Exhibitions: Proving Learning
How do you measure and prove learning at Acton? Prospective and new parents ask this question a lot. Here’s my answer.
At Acton we replace traditional school tests with real-world public Exhibitions. Why? Exhibitions create purpose, relevancy, and meaning to the work done all session long. These public events are real-world opportunities for learners to apply what they learned and often they include high-stake scenarios. For this Coding & Robotics session the pressure was on for learners to complete their final robot and master coding games by the end of the session deadline. There’s nothing like a deadline and an audience to encourage last minute production!
Even tonight, I have no idea how the parent robot relay race will pan out! Will learners be able to work as a team to code a parent through many obstacles and operations? What team will successfully code their robot parent with a pie in the face first? The pressure is on! Will learners keep their cool, access their human coding knowledge, learn from previous failures? This one is a thrilling nail-biter and I can’t wait to find out how tonight’s challenge ends!
This is fun but also a deep display of proof of learning. Applying learning to real-world scenarios shows what children can do not just how they can take a test. And what’s most special is an Exhibition is memorable, a part of a learner’s journey forever. I’m not sure I could say that a test I’ve taken was memorable in this same way.
We believe the learning journey is more valuable than gaining a perfect score of right answers. Acton co-founder Laura Sandefer said it best.
“Our exhibitions are meant to display the grueling process of learning rather than a polished end product. In addition to letting learners shine, they also let them experience the real-world consequence of not giving one’s best to a project if that’s the case. (The latter may be the most important learning of all.) While these events give a sense of finality to a particular quest, project, or challenge, exhibitions are more likely weigh stations than final destinations. Unlike a final test which you are free to forget what was learned when it’s over, the learning from one exhibition extends into the next session.”
So, how do we measure and prove learning at Acton? We have many ways to prove learning and mastery in Core Skills work (plus data to track progress) but Quest work and Exhibitions are the place for learners to feel free to explore, create, collaborate, fail, try again, and find a passion, a calling. Quests are heroic opportunities for learners to face weaknesses such as dragons of procrastination, distraction, and resistance.
Tonight or maybe this weekend, support your learner not by improving or praising them. Continue their learning journey by getting curious and asking them to honestly reflect on their process. Ask them what worked well, what didn’t work, and how they might do things differently next time. What was their favorite or most satisfying part of their presentation. Did they learn any lessons this session that they can apply next quest or in their regular life?
The journey to find a calling and change the world continues next session, a Survival Quest!