The new directions for the development of assessment in postmodern pedagogy are based on a dynamic kind of assessment that is centred on the student’s mental processes; these directions encourage self-regulation, self-reflection, while replacing the static concept based on control, examination and sanction. In the current educational context, when it is firmly required to switch the focus from assessing the products of the teaching/learning process to assessing the student’s cognitive processes during the activity of learning, alternative assessment methods constitute methodological and instrumental options which enrich the practice of evaluation. In this sense, among alternative methods of assessment, graphic organizers prove their efficiency in the evaluation process, as they offer the student the possibility to put the pieces of information in a logical order, being actually a mental model that helps in constructing new knowledge. The paper presents two graphic organizers: “the spider web mental map” and “the double bubble map”, which provide an overview of several teaching units of the subject called “Specialized Didactics”.

modern assessment, alternative assessment methods, graphic organizers

social sciences

Presentation: oral