Excerpt #1
Grading Smarter Not Harder: Assessment Strategies that Motivate Kids and Help Them Learn. Dueck, Myron. (pg. 45)
"Grading Homework Confuses Completion with Understanding"
Educators seem to believe that they are tasked with instilling work ethic into today's youth. I have heard many teachers demand that students do their homework because it is "the right thing to do." Many educators have said to me that if we don't teach our students the value of work before they enter the workforce, society will pay dearly. The problem with this well-intended argument is that attaching a grade to homework inevitably leads to grading completion rather than understanding. Educators have been so thoroughly blending the assessment of completion with the assessment of understanding for so long that it's become impossible for many of them to separate the two components (O'Connor, 2010).
I feel that, not only as a recent student, but as a teacher now that home work can be a thing that gets in the way of learning, especially if our intent is to just have our students do something because we feel like they should (i.e. Homework). I feel that homework needs to have a purpose.As a student I always thought why am I doing this, or why did my teacher give this to us for homework? how does it apply to the real world learning? if we ask ourselves these questions I feel like we will find a better/more meaningful way to assign homework. And lets be honest that leaves us with less homework too.
ReplyDeleteI agree that homework needs to have a purpose. I think we also need to make sure that the student's are aware of what that purpose is. I know in my class the work that we do is in class and only becomes "Homework" if the student doesn't get it done. I like to provide feedback to my student's as they are doing the work so they will understand and remember how to do it correctly.
DeleteClear expectation and explicit objectives to students enables less busy work to be done, and less busy work to be graded. Homework is not worth it unless it is selective and an important learning process to take them to a higher level. Rubrics, and solid examples may be a great help for our students when they are assigned homework.
DeleteAs a parent I was never interested in having my children’s teachers take on the responsibility of teaching my children about work ethic. I saw that as MY privilege and responsibility. Consequently, in my teaching I have always leaned towards assessing understanding and not completion. Linda!!!
ReplyDeleteLinda I would agree that it's the responsibility of the parents to teach work ethic, but there are a lot of parents who for whatever reason, be it work, single parent, etc. may not have that as a top priority. they may just be trying to survive life. Then is it our responsibility to help show these students how to have some type of work etic?? Brock Phifer
DeleteThe book makes a huge assumption in saying: "The problem with this well-intended argument is that attaching a grade to homework inevitably leads to grading completion rather than understanding." My assignments are all grade based on accuracy and understanding. Never just completion. However, if students are not completing work then I drop their citizenship grade.
ReplyDeleteI like that you drop citizenship as to me that is what not turning in homework is all about. I am not going to have any more homework in my class, but I think that would be difficult to do in math where they need to practice. Maybe a flipped classroom???
DeleteI too drop citizenship grades for not completing work. I always give my students until the end of the term to turn their work in for full credit. I think that especially in subjects like math, teachers must have a way to check for understanding. This is hard to do in a full-class setting. Homework makes sense in these cases so teachers can see what students know and re-teach as needed.
DeleteKristine, a flipped classroom only works when all the students in the class realize that real success comes from when they learn to take responsibilty for their own learning, and at the junior high level that may be a stretch. In my experience with a flipped classroom - high school level - the majority of students would spend the least amount of time possible going over the on-line content to get through the associated work, if they even viewed it at all. A majority of the students would come to class fully expecting me to cover everything they should have spent time reviewing at home, and with no time spent even looking at any assignments. Instead of coming to class with specific questions about content, they would just say "I didn't get it." And when I asked what part, they would say "all of it." In addition, a flipped class-room also requires internet access for every student. All it takes is for a few to lack this, and the classroom becomes difficult to manage. I did have great succes with a few students, but not enough to justify the extra work and aggravation that went along with it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that flipped classrooms aren't a method I want to try. You are having students watch lectures online of other people doing the teaching or that you've taken extra time to create, and then spend the next day rehashing what they did or did not watch and the misconceptions that it created. I'd rather them learn it right the first time, from me, and avoid the confusion.
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