Convalescence from Modernity: Writing Assessment in the Epoch of Scientism
While some argue that post-modernity has overcome the era of modernity, claiming a rupture from previous ways of thinking and acting, reports of the ‘death of modernity’ have been greatly exaggerated. Its tenets continue to order and constitute values—transmitted by cultural dispositions—and frame N...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Canadian Association for the Study of Discourse and Writing
2011-01-01
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| Series: | Discourse and Writing/Rédactologie |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.sfu.ca/dwr/index.php/dwr/article/view/12 |
| _version_ | 1818204544649134080 |
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| author | Anthony Petruzzi |
| author_facet | Anthony Petruzzi |
| author_sort | Anthony Petruzzi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While some argue that post-modernity has overcome the era of modernity, claiming a rupture from previous ways of thinking and acting, reports of the ‘death of modernity’ have been greatly exaggerated. Its tenets continue to order and constitute values—transmitted by cultural dispositions—and frame North American conversations about assessment, technology, and educational methodology. The governing philosophical assumption of writing assessment theory is scientism. It is a modernist prejudice, which is unseen and unquestioned, that assumes scientific thinking is the best—the "strongest" thinking—because it produces quantified, generalized, reliable, and true information.To convalesce from modernity, we must continue to weaken the implicit and explicit cultural dispositions that transparently structure assessment practices. We have failed to persuade stakeholders that we should assess cognitively complex performances, which require hermeneutic interpretation to evaluate students’ deep understandings and our programs’ effectiveness.A postmodern disposition allows us to recover a balanced view of the benefits that scientific practices give us. We can convalesce from the quest for certainty, the fear of subjectivity, and the discourse of technology, and develop a healthier disposition regarding both the power and usefulness of science. Such a recovery would create new dispositions to accept probable truths as events within historical horizons and to assess intellectual activity— how students use and apply knowledge. Only a retrieval of the irreducible complexity of student learning and writing will create the context to revise the practice and theory of educational assessment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:42:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-71e5bd688de54755aeb0d4f3d1003729 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2563-7320 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T03:42:56Z |
| publishDate | 2011-01-01 |
| publisher | Canadian Association for the Study of Discourse and Writing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discourse and Writing/Rédactologie |
| spelling | doaj.art-71e5bd688de54755aeb0d4f3d10037292022-12-22T00:39:38ZengCanadian Association for the Study of Discourse and WritingDiscourse and Writing/Rédactologie2563-73202011-01-01231125doi.org/10.31468/cjsdwr.12Convalescence from Modernity: Writing Assessment in the Epoch of ScientismAnthony PetruzziWhile some argue that post-modernity has overcome the era of modernity, claiming a rupture from previous ways of thinking and acting, reports of the ‘death of modernity’ have been greatly exaggerated. Its tenets continue to order and constitute values—transmitted by cultural dispositions—and frame North American conversations about assessment, technology, and educational methodology. The governing philosophical assumption of writing assessment theory is scientism. It is a modernist prejudice, which is unseen and unquestioned, that assumes scientific thinking is the best—the "strongest" thinking—because it produces quantified, generalized, reliable, and true information.To convalesce from modernity, we must continue to weaken the implicit and explicit cultural dispositions that transparently structure assessment practices. We have failed to persuade stakeholders that we should assess cognitively complex performances, which require hermeneutic interpretation to evaluate students’ deep understandings and our programs’ effectiveness.A postmodern disposition allows us to recover a balanced view of the benefits that scientific practices give us. We can convalesce from the quest for certainty, the fear of subjectivity, and the discourse of technology, and develop a healthier disposition regarding both the power and usefulness of science. Such a recovery would create new dispositions to accept probable truths as events within historical horizons and to assess intellectual activity— how students use and apply knowledge. Only a retrieval of the irreducible complexity of student learning and writing will create the context to revise the practice and theory of educational assessment.https://journals.sfu.ca/dwr/index.php/dwr/article/view/12writing and educational assessment theoriescanadian writing assessmentconsequences of modernitydiscourse of technologyaccountability |
| spellingShingle | Anthony Petruzzi Convalescence from Modernity: Writing Assessment in the Epoch of Scientism Discourse and Writing/Rédactologie writing and educational assessment theories canadian writing assessment consequences of modernity discourse of technology accountability |
| title | Convalescence from Modernity: Writing Assessment in the Epoch of Scientism |
| title_full | Convalescence from Modernity: Writing Assessment in the Epoch of Scientism |
| title_fullStr | Convalescence from Modernity: Writing Assessment in the Epoch of Scientism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Convalescence from Modernity: Writing Assessment in the Epoch of Scientism |
| title_short | Convalescence from Modernity: Writing Assessment in the Epoch of Scientism |
| title_sort | convalescence from modernity writing assessment in the epoch of scientism |
| topic | writing and educational assessment theories canadian writing assessment consequences of modernity discourse of technology accountability |
| url | https://journals.sfu.ca/dwr/index.php/dwr/article/view/12 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT anthonypetruzzi convalescencefrommodernitywritingassessmentintheepochofscientism |