‘Learning does not end when you graduate – Self-development is a lifelong process’

Carol Myford, associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In her research, she focuses on scoring issues in large-scale performance and portfolio assessments. Outside of academia, she has considerable experience working in government, business and industry. She spoke with the HSE news service about her research interests, the new summer school organized by the Institute of Education in the HSE ( 9-15, July, 2014) devoted to ’Test Development in Psychology and Education’, and her impressions of teaching in Moscow.

— How did the idea for the first ’Test Development in Psychology and Education’ summer school which will be in Moscow at the beginning of July come about?

— I believe that this was Yulia Tyumeneva's and Elena Kardanova's idea initially. I met Elena in 2002 when she was a Fulbright Scholar here in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. We became good friends and have stayed in close contact through the years. She and Yulia contacted me in 2011 to ask if I would be interested in teaching in a summer school programme on test development, and I eagerly accepted the invitation.

— Why is it so important to know the basics of the test development process?

— There are a number of different formal and informal methods that we use to assess what individuals know and are able to do, including performance and product assessments, oral questioning techniques, and observational techniques. To be skilled in assessment, one must learn how to collect, evaluate, and use information obtained through these various methods. A skilled assessor understands the strengths and limitations of each of these methods and can readily determine which one will be most appropriate for a given purpose.

Tests are not the only tool that assessors should have in their assessment tool box, but if a test is high quality and appropriate for the purpose it is to serve, then it can provide valuable information to guide decision making. Learning how to design, administer, score and report results from written tests is a good place to begin one's study of assessment.

— How would you encourage young people to invest their time in education and self-development?

I tell my students to remember that while they will learn critical knowledge and skills in their graduate programme, they will continue to learn long after they have left the university. Learning does not end when you graduate. Self-development is a lifelong process. I remember well the first conversation I had with my new supervisor at the Educational Testing Service. I took a job as a research scientist there right after I finished my PhD. My supervisor's first words to me were, "Now your real education begins." I thought to myself how could that possibly be? I'd invested all this time and effort in getting this doctoral degree. Wasn't that enough? Didn't I know all I needed to know to do this job? Well, he was right. There was so much more that I learned in that job, and in all the jobs I've had over my lifetime. That's the beauty of lifelong learning. We are never finished learning. There's always another challenge right around the corner.

I would also encourage young people to travel widely. Travel broadens one's horizons in ways that are hard to imagine. Once you start traveling, you will never want to stop.

— What inspires you in your work?

That's easy--my students. I started teaching at the university relatively late in my career. Prior to coming to the University of Illinois at Chicago, I held assessment-related positions in government, and then later in business and industry. I reached a point in my career when I decided that I needed to be working with students to have a hand in training the next generation of students who would be working in the types of positions that I have been fortunate to hold throughout my career. I have been at the university for 12 years now. This past year I was honoured to receive an Award for Excellence in Teaching from my university.

The most challenging part of my job is the online teaching that I do. Teaching and learning in an online environment is so different from teaching and learning face-to-face. What's most exciting to me about online teaching is that it allows me to extend the reach of my courses beyond the Chicago campus. In the four years that I've been teaching online, I have had students from Singapore, Uganda, China, Korea, Great Britain, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates taking my online assessment course, as well as students from the East Coast to the West Coast of the U.S. Teaching online keeps me young.

— Have you been in Moscow before? If so, what are your impressions of teaching and living here?

— Actually, this will be my third trip to Russia, and my second time to visit Moscow. Moscow is a city on the move. There is a vibrancy about Moscow that keeps me coming back. The students and faculty at the HSE have been so warm and welcoming; I have felt right at home. Through social media I have kept in contact with a number of the students who participated in the first summer school in test development, and it has been great fun to keep up with them and their adventures.

What do I like about Moscow? Terrific friends and colleagues, eager students, incredible architecture, fascinating museums, an exciting arts scene--you name it, Moscow's got it. What do I dislike? Well, mastering the subway system is challenging for an American. Unfortunately, my knowledge of the Russian language is very, very rudimentary, and the Cyrillic alphabet is pretty daunting, so I have a hard time figuring out where I am when I'm underground. But the subway stations are really something! In Chicago the subway stations are very utilitarian and not at all interesting to look at. The Moscow subway stations are a veritable feast for the eyes. On my last visit to Moscow, I was very fortunate to have students who were willing to take me around Moscow to show me the sites if I would let them practice their English while they were with me. It was great fun to learn about Moscow through their eyes. And they kept me from getting hopelessly lost in the subway system!

Anna Chernyakhovskaya, specially for the HSE news service