This week, I decided to focus on students and grades on
Language Arts related assignments. When
reading the article “Fostering Lifelong Spellers Through Meaningful Experiences”,
I liked how the authors reflected on students reactions to grades and how they
compare themselves to others in the class.
Alderman and Green mention that some students are very grade oriented,
meaning that they are only focused on their grade (numeric or letter) and how
they did in comparison to the rest of the class. I actually observed a student becoming very
grade and performance oriented the other day in my practicum classroom. My cooperating teacher was meeting with
students to discuss their writing thus far in the marking period, which has not
been a lot. When she called one student
up, she explained what his strengths were and what he needed to work on. He then witnessed her writing his grade in
the grade book as 2 out of 3. She then
explained to the student that a “2” was a great grade and that the student
still needed to work on some minor things.
She also explained that the majority of the class was in the same boat. She later told me that she saw a sad look
came over the student’s face and which is why she gave the student a confidence
boost.
It is interesting to reflect on
this because as a teacher I want to promote improvement and not necessarily
grades. I however, have found myself at
times being very GPA and grade driven. I
remember when I was growing up, my father would ask me what I got wrong when I
brought back an assignment that was anything less than 100%. I understand why he was asking me these
questions, but also a part of me thought he should lighten up. What if I worked extremely hard on an
assignment and only got a B or B+ and I thought, for that assignment, that the
grade was excellent? My father did not
seem to recognize that. I also find that
now in college, when I do not get a perfect score on an assignment, I come down
very hard on myself. It is interesting
to compare the standards that I hold myself to and those which I will hold my
students to.
I think it's upsetting when students become so heavily "grade-focused." Parents definitely play an influential role in the student-grade relationship. Growing up, many of my friends would be fearful of receiving a bad grade. Not because it would reflect poorly in their report cards, but because of the pressure to succeed that they faced at home. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, my parents always told me that the number/letter doesn't matter. What matters is that I tried my best and learned something. As cheesy as that sounds, that has become the mantra that dictates my work ethic, and I feel that this perspective has made me a better college student. I think that teachers can employ this same perspective in the classroom to allow students to become intrinsically motivated to do well. Giving students written feedback instead of an actual number or letter grade is one practice that places a stronger focus on the student's body of work rather than the student's ability. Posting inspirational quotes around the classroom, and promoting an overall positive and supportive environment can also allow students to feel comfortable, engaged in the learning, and less stressed about grades.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you,that many of our students...and families are far too focused on grade. I am a big supporter of ensuring that students feel as if they are learning and becoming smarter each and every day, and not just if they get a "4" or "100%" on different assignments.
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