“Until
lions have their history, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”
~
African proverb ~
Yana Johnston
kjohnsto@bham.wednet.edu,
676-6481 x5239
Answers to important questions…
Why are there no grades for the first month?
I decided against
grading student work for the first month for several reasons, which I will
discuss below. Let me first say that grades are different from assessment.
Grades are numerical and/or letter values that go in a grade book and that may
reflect a student’s abilities. Assessment is a direct examination of a
student’s abilities that does not necessarily require a grade as feedback. So,
I am assessing student work during this first month. I am just not grading it.
Here are my
reasons for not grading:
1) I would like students
to see this class as an opportunity and place for learning, not just earning
points. Learning is a process and one that is highly worthwhile. The
worth of the process is often obscured by the perceived value of points.
Learning is real; points are artificial. If I can remove the points, maybe real
learning will occur and the incentive to learn will continue through the year.
2) During this month,
students have literally nothing to lose by trying. I would like to students to
recognize the inherent value in trying their best all the time. While each
student may not demonstrate the skills we are learning right away, it is better
to try, learn, and improve than to not try at all. By assigning points, I think
that many students (especially those who have not always been successful in the
past) would be more afraid of getting things wrong than trying their honest
best to get things right or to really think.
3) Fear of failure (in
school, losing points) leads to copying, cheating, and other intellectually
dishonest behavior. I want to value success and improvement, as well as genuine
work.
4) Points don’t
necessarily provide an incentive. Regardless of whether there are points
assigned to work, students always have the choice to either engage in the work
and learn, or not. We all know students who, regardless of the point value of
an assignment, choose not to do the work and learn.
5) This first month is a
time of getting to know each other. Students are getting a feel for the skills
and knowledge they will use and gain in the class, and I am finding out what
students know and can do. It is not necessary to assign points to a
pre-assessment process.
Further, the
incentives to learn and work at the highest level will continue even after I
start grading work (assigning points). Students who do their genuine best work but do not show that they
have mastered the skills or content they were supposed to learn will have the
opportunity to redo or revise their work to show improvement. There are two
requirements that must be met to earn a redo/revision opportunity:
1) The student must have
really put forth an effort and have done the best he or she could at the time.
2) The student must ask
for a redo/revision opportunity; I will not offer it. This requirement makes
the student responsible for the learning process and encourages self-advocacy.
If a student requests a redo/revision, we will agree on a plan of action so
that the student can show improvement.
Over à
Why is there so little homework?
While I’m sure many
students breathed a sigh of relief that there would not be a heavy homework
load in this class, I’m sure many parents/guardians were confused. Why,
especially in a history class, would there be so little homework?
My reasons are as
follows:
1) After giving students
a heavy homework load last year, I analyzed the results. Many students came to
class unprepared or simply copied the homework. Most students said that they
were doing more than two hours of homework a night, even before touching their
history homework. They were simply overworked, and something had to give. I
also found that, while students were learning and discussing what they had
learned outside of class, most of what they discussed came from class work and
activities, not homework.
2) There is little
evidence that homework actually improves learning. Some studies show that
homework has some small effect on test scores, while others show the opposite
or no effect. Additionally, test scores don’t necessarily measure the full
scope of what a student has learned. For example, can you measure a student’s
moral growth on a test? Doing social studies is more than memorization of facts;
it is learning a discipline that helps citizens to understand the world and
operate effectively and compassionately within it.
3) I would like students
to have time for reflection. After a long day of school, they essentially go to
school again at home. Where is the time to process what they have learned? To
watch the news or have a conversation and see the real-world applications of
their new knowledge? In exchange for homework time, I would like students to
spend their time thinking and processing. You can help with this by asking your
student what he or she learned and engaging in a conversation that asks the
student to think more deeply. Don’t be afraid to challenge ideas! Students need
to question what they think they know or believe in order to fully understand
and express what they know or believe. A belief is not a belief if there’s
nothing to back it up.
Why is there a point penalty on late work?
1) Basically, I’d rather
the students do their work, give it their best effort, and get things wrong
than not do the work at all. If a student tries his or her best but needs
additional instruction along the way, that is not a reason to deduct points on
regular work. (Exams and unit assessments, which require students to summarize
and demonstrate comprehensive learning, will be scored differently.)
2) I get no timely
information about a student’s abilities if the work is late. This means that I
can’t reteach something if I don’t know in time that students aren’t getting
it.
3) Most students do late
work just for the points, not to learn.