Showing posts with label Grading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grading. Show all posts

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Does Your Classroom Offer Cash-Back Rebates?



Grading as a Kind of Manipulation

Earlier this summer I did something I vowed never to do again. I fell for a deal with a cash-back rebate. You know, the kind where you follow a complicated set of instructions and then mail-in all the required papers and hope it pays off. If you're lucky, you'll get your rebate check back in the mail in a few weeks.

I'm not sure why I fell for this again. I guess I thought the deal was just too good to pass up. After the rebate, the synthetic motor oil was going to be a great buy. And I didn't even need it right away. I had just changed the oil in the vehicle I planned to use it in.

But in spite of my best intentions, I failed to ever claim my rebate. I kept the receipt. I had the bar-code and the rebate form. I was good to go. But then I got distracted. I forgot about the rebate for awhile. And when I thought to finish the process, I couldn't find the receipt anymore. Game over.

Now I am just a resentful consumer. I'm irritated with myself for breaking my promise to never try for these offers. And, I'm irritated with the brand for manipulating me with a rebate offer they know many customers won't complete. They count on it. They are manipulating customers to buy knowing many consumers won't ever complete the rebate process successfully.

But it's so frustrating, and it's not customer-focused. If they really wanted to give me a great deal, they'd just give me the $10 off, without all the hoops. They don't actually want me to be successful. They want me to fail.

You've probably been frustrated by a rebate offer too. I think most people have. But not getting my $10 bucks is not the end of the world. But when similar tactics are used in the classroom, it undermines the foundation of learning.

The Problem With Points and Grades

In schools, the currency is not dollars and cents, it's points. And for a student, the more points you earn the better grade you get in the class. Students start learning this at a very young age, as soon as grades matter to them and their parents.

The points themselves are not the problem. The problem is how the points are used. Students learn to see the points as part of a transactional system, the game of school. The goal is to earn points. We have used the system to the extent that many students have forgotten how to learn just for the sake of learning. The first question students ask in many classrooms after an assignment is given is, "How many points is this worth?"

Clearly, classrooms and schools aren't offering cash-back rebates, although I'm guessing students might say it was great if we did! But when we further a grading system that is transactional, in essence, we are using sticks and carrots to manipulate behaviors and results. It's very similar to what companies do when they use rebates.

Just like the rebate is used to manipulate, points can be used to manipulate, too. Teachers have used the power of points for all sorts of reasons. To get students to participate, to show up on time, to choose right answers, and even to bring boxes of Kleenex.


Students are even sorted and ranked according to how well they play the game and earn points. I'm not a fan of sorting or ranking when it comes to learning. But this is especially concerning since earning points is often more about compliance and selecting right answers than showing good thinking or solving problems creatively.

In the current system, teachers even communicate the importance of an assignment by how many points it's worth. "The test tomorrow is worth 100 points so you better study tonight."


It's well-intentioned manipulation. And when used on rare occasions it might be helpful. Teachers are always trying to influence student behaviors and decisions. And for good reason. We will do just about anything to motivate students to learn. But as soon as sticks and carrots become routine in the classroom, students come to expect them all the time.




Point Chasing Never Empowers Students As Learners

The problem with transactional systems is they only change behavior for a moment. They never last. In fact, they work against most some of the most valuable things we want students to gain from school. They rob empowerment. They steal intrinsic motivation. And they even undermine relationships. 

Some students get so frustrated with the points game, they just quit caring. They refuse to play along and choose not to care about how the teacher or the school 'grades' them. And it's not just the kids who are 'at-risk' or 'underprivileged' who tend to reject this system. Often some of the most intelligent and creative students see through this artificial construct and pull back from learning in school.

Some of these same students have passions outside of school they pursue as self-motivated learners. They pour themselves into hobbies, interests, and causes. They will read online for hours, they will create art or practice an instrument, or they will share ideas on message boards or through social media on all types of important topics.

We do our students a disservice when we don't empower them as learners at school too. If students leave school less excited about learning than when they entered, we have failed them.

Learning Isn't About Transactions Between Students and Teachers

We don't have to use transactional systems in classrooms and schools.

Some companies choose not to use rebates. They let their product or service stand on its own merits. They communicate the value of their products with a compelling message of why they are helpful and beneficial to us. And because we believe in their product, we are willing to pay full price.

Likewise, classrooms and schools offer something extremely valuable to their end-users. What could be more valuable or more helpful than learning, for the sake of learning? But we have to remind our students of the wonder and awe of learning. We have to package it in ways that are interesting and attractive. This is especially true when they have come to view learning as part of a system of compliance to ultimately earn a grade.

Cash back rebates don't build loyalty with consumers, whether they ultimately receive the rebate or not. And a school culture driven by points and grades won't build loyalty with students either. It won't transform students into self-motivated learners. Only empowerment and authentic learning experiences will do that.

Question: How do you empower your students and avoid the compliance-driven classroom? I want to hear from you. Leave a comment below or respond on Facebook or Twitter

Thursday, February 26, 2015

20 ideas to make it more about learning and less about the grade

In a compliance driven culture, students are not likely to pursue learning for intrinsic reasons. They have learned to expect compensation for every learning activity they do. It's evident by the questions they ask, "Do we get a grade on this?" Or, "How many points is this worth?" But if we truly desire to help students take greater ownership in learning, we need to develop ideas for motivating students that rely on intrinsic motivation. In the typical school, learning has become a passive experience for the most part. Students expect to be told exactly what to do and when to do it. And, they expect to be compensated with a grade for doing work, even if the work doesn't reveal their learning or is of poor quality.

I've created a list of ideas that can be useful for motivating students beyond grades. These ideas naturally generate interest or curiosity for many students. They are inherently engaging. No grade required. Some of these ideas are simple to implement while others require significant development to be effective. This list is just a starting point. As teachers plan for instruction, it's important to consider how each idea will support learning and generate greater engagement.

It's also important to realize that using a high-interest idea doesn't guarantee learning. Students may be enjoying themselves, but they will need support from the teacher to ensure that the learning goals are being met. I believe this happens from feedback the teacher provides throughout the learning process. The best learning experiences are designed for high engagement and high impact. Teachers are constantly keeping a pulse of learning and making adjustments to help students succeed.

All of these ideas must be used within a framework of solid relationships. Build a relationship with your students and then use your influence to engage them in learning. Students will want to partner with you in learning if they feel you truly care about them.

1. Choices. People are motivated by a sense of autonomy. We can't give unlimited autonomy to students, but we can provide the next best thing—choices. Students feel a greater sense of control over their learning when they have some input into how the learning goes.

2. Passions. Find students' passions and then use those interests to generate learning experiences. If students are passionate about something, the grade won't be the driver as they will simply pursue the learning.

3. Student Voice. Most students like to share ideas with one another and communicate about what they are learning. Make learning social and students will become more engaged in the process.

4. Technology. I like to see technology used when it can enhance a lesson. If students are motivated by the opportunity to use the technology, then that is one way the lesson can be enhanced.



5. Movement. Students need to move around during the school day to stay alert and active. When teachers build movement into lessons, that can help students focus more and engage for longer time periods. Get students on their feet and out of their seats.

6. Music. Where would the world be without music? It's a powerful force and can be used in the classroom to enhance learning.

7. Solve Real problems. When students feel like they are solving a real problem, it's easier to see the relevance of learning. It's immediate and the learning is driven by something authentic.

8. Drama. Bring the power of acting and performance to your lesson plan. Throw caution to the wind and develop some crazy accents or wear a costume. You will have their attention!

9.  Film/Video. Videos clips can be used to generate interest or provide information in an accessible way. But it's even more powerful when student directed. Videos can be used by students to showcase what they've learned.  

10. Be creative. Give students opportunities to be creative as they learn your subject. Reward ideas that feature originality or artistic elements.

11. Tell stories. Be a storyteller in the classroom and find ways to use stories to help students connect to material.

12. Get out of the classroom. Take students to a different part of the building or go outside. Move outside the walls of the classroom to keep learning fresh and avoid monotony.



13. Make it a game. Use games to learn the content. Or turn you class into a simulated game with badges, levels, and other gaming principles. This type of approach is referred to as gamification.

14. Have a debate. Debates require students to make a claim and support it with evidence. They have to listen carefully and think quickly. It's a great learning tool

15. Provide real audiences. Have students create a learning artifact that will be presented to an audience outside of the classroom. The audience could be other students in the school, staff members, a panel of guests, or something online that potentially has an unlimited audience.

16. Humor. If you can incorporate humor into your lesson, students will be more interested. I had an amazing psychology professor who told a joke before every class. He often tied the humor into the content for the course.

17. Make stuff. The maker movement is all about engaging students as designers and builders. There are many inexpensive ways to bring making into the curriculum in ways that will support learning goals.

18. Social media. Students love to use social media. Why not use it for learning? Students can use Twitter, Facebook, or blogs to share ideas in all sorts of ways.



19. Food. Incorporating food can be very motivating and can relate to a variety of topics. Of course, this one can be a little tricky since school wellness policies may limit such activity.

20. Experiment. Inquiry is a great way to increase student engagement and stimulate critical thinking. Students develop a hypothesis, design an experiment, collect the data, and interpret the results. 

Monday, November 24, 2014

How does a growth mindset fit with standards based grading?



How can we ensure standards-based grading works together with what we know about growth mindset and the work of Carol Dweck? It seems most SBL/SBG proponents contend that classrooms should measure achievement against uniform standards of learning described in proficiency scales or some rubric that describes levels of performance. To meet the needs of diverse learners, best practice is for teachers to differentiate instruction but hold true to the same standards, or learning targets, for all learners. Regardless of where the learner is in the process, performance against the standard is still the way achievement is reported.

But growth mindset research finds that it's all about the process, that the process of effort, risk taking, accepting challenges, and achieving personal best is how we stay motivated and willing to learn. By focusing on the process, we can increase intelligence and actually grow our brains. It's amazing stuff. And incredibly effective.

But how will students respond if they have little chance of achieving the standard? For those who are below grade level and unlikely to reach the uniform target, the standard may seem unreachable and may reinforce the 'fixed' mindset. Students may view themselves as just not smart, "I'm not good at school." School becomes a constant reminder of my deficiencies. Why should I try? These students hate school and will do everything possible to avoid engaging in the process.

I like to use the example of a PE student in a weight lifting unit. An arbitrary standard might be that every student will be able to bench press the equivalent of his/her body weight and parallel squat twice his/her body weight. This is a reasonable goal for the student who comes into class with background in athletics or weight training. But for many students, this would be unreachable even with months of training and practice. Wouldn't it make more sense to have some type of growth goal that is individualized for each learner based on his/her own background, talents, and skill level?

I had a conversation about these issues with a colleague who has considerable knowledge of SBL/SBG. I explained some of my thoughts about flexible learning targets and how that might seem more congruent with growth mindset. If the teacher and student work together to set a challenging but achievable goal, wouldn't that motivate growth more than consistently scoring at the bottom level of a 4-point SBG scale? How is that really different than a D on the report card, or even an F?

I explained, "In this type of system, most students would be able, with great effort, to meet learning targets and goals and would be reinforced for their effort and progress."

"But who is going to make the decision about lessening the student expectations from the standard?" my colleague replied. I get the point. It can be a slippery slope. We've heard the concerns about the "soft bigotry of low expectations" that can happen in schools.

My ideas about flexible learning targets assume great faith in the judgment of teachers to hold students to appropriately challenging targets. I think we owe it to teachers to respect their professional judgment. Sure, implementation is more convenient when everyone is assessed against uniform standards. But it's even more convenient to grade on a 100-point scale, and we know the pitfalls inherent in this traditional system.

All the way back in 2006, when hearing Rick Stiggins speak on Assessment for Learning, he explained that most students should earn A's or B's if they are given appropriate and individualized learning goals along with timely, descriptive feedback. Since then, many schools have successfully replaced letter grades with performance levels. But have these schools created a system where growth is celebrated and reinforced?

So how do you ensure that students are held to high standards but are also rewarded for their effort and growth mindset?






Thursday, September 25, 2014

How grades fail to send the right message



In Curriclum21, Heidi Hayes Jacobs shares the story of Mabry Middle School in Georgia. The school surveyed students to learn more about their attitudes toward learning. On the survey, students reported that they rarely did their best on academic work, but they did enough to earn a grade that would please their teachers or their parents. As you can imagine, this information was very concerning to the teachers of Mabry. They wanted more for their students than a culture where students did just enough to get the grades.

So I recently had a spirited conversation about grading with @audhilly on Twitter. I think we actually agreed for the most part, but there were some differences. In examining the shortcomings of traditional grading, @audhilly indicated that the problem with traditional grades is not what they do but what they fail to do.
I completely agree traditional grades do not effectively communicate what has been learned. Instead, old fashioned grades simply lump all assignments together without providing information on specific learning targets. In the end, the grade is determined by averaging all of these varied assignments together to arrive at a grade that reflects a general, but imprecise, assessment of learning. So traditional grades do not communicate precisely toward progress on learning goals.

But I also believe grades do harm beyond this basic failure. They condition students to expect a grade for every assignment they do. Students begin to think if there isn't a grade attached, it must not be that important. Instead of drawing on passion, curiosity, and empowerment for motivation, students work the system to earn enough points (a grade) to satisfy the demands of the important people in their life (teachers and parents). Students become passive participants where they follow directions, comply, and ultimately remember enough to get the grade.

So grades fail on multiple levels. Foremost, they do not communicate precisely the progress toward learning goals so students can understand how to grow and improve. And, grades cause motivation to become increasingly dependent on external factors rather than encouraging students to strive for personal best.

When Mabry Middle School was faced with the realization of how passive students had become in the learning process, they developed strategies to make learning more engaging for students. Students were encouraged to bring personal passions and creativity into the learning process. Student work was celebrated and showcased to various audiences. These changes helped students see ways the time and effort of learning was meaningful beyond simply getting a grade.