Costa, Arthur L. & Kallick, Bena. (2004). Assessment Strategies for Self-directed Learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press/SAGE Publications.
Pp. 192
$61.95 (Cloth) ISBN 0761938702
$27.95 (Paper) ISBN 0761938710
Reviewed by Anthony Truog
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
March 30, 2004
Assessment Strategies for Self-Directed Learning is an ambitious exploration of a sustainable alternative to the present emphasis upon testing, management of resources and external locus of control. That alternative is the transfer of control from the teacher, school and administration to the student. The student, in a self-directed environment, makes decisions shared with the teacher; all decisions. If implemented, this alternative systematically alters the manner in which schools interact with children. The sustainability of their proposal is provided by numerous examples of how school cultures can be changed and maintained. Assessment is only one component of this concept, and a small one. Theoretical underpinnings are based, in part, on the work of Marzano (2001) and Maslow (1968). Overall, the authors have succeeded in questioning the status quo of American education and provided a context for change.
The audience for self-directed learning is educators, administrators and the larger community and anyone who has an interest in how to motivate students to learn and be self-directed. This interest is linked to reduced classroom management problems, enhanced morale, more learning activity and simply more fun for both student and teacher. Costa and Kallick have presented a hypothesis that will generate interest in a broad spectrum of readers with varied backgrounds.
Administrators will be interested in motivation to learn for both students and teachers. Motivated students support the curriculum. Parents and the community support schools that help their children learn and self-directedness is all about human learning, in and out of school. Teachers who are motivated to teach will remain with the district and be more supportive of the administrative team resulting in reduced attrition of the professional staff. Better retention promotes continuity of staff that in turn should result in better education. Recruitment of high quality teachers becomes easier when morale is high based upon a community of learners. Linked to reduced behavioral issues, new hires are allured to such districts. This promotes quality as well as meeting the No Child Left Behind legislation providing qualified teachers in every classroom.
With the advent of charter schools and vouchers, parents can, so to speak, vote with their feet and relocate their child to schools they perceive as meeting individual needs in a supportive learning environment. Communities will be interested in self-directed learners particularly if it results in fewer student behavioral problems both at home and in the general community. The book’s appeal should be to a wide-range of interests. But, be forewarned, their hypothesis fundamentally changes the way schools interact with students. They are suggesting a change from a culture of testing and preparing students for tests to a culture of preparing students for the test of life—self-directed learners. The possibilities are tantalizing.
In the prefatory statement section of the book, Costa observes that a potato, left in a cellar, sends up shoots to the light to fulfill its potential. He states that the potato wants, “To become the best potato it could become,” (xix). Kallick, reflecting on education, ponders how to, “…create equitable opportunities for students…” (xx). This metaphor and statement by the authors captures the essence of this book as they work through some of the compelling reasons for changing schools to better support what Maslow (1968) termed self-actualization. The authors outline and support a similar concept of self-directed learning. Their hypothesis is theory based and sustained by research and observation.
The authors begin the thesis with an overview of the need for self-directed students employing the Marzano (2001) model, among others. They then explore how to assess whether the model is employed at the classroom, school and district levels culminating with the view that to create self-directed students requires a culture change, not just implementing change at the classroom level. Sustained growth and involvement requires a systematic change in the way education is constituted – a re-framing of the questions regarding education. The authors provide rubrics for assessing whether classrooms, buildings and districts have arrived at the self-directed culture necessary for success.
The authors make a compelling argument for the changes they are proposing. The strengths of the book are two-fold: the hypothesis and the numerous suggestions for implementing the change. In blue print fashion, details and evidence of self-directed learners are provided with great deal of clarity. Readers will appreciate the details as well as the process of implementing such classrooms, schools and communities. The appeal is broad for such ideas. All parents want the best for their children. They send their very best to school and expect schools to provide their children the very best environment they can for growth. This is not routinely happening. The focus on testing is unlikely to re-energize the system. External testing assumes each child is ready for learning as they walk into school. Johnson, D. & and Johnson, B. (2002) in their book, High Stakes: Children, Testing, and Failure in American Schools, claim that testing fails students and schools by focusing on outcomes rather than improving the conditions that promote learning. Many believe that the emphases and resources should be concentrated at the beginning of the process—nutrition, safe communities and creating learning environments—rather than at the end. This strategy more closely parallels the manner in which the brain functions (Zull, J.E., 2002). This is the nature of Costa and Kallick’s book—enhance the learning environment for improved outcomes.
The intended audience has been identified as P-12 teachers although indirectly teacher preparation programs are implicated. The sweep of change is broadly conceptualized; implications profound. Self-directed learning requires significant involvement at all levels. It would be difficult to envisage changes of this magnitude without including the entire breadth and depth of the educational enterprise. Other questions arise when such changes are proposed including what should the structure of schools be, what purpose does education serve and who should be educated are just some of the big questions. The answers to these questions are addressed directly and indirectly by the authors. The format of the book provides an excellent setting for an on-going dialog about these questions. To the authors it appears that those advocating greater accountability through testing and the management of resources including students have won the debate when accounting for the resources devoted to it. Not deterred, Costa and Kallick argue that in order to leave no child behind, a new look at curriculum and resource allocation is required. They provide that new look.
Chapter six captures the quintessential argument and support for self-directed learning. In this chapter, the authors articulate a balance in the curriculum including both knowledge and performance outcomes. This balance mirrors the functions of the human brain. The human brain seeks a balance between knowledge and transforming that knowledge into something that possess meaning for the learner. Historically, teachers provide students with knowledge but few opportunities to use it. The balance between incoming data and using these resources to solve problems has not been optimized. It is here that the authors capture the essence of human learning: knowledge and more importantly, its use. As Zull (2002) argues, this is what has survival value to the human species. The brain actively takes in vast amounts of information and then transforms it for life for species sustainability. The intake function, though critical, is relatively passive; the transformation function is the control function. Costa and Kallick, while not using these terms, provide ample arguments that to limit education only to the passive, receptive role is to deny the nature of the human brain. The authors forcefully argue that schools for too long have acted as if the brain were not capable of going beyond knowledge. They make the argument that it is the transformation process that makes learning one’s own and provides “control” of the environment. This view is supported both by theory and practice. The assessment piece is part of this cycle. If assessment remains at the knowledge level, then irrespective of what is taught, the real teacher/school values will be revealed to the student. If this process values knowledge only, students quickly learn the rules and await someone to provide for the test. Students become very good at this passive student role as they live it every day, all day for over thirteen years. Further, this role is safe for students and teachers. The correct information is easily available in the textbook or other available source. To break the passivity cycle, teachers must engage student minds to use data in solving important problems in the students’ lives. This is what is meant by the term authentic.
What has happened, according to the authors, is a migration from a healthy self-control, creativity and generative understandings, to a more passive role resulting from an overemphasis upon those outcomes that are more easily tested and recorded. The richness of learning environments has been reduced and become overly reliant upon only one component of the human brain – knowledge and receptive learning. The authors attempt to realign instruction and assessment to the transformational portion of the brain where creating new knowledge, understandings and awareness reside.
To accomplish this, a specific strength of the book is asking provocative questions forcing a refocusing upon the transformation functions of the brain. For example, on page 15 the question is posed as to why, as adults, many of us approach new learning opportunities with fear and apprehension rather than with excitement? This is witnessed by all who observe early elementary students compared to high school students and adults. Ask any child in first grade who can sing, dance and act a part. All the eager little hands go up each pleading to be selected for the opportunity to demonstrate or perform the required task. This attitude quickly changes to the point where if you ask a high school class the same question there will be no response at all. The outcome is, of course, complex and dynamic and no easy explanations are satisfactory. However, the fundamental question remains, “Why?” Costa and Kallick are at their best by posing questions like this one. They go beyond mere inquiry; they provide a plethora of possible solutions to problems, some very specific including lists of alternative approaches for schools that care to address these issues.
Another strength is exploring the role motivation plays in self-directed learning. In the present climate of testing, this is one area that needs further exploration, and the authors provide a structure for this dialog. Specifically, they suggest a motivation model that includes three components one of which is emotions. In a world dominated by tests, linear-thinking, and straight-talk, emotions appear to have been forgotten. Suppression of emotions in the name of achievement is a popular theme and runs counter to brain research. While the discussion is brief, the suggestion that emotions play an import role in learning is refreshing. Supporting the work of Costa and Kallick has been a recent work by Zull (2002) The Art of changing the Brain, in which he makes the case that learning is not all in the head nor simply “…cold reason.” (p. 73). The interplay of emotions and learning is complex, and emotions are often unconscious to the learner. Costa and Kallick make a similar point: self-directed learners use emotion to assess their continued learning in multiple contexts. The extension of learning directly connected to emotions as a powerful motivator needs greater development. However, its reintroduction here provides an expanded context for further discussion. Emotions have been rendered less important in our rush to analyze test scores as the primary indicator of student learning. The authors make a power point that it is the entire child who learns, not just in their head!
The authors could have done more with the unconscious nature of emotions and their role in learning. They introduce emotion’s role in learning but do not adequately address the role teachers can play regarding emotions and learning. However, the link of learning and emotions is an important and powerful one and the authors should be commended for bringing it forward again for discussion within school settings.
There are several other areas in addition to emotions where insufficient development is observed. Another one of the concerns is the apparent disparity of resources devoted to assessment in a title that promises both self-direction and assessment.
The emphasis upon self-directed learning has left the assessment piece less well developed. There are chapters that promise assessment, but there is relatively little direct discussion about how the assessment of self-directed learning should be conducted. The development of rubrics, in chapter five, begins to address assessment issues, but much of what is provided is whether the evidence is present or absent. The quality of artifacts is not fully elaborated, nor is there sufficient direction for the teacher and parents. Portfolios and associated reflection are also in evidence, but reflection sans artifacts that reflect quality measures can be argued do little to help students be self-evaluative. Further, the rubrics are more appropriate at the elementary level than at levels beyond. Given the emphasis on culture change, this is an oversight that needs remediation.
Another area that appears to demand greater specificity is that of direct references to the related research. There are some references embedded within the text. However, most of the relevant research is located in the reference section requiring the reader to match the conclusions provided within the text with the appropriate reference; probably not something to be turned over to the reader. Readers expect authors to make the direct links between conclusions and the appropriate references. There are instances, however, where an expected reference is needed and it appears and makes a direct connection with the conclusions and theory. For example, on page 71, after numerous conclusions and suggestions are listed, Deci’s (1995) work is quoted, addressing not only the aggregation of data, but its use. This research directly supports the conclusions and is appreciated. On the same page, however, a conclusion of “. . .knowledge is constructed socially...” (71) fails to provide a reference to Vygotsky or other theorists. This inconsistency is troubling even if the book is intended for non-professional audiences. For a professional audience, the lack of consistent references is a major failing.
Technical issues of assessment have not been discussed directly. Issues of reliability, particularly, have been inadequately addressed. Consistency is imperative if students are not to conclude that their learning level is a function of the teacher or evaluator that they have selected or were assigned to them. Feedback must be based upon the quality of the artifacts submitted, not the function of the teacher. Assessment of learning is a complex task and part of that task is to include the technicalities of consistency, truthfulness and usability. Do the examples contain these? Yes they do, but it is incumbent upon the authors to provide the context for this discussion. It is not given adequate coverage here.
Another area of concern is clarity of material. The material on page 35 sub-titled “Responsible Citizen” includes several concepts with few organizational tools for clarity. Tabulating the data would facilitate understanding. As it is, there is concept overload with insufficient grounding in the basics for full understanding. The text that follows this page does not fully clarify the concepts. There are natural links back to the second chapter to which it is conceptually related. However, the authors did not make this explicit connection to facilitate understanding. While this example does not erode one’s confidence in the other conclusions drawn through the book, it does not add to that confidence either.
Overall, Assessment Strategies for Self-Directed Learning is an informative book that should be read by educators and non-professional readers interested in schooling. Its strengths are the reformulation of the purpose of education. The authors pose powerful questions with a great deal of specific steps and ideas for implementing the major ideas. In a time when there are numerous critics of education with few suggestions for improvement other than more testing, Costa and Kallick provide an alternative view for improving learning. The fundamental contention is that there is an overly heavy emphasis upon preparing students for testing and insufficient effort and time devoted to create self-motivated individuals who are not only capable of establishing their own goals, but can achieve them as well. The analogy of the potato in the cellar trying to be all it can be is apt for schooling in the 21Centrury. If the cellar is analogous to the human skull, and the potato the human brain, the potential development is waiting to be fully developed but only in an environment which promotes this growth. If all that society can ask for is increased testing, then the potential will not be reached for all students – self-directedness will remain locked in the skull. The authors make a strong case for better management of student potential by providing a supportive context for generative growth. They argue that it is the self-directedness that will make the difference. It is a culture change that will provide the nutrients for growth.
References
Johnson, D. & Johnson, B. (2002). High Stakes: Children, Testing, and Failure in American Schools. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefiled Publishers, Inc.
Zull, J. E. (2002). The Art of Changing the Brain: Enriching the practice of teaching by exploring the biology of learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.
About the Reviewer
Anthony Truog
Department of Educational Foundations
6041 Winther Hall
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
E-Mail: truogt@uwwvax.uww.edu
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