Edmund W. Gordon continues his remarkable legacy of contributions to education and psychology with his unique blend of academic scholarship and a concern for the real-life opportunities and affirmative development of diverse learners. By moving his ideas on policies into practices intended to change for the better the lives of children, such as Head Start, and a long-term focus on learners who face obstacles in their path to accomplishment, Professor Gordon continues to inspire and mentor legions of academics, practitioners, policymakers, and community advocates. He has maintained his focus on the role of assessment and testing, and in the Gordon Commission Report in 2014, he led the way to rethinking assessment for rather than of learning.
During the pandemic, in addition to other substantial projects, Professor Gordon generated and contributed to a weekly seminar of colleagues on his visions and mission. Focused originally on assessment for learning, the seminar has evolved to consider how learning, teaching, and assessment can best be integrated to support the learner and refocus teachers and policymakers. In particular, he has forwarded the issue of “human variance” and seeks a way, beyond the current thinking in formative assessment and adaptation through learning analytics, to look at individual growth as well as group achievement. His interests, always expanding, encompass processes through which students learn, their metacognition as means of self-support, technological options, and affective and emotional well-being. He seeks a functional way to make his work useful. Please note that some seminar participants appear on the conference program, and that the seminar has expanded to include new members and speakers.
With our conference, we honor Professor Gordon’s prolific contributions and invite those who are less familiar with his work to learn more about him and his impact on student learning and assessment. You will discover both compassion and intellectual clarity far ahead of their time.
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