Carl Rogers wrote a book many years ago entitled Freedom to Learn.  One of the most significant chapters in his book was “My way of facilitating a class.”  I read this chapter many times, and it had a profound influence on the way that I facilitated my classes at Georgia State University.  As a result of Rogers’ book, I started in 1973 using portfolios and had students keep a learning log or journal in all of my classes.  I began a process in which I asked students to evaluate their own progress, and assign a grade.  And one of the most powerful things I adopted from Rogers was asking each student to write a letter to me explaining what the course meant or did not mean to them.  The letter was placed in a sealed envelope, and the students were assured that it would not influence their final grade.  

Over the years I worked on modifying the development of the portfolio that students were asked to generate for my courses.  I would say that the portfolio reached it pinnacle in the TEEMS program at GSU.  TEEMS was (and is still today) a constructivist-based teacher education program that was developed by colleagues in mathematics and science education, beginning in 1993.  The program was created to prepare science teachers who would embody a humanistic and constructivist approach to teaching.  We tried to help these prospective understand the value of their prior experiences, and that teaching is rooted in experiential knowledge and reflection.  Change was ubiquitous in the TEEMS program.

As a result of the recent US Presidential election, a new sensibility of freedom and change has been brought about that will open the door enabling educators to rethink many of the issues that have dominated schooling over the past eight years.  Testing, especially high-stakes testing, has had a dramatic impact on pedagogical practice, and on teachers motivation to experiment and attempt transformations in their own practice.

It may be that a new philosophy, embodying change, could begin to influence and have an impact on teaching practice.  One area that should receive greater attention is rethinking assessment, and making use of some of the research that has shown that formative assessment strategies have direct impact on improving student learning, and that there are many alternative summative assessment tools (other than high-stakes testing), that schools and teachers can implement.