Return-Path: <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id f9K03n018614; Fri, 19 Oct 2001 20:03:49 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 20:03:49 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <3BD0BEB1.1AB94CEC@sri.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Regie D Stites" <regie.stites@sri.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-4eff@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-4EFF:1852] Re: What does a transparent approach mean? X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: multipart/mixed; X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.61 [en] (Win95; U) Status: O Content-Length: 3773 Lines: 85 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------E894331214964CE303720DFC Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit [my apologies to those who may receive the following message twice - my first attempt to send this came back to me with no visible text - "transparent" indeed?! Regie] Andres, It's true that "transparent" is a somewhat confusing metaphor (and also jargon). However, the point of this term, like any other metaphoric jargon (how do you like "bootstrap"?) is to make a complex idea easier to understand. I think the reason that people have used the term "transparent" instead the simpler "clear" or "understandable" is that they want to convey a more complex concept than these simpler terms typically do. When something is "transparent" we can see through it. When we say that one of the aims of EFF is to support a "transparent approach to education" we mean that we think good education is "see through" in many ways. For example, a learner should be able to "see through" an instructional placement process (interviews, assessments, etc.) and see a direct connection to what they will be learning, how they will be learning it, and how learning will help them achieve life goals, etc. All of these things (intake processes, goal-setting, connections between goals and instructional content, connections between learning strategies and the knowledge, skills, and abilities that adults need to fulfill their roles as workers, parents, community member, and on and on ...) need to be made clear and understandable. But to say that we want education to be "clear" and "understandable" doesn't quite mean as much as to say we want it to be "transparent." To give a more specific example, the term "transparent" is often used to signify a quality of good assessment. When we say that a good assessment is transparent we mean that the student and teacher both have the same understanding of why a test is being given, what the test is measuring, and how the test results will help to mark learning progress and/or set goals and plans for more learning. So to say that a test is "transparent" is to say not only that it has a clear purpose, a clear process, and a clear outcome but that teacher and learner have a shared understanding of the purpose, process, and outcome. By the way, I agree that EFF can be confusing. It's a complex and still developing system. EFF has many different audiences and there is always room for improving clarity in communications - sometimes by matching the message to the audience. Some degree of confusion is inevitable (and not always a bad thing if it makes us struggle to understand). If "transparent" doesn't convey the message we intend, we should find another way to do so, but not at the expense of the complexity of the message. Complex problems require complex solutions. Education (and not just education) is full of failed reforms that were based on overly simple ideas that were simply stated and simply understood. Regie Stites EFF Assessment Consortium --------------E894331214964CE303720DFC Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=us-ascii; name="regie.stites.vcf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Description: Card for Regie Stites Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="regie.stites.vcf" begin:vcard n:Stites;Regie tel;fax:(650) 859-3375 tel;home:(510) 339-8905 tel;work:(650) 859-3768 x-mozilla-html:FALSE url:http://www.sri.com org:SRI International;Center for Education and Human Services adr:;;333 Ravenswood Avenue - BS188;Menlo Park;California;94025;USA version:2.1 email;internet:regie.stites@sri.com title:Educational Researcher x-mozilla-cpt:;-12960 fn:Regie Stites, Ph.D. end:vcard --------------E894331214964CE303720DFC--
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