Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment

Join us as we explore the ways we are now considering re-assembling literacies assessment. Through this experience, we thought about undoing, decolonizing, liberating, and righting assessment. We used several questions to guide our thinking in each. Undoing assessment: What happens when assessment practices uphold systems rather than the literacy practices of children? What needs “undoing” so that literacies assessment allows for noticing and reflecting differently—attuning to what matters in learners’ ways of knowing, being, and doing? Decolonizing assessment: What is involved in the work of decolonizing assessment? What can be learned from Indigenous communities engaged in revitalizing Indigenous languages, culture, and literacies education through Indigenous epistemologies and ontologies?  Liberating assessment: How do we confront the ideological nature of literacies assessment? How might assessment be re-imagined as a practice of deep listening, of shifting power and agency to students whose voices and ways of knowing have been marginalized, de-valued, and de-legitimized?  Righting assessment: What happens when we begin from the premise that literacies assessment needs to affirm and engage students’ multilingual repertoires, identities, and competencies? How can literacies assessment support learners in their intellectual and creative endeavours? Re-imagining Literacies Assessment is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment also acknowledges the support of the University of Manitoba, Brandon University, the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Research Team and the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Working Group. A special thanks to the Re-Imagining Literacies working group: Nicole Trottier, Monica Martens, Jen Tesoro, Bret Schmall, Karen Boyd, Sheila Seafoot, Chris Sarkonak, Barb Isaak, Steve Doell, Jon Sorokowski, and Dave Arbez, whose voices you hear in this episode. The song "The Perfect Life" by Moby appears courtesy of mobygratis.com. Additional sounds appear via freesound.org., including "Crowd before jazz concert.wav" by tom_woysky via https://freesound.org/s/219451/ -- License: Attribution 4.0, "R10-05-Footsteps on Hard Tile Floor.wav" by craigsmith via https://freesound.org/s/480592/ -- License: Creative Commons 0, "Voice_Crowd_Small_Expression_Laugh_Stereo" by Nox_Sound via https://freesound.org/s/752711/ -- License: Creative Commons 0, "Applause 07.wav" by kwahmah_02 via https://freesound.org/s/324182/ -- License: Attribution 3.0 For more information on Re-Imagining Literacies assessment, including other writings and podcasts, view our website at www.reimagininglitassessment.ca. You can also find us online in most online spaces with the handle reimagininglitassessment.

In this episode, we do things a little bit differently. Karen Wohlwend was unable to join us as we had hoped. Instead, the re-imagining literacies working group took the occasion to meet and talk about our learning so far, how we are constructing meaning around literacies, and wondering about what this means for actions going forward. Like Karen suggests, we too are trying to “play our way into literacies” with this episode. And, like Karen suggests, we think in terms of action and the “messy assemblages” that are created as we re-imagine this work. If our previous episodes have been about undoing, liberating, righting, and decolonizing, we now explore the process of reassembling our understanding of literacies assessment.  In preparation for this meeting, the Working Group each received a template for a graphic organizer we called a domino. Each domino was split down the middle—on one side, each Working Group member was invited to contribute a symbol, image, sketch, scene, or visual representation to capture a “big idea” about assessment that has surfaced in our time together. On the other side of the domino, Working Group members added a Word, phrase, sentence, or quotation to correspond with their visual representation. These dominoes aimed to capture what has moved, provoked, challenged, or inspired us in this work so far. The working group then met to discuss these ideas together—the basis for this episode, where the Re-Imagining Literacies Working Group begins the process of ­­reassembling assessment. We used these visual dominoes kind of like the real life dominoes. We posted each domino in Canva, then laid them down one by one, with each member of the working group explaining their thinking and connections. As we added each domino, we connected it to one of the previous dominoes, and, piece by piece, eventually creating one interconnected image of all the dominoes together. The conversation you hear next came as we played together with these ideas, linkages, and wonderings.   Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment also acknowledges the support of the University of Manitoba, Brandon University, and The Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Research Team, special thanks to our guests in this episode, the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Working Group-Nicole Trottier, Monica Martens, Jen Tesoro, Bret Schmall, Karen Boyd, Sheila Seafoot, Chris Sarkonak, Barb Isaak, Steve Doell, Jon Sorokowski, and Dave Arbez.  The songs The Ceremony of Innocence (Hyperion Remix), and The Perfect Life by Moby appear courtesy of mobygratis.com. The edited versions of the songs songs 6 Ghosts I, 16 Ghosts 2, 18 Ghosts 2, 21 Ghosts 3, 22 Ghosts 3 by Nine Inch Nails through Creative Commons licensing.  A big thank you to Karen Wohlwend and Jon Wargo for the use of their Youtube video from which Karen’s voice appears in this episode. You can find that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQcON-4Zqqg&t=485s&pp=ygUrZGlnaXRhbCBsaXRlcmFjaWVzIGludGVydmlldyBrYXJlbiB3b2hsd2VuZA%3D%3D At https://reimagininglitassessment.wordpress.com, you will be able to find all information on Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment, including other writing and podcasts. You can also find us online in most online spaces with the handle reimagininglitassessment 

In this episode, we welcome Jim Cummins to discuss righting assessment.  Re-imagining Literacies Assessment is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment also acknowledges the support of the University of Manitoba, Brandon University, the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Research Team and the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Working Group. A special thanks to our guest in this episode, Jim Cummins. The songs The Ceremony of Innocence (Hyperion Remix), The Perfect Life, Chord Sounds, The Broken Places, The Poison Tree (David Lynch remix), and Lacrimae by Moby, appear courtesy of mobygratis.com. For more information on Re-Imagining Literacies assessment, including other writings and podcasts, view our website at www.reimagininglitassessment.ca. You can also find us online in most online spaces with the handle reimagininglitassessment.

In this episode, we welcome Felicia Rose Chavez to discuss liberating assessment.  Re-imagining Literacies Assessment is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment also acknowledges the support of the University of Manitoba, Brandon University, the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Research Team and the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Working Group. A special thanks to our guest in this episode, Felica Rose Chavez. The songs The Ceremony of Innocence (Hyperion Remix), The Perfect Life, Chord Sounds, The Broken Places, and Lacrimae by Moby, appear courtesy of mobygratis.com. For more information on Re-Imagining Literacies assessment, including other writings and podcasts, view our website at www.reimagininglitassessment.ca. You can also find us online in most online spaces with the handle reimagininglitassessment.

In this episode, we welcome the community, educators, and researchers of Joe A. Ross School in Opaskwayak Cree Nation to discuss decolonizing assessment through Anisininiwak epistemologies and ontologies.  Re-imagining Literacies Assessment is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment also acknowledges the support of the University of Manitoba, Brandon University, the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Research Team and the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Working Group. A special thanks to our guests in this episode, the community, educators, and researchers of Joe A. Ross School in Opaskwayak Cree Nation, including Dr. Burcu Yaman Ntelioglou, Bev Fontaine, Elder Dr. Stanley Wilson, Sylvia Lathlin-Scott, Priscilla Constant, Janna Personius, and Marlene Ross. The song The Perfect Life by Moby appears courtesy of mobygratis.com. Drumming in this episode is performed by drum instructor Ken Henderson and two students of Joe A. Ross School, Jacob Constant and Trapper Fontaine. For more information on Re-Imagining Literacies assessment, including other writings and podcasts, view our website at www.reimagininglitassessment.ca. You can also find us online in most online spaces with the handle reimagininglitassessment.

 In this episode, Cathy Burnett talks about "undoing assessment" and how assessment shapes what--and sometimes, who--is valued in education. Cathy invites us to imagine literacy-as-event and the potential it provides in education. Re-imagining Literacies Assessment is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment also acknowledges the support of University of Manitoba, Brandon University, the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Research Team and the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Working Group. A special thanks to our guest in this episode, Cathy Burnett. The songs The Ceremony of Innocence (Hyperion Remix), The Perfect Life, Chord Sounds, and Victoria Lucas by Moby, appear courtesy of mobygratis.com. For more information on Re-Imagining Literacies assessment, including other writings and podcasts, view our website at www.reimagininglitassessment.ca. You can also find us online in most online spaces with the handle reimagininglitassessment.

In this episode, Tara McLauchlan talks about introducing assessment and her experiences as a school leader. Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment is supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment also acknowledges the support of the University of Manitoba, Brandon University, The Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Research Team, and the Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment Working Group. A special thanks to our guest in this episode, Tara McLauchlan. The songs The Ceremony of Innocence, Victoria Lucas, and The Perfect Life by Moby appear courtesy of mobygratis.com  For more information on Re-Imagining Literacies Assessment, including other writing and podcasts, view our website at https://reimagininglitassessment.wordpress.com/ . You can also find us online in most online spaces with the handle @reimagininglitassessment.