WEEK 6 - JUDGEMENT & JUSTICE

 

This week’s sessions focused on understanding how students learn, how to assess them, and how to reflect on our own teaching. Through practical activities and personal experiences, I learned new ways to connect theory with classroom practice.

SESSION 1

This session was focused on formative assessment and how it should serve as a guide rather than a final judgement. We explored the balance between quantitative and qualitative evaluation, as well as the importance of assessing learning processes through observation, creativity, and communication.

Our professor explained that evaluation must be continuous, flexible, and adapted to each student’s rhythm. She introduced different tools such as portfolios, TechSheets, and self-evaluation rubrics. Personally, I see the portfolio as a mirror of learning, a way to capture the student’s path and emotional growth — not just their academic progress.

We also discussed how evaluation must take into account emotional well-being. That part really resonated with me. When I was little, I experienced a situation of bullying in school that lasted for years. I remember being constantly anxious, sitting beside a classmate who made every day harder. At that time, no one seemed to notice how much that environment affected my learning. I wasn’t just afraid of my classmate; I was afraid of being seen.

That experience shaped my view of education. I learned how a teacher’s awareness can change everything. Later, in fifth and sixth grade, I had a teacher who genuinely cared about how we felt — who made the classroom a safe space. It was the first time I understood that learning can only happen when you feel protected and respected.

This session helped me realize that assessment cannot be separated from empathy. Behind every student’s result, there is a story, a context, and an emotion. As teachers, we have the power to either reinforce fear or build confidence. We talked about how to assess without students feeling judged, and I truly believe that’s one of the keys to meaningful learning. Evaluation must not create anxiety — it must create awareness.

I found this session deeply human. It went beyond the theory of assessment and touched on the ethics of education. I think teachers should receive more training on emotional evaluation — how to detect when a student is struggling silently. After all, grades don’t show what’s really happening inside the classroom.

SESSION 2

This session focused on creativity and evaluation by competences, linking learning outcomes with real-world skills. We worked with rubrics, continuous assessment notebooks, and the Class Notebook Analysis, and discussed Universal Design for Learning (DUA) as a way to make evaluation more inclusive.

However, this session also brought me an unexpected learning moment — one that wasn’t about tools or methods, but about fairness and teamwork. My groupmates decided not to attend the session, so I had to complete and present the entire project by myself. At first, I felt angry and frustrated. But as I worked through it, I realized that even this situation was teaching me something important: responsibility and justice are also part of evaluation.

Group work only works when everyone commits equally. In real classrooms, this happens all the time — some students take on most of the work while others disengage. This made me think about how teachers can use evaluation not only to measure learning, but to make students aware of their shared accountability.

Through this situation, I understood that fairness in evaluation is not only vertical (teacher-student) but also horizontal (student-student). It’s about recognizing individual effort even in collective tasks. I learned that it’s okay to be demanding when it comes to teamwork — because equity is not giving everyone the same, but giving each what they deserve.

I also liked the continuous assessment notebook and the idea of reflecting daily on progress, but I think it’s essential to balance it with the teacher’s workload. Evaluation should serve learning, not bureaucracy.

Even though this session was challenging, it turned out to be one of the most meaningful ones. I left with a clearer idea of what integral assessment really means — not only measuring skills, but also values like responsibility, respect, and commitment. These are the true marks that education should leave on us.

Both sessions reminded me why I chose to become a teacher. Education is not only about content; it’s about justice, empathy, and second chances. I often think back to my Bachillerato years, when a teacher told me that someone “like me” could never be a teacher. Ironically, that moment pushed me to study Law first — to understand justice — before returning to what I really loved: education.

Now, I see that law and education share the same essence: both seek fairness, both protect people, and both must evolve with society. As José Francisco Durán (“Kiko”) often says, “Everyone deserves a second chance.” That phrase perfectly sums up what teaching means to me.

REFERENCES

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Azanon Cabeza, M. (2022, octubre). Desafíos del sistema educativo en España. Portafolio Digital María Azañón Cabeza. https://portafoliodigitalmariaazanoncabeza.blogspot.com/2022/10/desafios-del-sistema-educativo-en.html

Durán, J. F. (2023). Comunicación personal en la asignatura Educación y Sociedad (Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo).

Facultad de Educación, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. (s.f.). Facultad de Educación. Toledo. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. https://www.uclm.es/toledo/educacion

Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha. (2022). Decreto 81/2022, de 26 de julio, por el que se establece el currículo de Educación Primaria en Castilla-La Mancha. https://docm.castillalamancha.es/

Junta de Castilla-La Mancha. (2022). Decreto 81/2022, de 17 de mayo, por el que se establece la ordenación y el currículo de la Educación Primaria en la Comunidad Autónoma de Castilla-La Mancha. DOCM, nº 134.

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Ministerio de Educación, Formación Profesional y Deportes. (s.f.). Ministerio de Educación, Formación Profesional y Deportes. https://www.educacionfpydeportes.gob.es/portada.html

Pixabay. (s.f.). Pixabay – Free images & royalty-free stock. https://pixabay.com

Some images included in this post are my own (Images by the author).

Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. (n.d.). Campus Virtual. https://www.uclm.es/campusvirtual

CEIP José Ramón Villa. (n.d.). Centro de Educación Infantil y Primaria José Ramón Villa. Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha. https://www.educa.jccm.es/