Are your formative assessments boring?
I have been producing learning material for a number of years now, and also have included simple group work and really relying in the back of my mind on the ability of the facilitator to make things come alive in the class room.
This outlook changed a year a two ago, when I was introduced to Improvisation Theatre in the class room. This form of training the mind has changed the way I create formative assessments. Understandably the shy learner might be have to be brought out of their shell, but the whole premise of feeling the work that they have learned in their BODIES has made such a difference in my assessments and class rooms. My most recent success was with a large retail group that only used my own invented Improv Theatre techniques as well as some more known methods, in the classroom for the introduction of a new range of products. Granted that this time I did not have to adhere to US or SAQA requirements BUT I have created these for US aligned material. To quote from a website:
“Improvisation focuses on what makes a team work. A group learns, through improvisation, to build a team. A team can be made up of many different personalities. It can have a long or short life-span depending on its functions, and it can change dynamically to accommodate new members and situations.With improvisation you learn the tools and rules that make a functioning, successful and creative team.” (http://www.improvision.co.za/)
This form of training or using this in formative assessments really put the learner in the spot as they have to really listen and pay attention. Drop me a line if you are interested in me reviving your formative assessments of the training material that you already have or even using me as a facilitator to bring these techniques into your classroom.
ohmtraining@gmail.com