Thomas and Brown (2011) express that education based on explicit knowledge, of facts and information, is gone. The world of information is no longer stable, and to adapt, we must shift our focus to tacit unexplainable knowledge gained by experience and process (Thomas & Brown, 2011). My experience, like Taylor's (2019), is that teaching the artistic process and modeling it will provide what the students need to make meaningful artworks. 

As educators, part of our job is to assess knowledge. Whether we're in a position to eliminate grades, or we have specific requirements for the grading of student work, we all must perform some activity that allows us to gauge whether our students are learning. The Plug and Play curriculum is no different. Students are graded on a regular basis. Everything they turn in is graded. Why ask a student to perform a task if she will not be provided feedback on her ability to perform that task? Additionally, until each student sees the value in each step of the process, they will not be motivated to perform the task unless they're held accountable for it. 

The difference between the Plug and Play assessment and that of others is the focus on tacit knowledge and an attempt by the learner to transform that tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. Thomas and Brown (2011) define tacit knowledge as unknown and based on experience. The goal process in the Plug and Play curriculum generates a lot of learning that the student my not be aware of or be able to express well. They can however use what they learned on their next goal. 

The grade given for these journals is not based on how much knowledge they've acquired and written down. It is based on the student's ability to participate in the process of recalling their actions during their studio time and formulating them into words so those experiences may be more easily recalled from memory or rediscovered in their journal. 

Students will occasionally notice how quickly I grade these journals. If I'm being honest, I don't read them all every day. I only read them as much as I feel is required to check in on students that are less willing to engage me in conversation about their work or to ensure they are writing thoughtfully. I read them more often at the beginning of the year than the end, as it helps me get to know my students and lets them know that I expect them to participate in the process. Once that work is done, I see the journals as far more beneficial to the student and the class as a whole than to me as an assessment tool. This also creates an atmosphere where the students feel they are "getting credit" for the work they're doing while, at the same time, they're able to work freely without a lot of pressure to "perform. "

You may view comments on the various sections of the site here. To participate in the discussion, please join the Plug and Play Group. You can set the frequency of notifications by changing your subscription setting, so you won't receive any messages you don't want. 

Taylor, J. (2019, March). Break it down choice [PowerPoint Slides]. National Art Education Association Convention, Boston, MA, United States.

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. United Kingdom: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.