the teacher support project called Chenelière Education Distance education. In particular, it will be offered again during the next CréaCamp which will take place on November 20.

To continue the reflection, we invite you to read our file produced jointly with Carrefour education entitled For a reassessment of the assessment.