The Art of Possibility (charters 1- 4)
I am glad we are assigned this book to read. It is really encouraging and challenging at the same time. It requires not just reading but also putting into practice what it says.
Yesterday, I told my students that everybody had already an A in the computer laboratory work if they would go quietly from our classroom to that place. I told the students that if I listened to anybody talking I would deduct points from their grade. Everybody was quiet! We left 20 minutes after starting the class. So we wouldn’t interrupt the other classes.
With this specific situation, it just brought to my mind, my experience that I had in England as a Spanish assistant. I was assigned to teach Spanish to a group of ten students who wanted to take a Spanish test to get credits for the University. The interesting part was that I did not have to give grades!! I was more focused on what each of the students needed to work on, and make sure they would understand each topic covered in class.
I felt it was a relaxing environment for both sides. No pressure for the teacher to hand in grades, and no pressure for students to think in getting a grade. I noticed they were really interested in learning. At the end of the course, the students took the Spanish test for the University and they did very well. I always dream in having another chance like that!! I really enjoyed that experience and I know my students as well.
Hi Sandra, Do you feel like the students were quiet because they cared about the grade. That was an interesting method, I’m surprised none of the students talked.
ReplyDeleteI’ve never been to England, how is the educational system different from ours?
I honestly believe that a grading system can be overrated. It to me doesn’t give an exact measurement whether the student has gained a true understanding of what was taught. I believe it is an inaccurate marker, especially when two different minds, get the same grade, yet used different methods to get that grade. But on the surface, when someone makes a judgment based on the grade, there is no qualitative analysis.
I believe there is a lot of pressure in grade giving and record keeping, based upon my own experience. Just to truly grade an assess student can be taxing by itself, and more time is being used in grading than instruction, experimentation, and development. These all result in productivity. I believe our educational system should have taken a different turn.
great example of how learning, which often requires a lot of failed attempts, is freed up when learning isn't confused with grading. Accountability and targeted instruction are abandoned, they are just reduced to their proper calling: tools to assist learning. They are not the learning itself.
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