Think about the context of the team you are working in and the system of education you are a part of. What are the things that once made sense but no longer do?
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Think about the context of the team you are working in and the system of education you are a part of. What are the things that once made sense but no longer do?
Resources that are outdated even the “new” tech like learning Moodles that are outdated by the time they are available
That is so true but often knowing what the new technology is – is not that easy either particularly when living in rural areas.
And these often are not designed by educators so their functionalities are not user friendly, or are missing key functions. So we end up needing to combine multiple systems to meet the basic standards. Where the goal is to ease our workload, these often mean different work not less.
That is it!
Very true
Students have to put their name and signature twice on the first page, on the last page, and they have to submit a student unit result summary document (SURS) where they have to sign the first and the last page.
Endless useless pieces o paper with signatures on them
Yes! I’ve often wondered about this. Good point, Grietje 🙂
I was astounded when one teacher said they would have trouble working from home as they could not print out emails
Oh my!! Now…..that is definately a sacred cow kind of thing!!
Relatable
Over Assessing
yes, that is a big one.
Yep, we seem to have gone to the extremes now to get the student to demonstrate or write about certain skills/subjects. Some assessments seem to ask the same question over and over just worded slightly differently each time.
We have trialled some online supervised assessments to replace the paper trail required (as long as systems work) – so much in education is old school due to the sacred cow syndrome .. it can be hard with new technology assisting students in ‘cheating’ but where do we draw the line ?
Love inline assessments
There are a lot of ‘sacred cows’ in the ESOL system that I work in.
In terms of administration, we are archiving so much printed documentation for accountability and legal purposes that we have filing rooms full of it. This information could be and is in many cases stored online. Making more efficient systems would free up the duplicated time and space it consumes and save a few trees in the process.
In regard to student assessment, there are too many boxes to tick, too much paperwork to fill out and way too much politics. The demands of the assessments dominate the teaching time and result in ‘teaching to the assessment’.
Heads of department, head teachers and external auditors are constantly checking compliance. There is endless justification and evidence that you are doing your job, but no one is checking the quality of the teaching happening in the classroom.
All this waisted time and energy results in decreased time available to collaborate with colleagues, develop engaging effective programs and plan learning experiences with real meaning and purpose for our students.
Paper-based standard assessments
too much photocopying
Definately
Yes,avoidable.
Textbooks in hard copy and paper hand written assessments
Over assessing, scanning and signing iexses.
Agreed, so much signing and over assessing
old outdated content that must be taught because it is in the curriculum
lol I feel your pain
So much content that isn’t valid in today’s world – yet we need to show our currency in this in our IDPs ?
Yes a lot of it it very archaic
we all feel your pain!
All assessments are still paper based. I know there is talk of this changing and the sooner the better.
happy this has changed for us this semester
Developing assessments without consulting the group of teachers who actually have an in-depth under-pinning knowledge of their discipline and being driven by compliance rather than questioning the reasons of why we are setting these assessments . What I am concerned about is whose interest are we looking at or supporting.
This is so true Romi -= compliance are not subject experts and over require more questions using words that are missing (though have been assessed in the same context already) … our students need to be work ready and compliance is going over the top – I believe in compliance but not by people who aren’t subject matter experts
the need to have written signatures – print, sign, scan
agreed – this is not necessary
Yep,i endless.
I also agree it is waste of time
agreed 100%
In regard to pronunciation for ESL learners, phonemes are no longer top priority even though they are still important for intelligibility.
. Change with no real purpose can be just as damaging as no change at all. We need to be discerning and hold on to proven teaching practices rather than following fades and trends just to look like you are ‘keeping up’.
We still do everything on paper. Why not use electronic copies?
and print – sign – scan it back in then email it off. We have the software for electronic signatures
Completely agree, I wrote the same.
Blindly doing things that are asked of us instead questioning the relevance of that in the workplace.
I thinks the time spent and agony endured were unjustified to work on superseded units and courses instead to preparing for new ones. All because teachers are asked. When the workforce has been casualised, the part-time teachers do not wish to make a ripple for the fear of losing their jobs.
Where are the leaders and the policy makers in education. Presently education is all compliance and outcome driven.
knowledge assessments – yesteryear separate desks, no bags, no looking, hand up for questions
now here’s you paper in class 1 and we complete it together in class until the due date – doesn’t make sense and what are they really learning?
great point ,these things are not necessary.
The number of assessments against teaching/discussion time. When I got trained to be a teacher, we were told the ratio of 80%of teaching time and 20% assessing time. But the Assessments are getting lengthier and lengthier and now I feel we are just teaching to assess. No time for capability building as such
completely agree! we don flip classes (not really but they call it that) 50 % theory and 50% practical – its the beauty industry! yes the content is crazy but we need more time with practical skills!
sacred cow – I’m still liking my cow!
we try to flip classes – students turn up with no preparation and only want to work on assessments
Shaista, I totally agree with your comment. There is so much assessing
Totally agree. Teaching is very assessment-based/focused now. Facilitating the learners to pass the assessments occupies most of the teaching/learning time.
I feel and share your pain and join your dilemma.
We have talked about this a lot in the past year especially, far too much time spent on filling out assessment paperwork.
yes I agree not all changes work well.
It used to make sense just to give a student a textbook and work through it from page 1 to page whatever…these days you lose the students if you do that. Their retention span is limited and they want to be more engaged as a group, work together and be challenged to find their own outcomes by do it. Whether what they try results in a disaster (albeit minor where no one gets hurt hopefully) or whether it is a success, by being challenged to try it then discuss the outcome and consider alternate solutions works better.
Having to work set teaching hours when the mode of teaching has changed and no longer applies
Teaching content for the sake of it because that’s how we have been doing it for x years when it has no relevance on the skills set being delivered
How very true
So true.
Having assessments that are written/ developed for online use but then having to print them off to meet audit requirements. Need to move forward and educate not be worrying about signing footers and pages to ad nauseum
Kate, I agree, what a painful unnecessary exercise
I agree Kate. When are they going to realise that by submitting into Moodle, or other online platform, where they had to sign in with their username and password, that is their digital signature.
Yes, totally agree, endless signing and dating of pages etc. weighted down in unnessary processes.
Spot on all we are doing at every level is just covering our backs.
Kate I couldnt agree with you more.
Amounts of paper work, signing and checking. Its tiresome and all students ask everytime they have to do it…why?
Old outdated content in the curriculum that must be taught and the use of signatures on every page of an assessment
I hear you and ensuring the answers meet the marking guide answers even if there can be more answers than those provided in marking guide
Yes Mark, we have to deal with the same thing, and I have no idea what it was implemented
Ditto my reply above to Kate’s comment. As as for the curriculum, do they know we don’t use an abacus anymore, nor even a fax machine in most organisations.
Yes outdated curriculum has been a problem for years and has never been addressed
Thinking about the context of my team in the VET sector, here are some things that do not make sense now:
– Telling students to turn their mobile phones off
– Assessment documents including sections asking students to provide their feedback when they do so online
– Teachers creating documents/forms/checklists used in their classes and not sharing this information with others.
great points – the sharing part gets me! lets work together and make it amazing!
We need to lose the ‘Sacred Cow’ mentality and update to keep current. Smart phone are something most students have. These should be embedded into the way we teach and assess students.
David, yes I agree smart phones should be embedded into the way we teach! I have always allowed students to have their phones on. I ask them to be mindful of others and go outside of the classroom to take any calls. I set the rules the first day of class and always get the highest respect from all students!!! In fact, some students even ask me if they can go outside to make a call.
Agree 100%, make them a useful tool not a pain in the neck
Possibly institutionalised education itself is a bit of a sacred cow which makes it harder to change parts within in
Yes learning and education both school and VET needs to move forward
I don’t know if it is a sacred cow (but it is a real bugbear of mine) assessments and resources that have been designed to be downloaded should be redesigned for online use. Even newly created assessments and teaching resources are still being designed to be downloaded rather than used online. There are so many exciting/engaging tools that can be incorporated it is a shame that we are still locked in the past.
The idea that using smart phones and translators are somehow cheating in the language classroom, or the idea that students must be discouraged from using their 1st language in the classroom. Both of these are outdated and inefficient, but are perpetrated regularly.
Julia
Agree if these technologies are freely available then we should be making use of them not discouraging there use by students.
Also agree 100%
Use them to our advantage
Many surveys that students are asked to complete are in a very confusing manner – ie. it’s a negative/positive and very difficult to answer. We need to get rid of the sacred cow approach!
Yes and I wonder how much of the information from the surveys actually gets used in any way to make any improvements
Maureen
Agree unless the survey is interactive like Kahoot this is an engaging way of gauging information from learners.
Many surveys that students are asked to complete are in a very confusing manner – ie. it’s a negative/positive and very difficult to answer. We need to get rid of the sacred cow!
Many assessments do not change from year to year and are no longer appropriate for the course covered. Asking students to print copies of their assessments which are held in filing cabinets and never looked at again. Electronic filing of files is more appropriate.
I think there is probably something comforting for people to keep their sacred cows somewhere close and in a tangible format
Teaching Business there is no longer a need to teach or discuss faxes as they are now superseded and the use of emails are now a modern day method of sending documents.
I agree. We have assessments that ask students to do things they would never do in real life – send faxes, use a landline to phone a friend etc.
Like the idea of thinking about one of your sacred cows traditions in your teaching section. Ours is complete all paper work before completing a client. Sometimes this is just not ideal because circumstances change throughout the process therefore the paper work is incorrect..
Jane- i agree, the sheer volume of writing required prior to starting a service is not practical
I have another example for the establishment of the sacred cow. A young lady was learning how to cook a lamb roast from her mother. Her mother instructed her to cut off the last few inches of the leg roast and put it in the tray. The young lady asked “why”? Her mother didn’t now why. So the young lady asked her grand mother who had taught her mother. And the grandmother replied “that is because I had a small oven and roasting pan and many people to feed. The leg roast was always too large for my pan. So I always had to cut the last few inches off to make it fit in my pan.”
Knowledge tested only through timed face to face closed book exams.
Or even the separation of knowledge questions from practical tasks.
Yes! It’s testing memory rather than knowledge. In our facility, we test adult language learners’ listening comprehension by playing an audio 3 times through speakers in the classroom and expecting students to be able to answer all questions from that. In real life (now), listening is done through headphones, and is often recorded so we can replay and re-listen.
What makes no sense anymore? The concept that the answer to nearly every problem lies in producing yet another bit of paperwork to show compliance. Surely, given the cost on teaching time and student patience, it’s time our institutions and policy makers adopt a more innovative and efficient mindset.
I agree Denise. It also goes back to my comment on paperbased assessments and resources. Save the trees!
I certainly agree Jan, we seem to be going through “forests” of paper just to keep up with the compliance requirements.
We still continually obtain signatures however all student work is now uploaded to a electronic platform. So the student login should suffice as a signature, however, they are still expected to sign documents prior to uploading.
And signatures or names on every page.
We must work for the same organisation 🙂
This aspect of TAFE assessments is maddening. It takes up so much time and makes no sense at all. The students all look at me like I’m crazy when I say that they have to write their full name on the front and back of every page of their assessment. All I can say is “that’s what TAFE wants!”
This is changing as TAFE students can submit their work to Moodle (Learning management system) without having to sign their documents.
What I think is just as important as updating methodology and systems is the language used in the written communication – assessments etc.
How Organisational changes are communicated and demonstrated to staff, once may have made sense and was executed with a streamlined leadership approach. Now needs to incorporate creative ways to involve employees in the change to reduce resistance or push back.
we follow quite some unconscious ways of many practical components that have been done for years and never have been questioned why, the VET sector must update some of the approach and change to modern techniques using the more science based learning
A lot of our ” written work” on hard copies have to be done for the sake of “Routine”, though we entered such data online !
Same for hard copies of textbooks, we have to keep them even they are outdated and we have e-copies of such books.
So, we have to say “SORRY” to the trees that provide paper to us.
Signatures for everything when we now keep track of things electronically and it can easily keep track of who did what.
I agree with Ariane. We get used to our routine practices.
We do it without any question and keep it as tradition.
I agree with Ariane, although things are done electronically, we still follow old practices of requiring a signature.
I agree- verification perhaps could be linked through perhaps a one time id. Signatures are used less now than ever.
Innovation is needed. I like to work online and gathering written signatures disrupts this. The organisation needs to adopt a sensible/workable policy is this area and apply it across the board.
Assessment requirements written in jargonistic teacher talk – previously students were not required to read these, and plain English versions were acceptable. Now we provide assessments in plain English but students are still required to receive the complex version.
Makes no sense at all.
I strongly agree – this jargon seems unnecessary – it only serves to tick a box for demonstrating compliance.
agreed,that is it’s only purpose
I agree this makes no sense
I work in the early childhood field and some of the practices that teachers have used twenty years ago do not work simply because they are so teacher directed and go with one size fits all.
I my industry (hairdressing)this is also true
Admin tasks for the school to report up the line – Manufacturing Age style. Time wasting and effort draining reports usually double and triple recording of the same data just another system. Data to make sure funding is maintained or increased in the next budget.
Weekly spelling tests – sure there’s activities surrounding the sound of the week and the sound is explored by the whole school and assembly that week – but are students using those words in their writing and discussions?
Merit awards where you have to give a certain number a week and tick off names on the roll so the parents can watch their child receive an award has to be given but not always earned.
Adult literacy learners arrive at TAFE able to identify and show awareness of their own learning gaps and goals. We used to be able to address each individual’s needs until Smart and Skilled imposed a ‘one size fits all’ course of up to 17 assessments that fill up the teaching time and are irrelevant to many of the student’s learning needs. This is a change that does not make sense to me.
I agree with Joanne W. Some times I feel we are just teaching to assess. To cover the curriculum, time constraints do not allow to let the students think outside the box
Yes, very little time to address student need when assessments take up so much time
As teachers and assessors we are Constantly trying to meet organisational and auditing requirements that limits the ability to meet individual students needs holistically.
Yes meeting compliance makes no sense yet we are totally controlled by it
agree compliance some times takes the focus away on real teaching
Yes, many times we are just joining the dots to meet compliance
I agree -compliance for the sole purpose auditing requirements is having a detrimental affect on both the class cohort and teacher
Constant need for handing out merit awards. The fact that we have to mark the roll both online and manually every single day. Storage rooms full of textbooks that go unused and that we can only photocopy 10% for copyright reasons when most things are online now and we can have access to full copies of documents. Standardised testing. Students are being taught to the test and then we question why they can’t think outside of the box.
The four key values of Agile:
1.Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
2.Working software over comprehensive documentation
3.Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4.Responding to change over following a plan
Working in adult education i feel that we have become fixed in compliance which leaves little room for creativity and innovation. Constantly trying to meet organisational and auditing requirements limits the ability to meet a students needs
Exactly, reduces one’s ability to inspire, inform, empower, and engage.
I totally agree, we are more concerned with complaiance than creativity and innovation.
Paperwork has been elevated at the cost of our core business.
agreed Kerry
I think keeping a dusty resource room of textbooks, that I’m only allowed to copy 10% of at any one time, but NOT digitalising these, is quite absurd. I’m often away from campus and can’t access those books even though my section legitimately owns them and is licensed for their usage!! Another thing that frustrates me is having to keep a paper roll and then also having to manually input those attendences every day into the intranet system. Why can’t we record attendence using something like tablets, checking each student’s box as they arrive, which then automatically uploads itself to a database somewhere? Why must I double-perform this task? It is so wasteful of my time.
Exactly! I’ve never understood why on earth we would need to do attendance both manually and electronically. Even if for the use of emergency like fire or lock down. Couldn’t we simply print out the roll once it has been submitted in the morning and keep the paper copy on hand throughout the day for reference or print if or when needed.
A lot of our ” written work” on hard copies have to be done for the sake of “Routine”, though we entered such data online !
Same for hard copies of textbooks, we have to keep them even they are outdated and we have e-copies of such books.
So, we have to say “SORRY” to the trees that provide paper to us.