Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Reflections of our First AO Exam

Yes, we just finished Term ONE. I feel very tired when I think about TWENTY-FOUR more weeks of this year's work, while some of you are well into your second (even third!) term.


HOWEVER!

I am so thankful we can do school at our own pace and on our own schedule.




During the last couple of weeks of Term 1, I began to ponder the benefits of giving an exam. (I didn't do exams in AOy1). As I had read in other blogs about the good things (and ugly things) that can be revealed as a result of testing, I figured I'd best take the plunge now before I get either a) too cocky about my child's education, or b) too worried that I am making a horrible mess of it.

I needed to know! ... And I also wanted Royal to begin getting acquainted with the idea that this whole school-thing isn't just here today and gone tomorrow...that what he is learning is important enough to really know and remember for a lifetime.




So I just nabbed the AO exam sample for Year 2 and used it word-for-word. And I am so thankful for this resource. I feel like it should be called Ambleside's Exam-Writing for Dummies. It was concise, yet very telling of what my young learner knows. I have to say I was extremely impressed with his memory!

On the morning of testing, I recalled how others had said they recorded their students to listen to again later (and type up answers), so I quickly decided to see if there was an app for recording. And I found one that was FREE with excellent reviews, aptly named Voice Recorder. It's great too because I can just record the different sections of the exam at different times, then put them all into one folder, which I named AOy2 Term 1 Exam. I can also transfer these files to my laptop's hard drive to keep for posterity's sake :-)

All-in-all, my entire first-time exam proctoring was a satisfying experience ... and quite a relief as well. Apparently, Royal is being educated. 


And I am not teaching him anything!




No one knoweth the things of a man but the spirit of a man which is in him; therefore, there is no education but self-education, and as soon as a young child begins his education he does so as a student. -Vol 6, p.26

No comments :

Post a Comment