Learning Maps: Making Understanding Visible
How do we know when a student truly understands something? A student might complete an assignment, answer questions correctly, or recall important facts. But does that mean they understand the… Read More »
Beyond the Checklist: Teaching for Conceptual Understanding
Across Alberta classrooms, teachers are working to help students make sense of curriculum. Yet, too often, the purpose of a learning outcome becomes lost in the pressure to cover numerous… Read More »
Get Me Outside! Bringing Assessment to Life
“We get so stuck in our classrooms that sometimes I forget we can take our kids outside to learn!” Gr. 5 Teacher Having students show us what they know doesn’t… Read More »
What’s All the Fuss About Performance Assessments?
Editor’s note: Originally published several years ago and updated in 2026 to reflect current thinking. Performance assessment is not a passing fad. It is an essential part of a complete… Read More »
When Students Can Do It… But Don’t Understand It
My son recently came home with a multiplication and division practice booklet. He was excited to show me that he knew all his basic facts to 100. Wanting to engage… Read More »
Ensuring the Integrity of the Grade
Effective assessment occurs when summative grades focus purely on a student’s mastery of curricular outcomes, without being clouded by extraneous factors. To achieve this, teachers must act as discerning investigators… Read More »
The Myth of the Real World
It’s a common refrain: ‘The real world doesn’t give second chances.’ But is that really true? When people say ‘the real world,’ they often mean the adult professional environment, but… Read More »
The Critical Role of Practice and Feedback
During the learning of new concepts or skills, it is essential that students have enough dedicated time to practice and act upon feedback before reaching a summative milestone. When navigating… Read More »
The Path to Assessment Literacy: Why We Need a Common Language
Assessment shapes how students see themselves as learners and how families interpret school success. Yet, a significant gap persists between evidence-based practice and public perception. Many Albertans still view assessment… Read More »
Let Them Play, Let Them Learn: Why Kindergarten Needs Documentation, Not Marks
Students today are often trained to be grade-focused rather than learning-focused. This quote from Myron Dueck continues to resonate with me when I think about Alberta’s children and their earliest… Read More »