Me with some of my students 10 years after serving in the Peace Corps<\/p><\/div>\r\n

Twenty college-aged students sat down before me, as I handed out the tests face-down to each of them. As I started the clock on the assessment, they each turned over the document and immediately started talking to each other, full volume. One leaned toward another and asked what they got for number three. Another turned around to a neighbor to ask if their answer was correct. There was no whispering or trying to hide what they were saying. After five minutes of watching in disbelief as this happened in every corner of my classroom, I stopped and asked what was happening. One of the class leaders simply said they were taking the test. When I asked why they weren\u2019t silently answering on their own, she earnestly explained, \u201cWhy would we take the test alone, if together we can get more of it right?\u201d This wasn\u2019t the response I had expected.

After a rich conversation with them about the importance of showing what they as individuals know, it became clear to me that the expectation in Moldova was to share knowledge to put your best foot forward. From my American worldview, my expectation was that tests were individual endeavors and that it was a chance to show the teacher what each student had learned. The concept of cheating was interpreted differently in this new cultural context, and in the moment, I had a very hard time shifting my perspective. To this day, I continue to question the value of individual assessments as compared to group work, and what about my cultural perspective influences how I view education. That day in Moldova was also a lesson in letting go of my cultural assumptions to try and relate to the perspectives of my students.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Discussion Questions:<\/strong>
-How could I have contextualized the test from the start in order to honor both my intentions and the cultural context in which I was giving the assessment?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

-Can you share an example when your cultural assumptions were challenged by someone else\u2019s worldview?<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I always thought I knew what cheating was, until I spent two years living in another country. Having been a student and teacher in the United States, I thought I had a pretty clear understanding of cheating. In fact, I would argue that cheating was a universally understood concept. All […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5,7,6],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-education","tag-moldova","tag-school"],"yoast_head":"\n