On October 19, 2000, eighteen faculty from JSRCC, JTCC, SVCC, and Bryant
Stratton met to discuss strategies they have used to help students keep
motivated toward meeting course standards. Brainstorming at
the dinner tables yielded a hefty list of interesting methods. See if
there are any you'd like to try.
Test students, review the answers after giving back the graded
tests, and let students rewrite the test. Adjust the grade as you see
fit--averaging the two, replacing the old with the new, adding bonus points
to the first grade.
Reduce anxiety by giving less weight to the first test [or other
major assignment for the course].
On tests, have students correct and explain wrong answers for extra
points.
Tell web page links to practice tests.
Grade--or at least record as done--each step of the research
process. Keep the final drafts of research papers for program
assessment.
Use points and make progress checks for each step of the research
process.
Test in the same format as the licensure exam [so that students get
used to handling course content, or discipline concepts, in that form,] e.g.
multiple-choice.
Use a take-home test for students to learn for certification tests.
Use low-risk assignments early in the term, increasing point values
on later tasks, as well as moving to harder assignments later in the
course.
Pre-test for a baseline for courses that build skills during the
course.
Do some sort of assessment during the Add/Drop week so that
students and you can be assured they are placed in the right course--or to
diagnose students' strengths and weaknesses.
Show grading standards before the first major assignment--along
with samples that rated A, B, C or A, C, F ranges, especially if students
infer what the grades were and why.
The most extreme attendance policy: Show up or flunk! (The
course content depended on student attendance.)
Use team grading.
The course work or program leads directly to employment.
Give bonuses on projects or reports when students choose to work in
groups.
Give bonuses for being on time and for perfect attendance.
Drop the lowest grade.
Replacethe lowest grade with the grade on a cumulative
final.
When a student earns an F on an essay, have the student try again with
a different topic.
Have students write their projected grade on a 3" x 5" card that
you keep; later in the semester, if the student begins to fall short of the
necessary pace, mention the projected grade [and suggest ways the
student can improve or get help].
Use accumulating point totals [and keep students posted on grades
as the course progresses].
Refuse grades while asking students to fix or redo or revise the
work.
Allow tandem testing: Allow students to collaborate before and
during the test, but give an individual grade to each student [unless they
turn in identical work].
Maintain dialog and get student feedback as the course progresses.
Make the final exam or final essay optional.
Q. How do you get students to do ungraded work?
A. Give students work that will be collected randomly, rather
often during the early part of the course, less often later in the course.
Here are questions we didn't get to during our 90-minute talk. Feel
free to answer one or more; when you click submit, your anonymous answer will go
to the email address for Eric Hibbison, MRCTE Chair, who will compile answers
and eventually post a summary back here.
Answers Received:
Not in today's culture. I wish I could just teach and not worry about grades but employers and 4-year schools want to see transcripts and many students are not driven by their love of learning so much as their desire to be successful. The student's idea of success tends to be an A or B.
I would love to be able to say "Don't worry about a grade, this is LEARNING, not SCHOOL."
My evaluations of students in clinic and on externship is based on a numerical grade.
Yes--at least as long as you think of grades as numerical and therefore quantitative; but "no" if all evaluation is seen quantitatively ("weighed," for
instance). For example, a few colleges use only narrative evaluations, even for final "grading." I think it comes down to two issues:
(1) communicating at the outset what the goals for the course are, and(2) communicating frankly and in detail what aspects of the student's work are satisfactory and what aspects aren't, why they are (or aren't), and what to do about it.
2.
Answers Received
The teacher makes the grades fair. The students determine whether the grades are high or not!
I provide students with a lot of resources to help them prepare for tests, understand the class lectures, and relate
the course material. We review after each chapter and take a "bonus quiz" (students sometimes do these working in groups) and
discuss the answers. The bonus quizzes do not count against them, but are averaged (each is worth a possible 5 pts.) and go
toward bonus points on the test. I also pull a few questions off of each chapter bonus review to put on each test. The
bonus reviews are to facilitate understanding and lessen test anxiety.
I give other assignments (40% of the student's grade) so that their entire grade does not rest solely on test scores.
I do stress to students, however, that I do not GIVE grades--they EARN them. ALL students have the opportunity to succeed
and do very well if they are willing to put the time and effort necessary into it. THEY need to come to class, do the
assignments, study, ask questions, etc. if they want to receive a high grade in class. It should not be EASY to get
a grade of "Excellent" (A) or "Above Average" (B) in a class.
I don't want my class to be an "easy A" course. To make it such devalues the meaning of an A and
diminishes the effort of students that are truly committed, conscientious students.
I give them a handout outlining ways to study effectively and what each student can do to improve their grade in any
course. Some make use of the resources, and some don't!
I allow students in developmental math courses to retake tests(a different version) as many times as they wish, taking their high grade.
Along with assignment directions, issue specific criteria for passing papers. Provide specific directions for revision.
3.
Answers Received
Reassure them that if they keep up the good work they will pass ..............NEXT time!
These students would receive a grade of R in a developmental course. One would like to pass a student who has put in great effort and made significant progress but if the student is not prepared for the next course then it is not in the best interest of the student to pass them.
Work with them individually.
Candid discussion of course goals at the outset: what matters in this course is not how far
students have come but how they are performing by semester's end. Candid ongoing evaluation, so that students know what aspects of their work need improvement.
Grading
Strategies (handed out 10/19/00)
Which of the following purposes for grading seems the most functional:
1. "To separate out students who lack potential for future success
in the field"
2. To ensure that students master important skills in introductory
courses.
3. "To describe . . . the worth, merit, or value of the work
accomplished"
4. To help students identify good work so that their self-evaluation
skills improve
5. "To stimulate and encourage good work by students"
6. To tell students about their progress
7. To show what students have and haven’t learned
8. To pick out students to reward or to continue (Davis 282)
To make grading fair
and clear, grade for academics, not behavior, not for competition (no
curving to limit the number of high grades), and let students know often exactly
how their doing (numbers are more specific than letter grades) (283).
To minimize students’ complaints about grades, don’t put all your
students’ eggs in only 2 or 3 baskets—evaluate early (before add/drop
ends) and assign enough, varied assessments to allow students to show what they
know. Consider letting students choose from a set of tasks—case study, field
report, leading a discussion or being one of a panel, writing thoughtful
evaluations of several lectures, creating instructional materials, reviewing
current literature on one course topic, etc. (285).
Separate students from their grades, encourage students who aren’t
doing well, and help students who are angry about their grades to cool down,
prepare written complaints or justifications for a grade revision. Meet with
students upset about a grade, encourage them to see the general pattern of the
course and praise good work done; if possible, show or outline good answers and
note how the students answers were too brief or incorrect (285).
A grade evaluation questionnaire—distribute this to students for
anonymous answers after the first major grading period (unit?), after midterm,
or at least at the end of the semester—
·
Were the grading procedures for the course fair?
·
Were they clearly explained? (Or, did you understand them from
the beginning?)
·
Did you receive adequate feedback about your performance?
·
Were requests for regarding or review handled fairly?
·
Did the instructor evaluate your work in a meaningful and
conscientious manner? (287)
Grade students against a criterion (not a curve) to deal with the actual
distribution of grades. It’s OK if students receive high grades in large
number if they have performed well (290).
Consider—
·
Bonuses for improvement, such as
o
extra points if a student scores higher on the second test
(or essay or other assignment) than the first
o
extra points at the end if the student made steady
improvement over the semester (290)
·
Self-evaluations or detailed grade justifications
written by students
·
Peer evaluations can be especially effective in classes
who have done quite a bit of work in small groups (291).
·
Finding out the grade distribution for the course,
regardless of teacher, across a year or more; compare that distribution with
your course grades. Make changes if you feel you should (292).
·
What if a class performs poorly on a test? Do you—
o
Leave the grades as they are
o
Retest and
§
Average the grades
§
Count only the higher grade (whichever it is)
§
Review intensely before the retest
o
Reset the grading criteria to raise scores
Source: Barbara Gross Davis, Tools for Teaching. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1993. (Chapters 32-33: 282-299)
This article tells about letting students "borrow" grades and
"pay" after the semester ended by completing extra work. If students
don’t complete the activities agreed upon, the grade reverts to the one they
actually earned during the course. The activities might be more long-term than a
single semester, such as observations to be made one or more months apart,
interviewing several experts and synthesizing their views, study or solve
problems on a topic only touched on during the course but of interest to the
student, make something or visit sites that have artifacts or tools relevant to
the discipline, volunteer for work (e.g. a political campaign) that ends after
the semester.
Reminder for folks new to the Web:
UNDERLINED WORDS (and some graphics images) ARE HOT LINKS. To preview them, hold
your mouse on the hotlink (the arrow becomes a hand as you "mouseover" a link)
and read the "URL" (Web address) in the "status line" (bottom) of your maximized
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Grading
Strategies (handed out 10/19/00)
To make grading fair
and clear, grade for academics, not behavior, not for competition (no
curving to limit the number of high grades), and let students know often exactly
how their doing (numbers are more specific than letter grades) (283).
1999