In the previous post I looked at how the difference between a reading comprehension approach and an information-processing approach plays out in an example test question. This difference isn’t simply about test questions and testing approaches. It has a direct impact and a series of consequences on the LBS system as a whole, as the … Continue reading Skills versus tasks: A false debate that obscures a perverse reading pedagogy (part 4 of 4)
Month: July 2016
Skills versus tasks: A false debate that obscures a perverse reading pedagogy (part 3 of 4)
We can see the difference between the information processing technique---carried into the Essential Skills framework, the OALCF, spin-off tests like the ESEE and OALCF Milestones---and reading comprehension play out in test questions. While the text to be read could be quite similar in both approaches, adherence to either an information-processing model or a reading comprehension … Continue reading Skills versus tasks: A false debate that obscures a perverse reading pedagogy (part 3 of 4)
Skills versus tasks: A false debate that obscures a perverse reading pedagogy (part 2 of 4)
The literacy technique developed for use in international literacy testing, and then carried into programs, is a constructed reading method. It is a set of processes, referred to as constructs, developed for testing. The technique known as information-processing directs people to read and respond to texts in very particular ways. Those processes are put to use in all … Continue reading Skills versus tasks: A false debate that obscures a perverse reading pedagogy (part 2 of 4)
Skills versus tasks: A false debate that obscures a perverse reading pedagogy (part 1 of 4)
I had a couple of exchanges this week that touched on a similar topic, and that is the literacy technique that was developed for use in the international literacy test, and then carried into the Essential Skills framework, the OALCF, spin-off tests like the ESEE and OALCF Milestones, and learning activities. People may refer to … Continue reading Skills versus tasks: A false debate that obscures a perverse reading pedagogy (part 1 of 4)
How the design and methods used in the Essential Skills framework coordinate and guide its use in education
A reader wondered why I called the Essential Skills a curriculum framework when it was intended to be used to profile various occupations (i.e. provide extensive descriptions of jobs organized by skill domain and level), and not to support individual literacy development. Based on some previous research into the development of the Essential Skills, I settled … Continue reading How the design and methods used in the Essential Skills framework coordinate and guide its use in education
Fair Assessment Practices 