"Epistemology" is the branch of philosophy that studies how we know when knowers know and how we know they know it. Fun, right? But seriously, if our concept of knowledge is different from other educational models, that has serious implications for assessment!
Mason's Epistemology: Knowing What Students Know (5 min.)
With this new view of what true knowledge is, how do we know when students have attained it?
Video Transcript
“Will this be on the test?” That is one of the most common questions that students ask their teachers. They think that if they can get an A on a test, it is a sign that they have gained knowledge, and both the student and the teacher can be satisfied. But have the students really gained knowledge in the way that Charlotte Mason conceptualizes knowledge? Remember that knowledge is not something we can possess. It is an ongoing process of building deeper and deeper relationships with everything in Creation. But how can we know that those relationships are developing? It is something that defies measurement in the traditional ways in which we tend to think of assessment. Is it even important to try to measure and quantify learning in this model, if comparing and sorting students is not our end goal? Mason did not believe so. All those quizzes, comprehension questions, tests, and grades actually undermine true knowledge by coming between the students and the ideas with which we want them to form deep, personal relationships. In fact, G.F. Husband, in writing for Mason’s monthly magazine, The Parents’ Review, wrote that, in using comprehension questions, all of the thinking has already been done by the person asking the question.
The primary tool that Mason used to gain insight into how relationships were coming along was narration, usually the telling back of what the child had read or observed. Narration can be viewed as an informal kind of assessment, but, more importantly, it is a tool to help children process their learning, organize their thoughts, and articulate the connections they are making. In fact, Mason called narration “the act of knowing.” Students narrate their lesson twice: once right after their reading, and again at the end of the term on their examinations.
The simplicity and efficiency of narration can deceive us into thinking that it is not doing much, so teachers who are running short on time may be tempted to skip this part of the lesson. However, much research was done in the 1980s that showed narration, or retelling, as one of the most powerful tools at our disposal for improving reading comprehension. In fact, Vygotsky said that it is one of the primary ways in which humans process information. Therefore, every child needs to narrate every lesson in some way. Narration can be as simple as talking or writing about what has been read or observed by the child. But narration need not be limited to oral or written retelling. Some lessons are best processed by drawing diagrams that show relationships among concepts. Other times, students may draw what they remember about a painting or what they observe in nature or make a model of a geography concept. Relationship grows through the ongoing and direct interaction between author and reader, between artist and viewer, and between nature and observer.
When students have to do the work themselves to make meaning, the knowledge they uncover becomes more meaningful to them. This is why Mason said that the only true education is self-education. This, too, is echoed by today’s thinkers. In her book Talking Voices, Deborah Tannen explains that, much as one cares for a person, animal, or object that one has had the responsibility of taking care of, so students not only understand information better, but care more about it if they have done their own work to make its meaning.
The fruit of what Michael Polanyi calls “personal knowledge” defies traditional methods of quantification. Since each individual comes to us with a unique set of personality traits, preferences, gifting, and experiences, the knowledge that they build is stamped with their personhood. There is no answer key for this kind of learning. Teachers are limited to watching for processing, relationships, caring, small transformations, and the development of informed opinions when they attempt to assess how a student is progressing. It looks slightly different in every student, and that is ok. In fact, it is better than ok, because discussion among students, in which they share their diverse thoughts on an idea, deepens their knowledge even more.
Reflection
Respond to the following in the comments or in your journal:
1) How can quizzes, grades and assessments get in the way of students building relationships with knowledge?
2) Take a moment and think about how your students have progressed this past school year. Can you see signs of processing new ideas, relationships, caring, small transformations, and the development of informed opinions?
3) How would you respond to someone who says that narration is too simplistic of a tool for learning?
4) What are you wondering?
Further Reading
A Little Manual for Knowing by Esther Meek
In Mason's Own Words
Read why narration is a valuable tool for learning that engages the whole child.
Read this section titled "The Art of Narration" in Home Education (Sec. IV, p. 231-234) in its original text and/or in modern English.
Respond to the following in the comments or in your journal:
1) What are the steps that should be part of every lesson?
2) Why is narration more respectful of the learner than other methods such as oral teaching, worksheets, questions?
3) How has narration been beneficial for your student? How has it been challenging?
4) How would you answer someone who said, "Narration is simply parroting back what you just read?"
