Re: [tips] Grading improvement
You may want to consider having students use techniques that are supporting improved study habits as counting toward credit as another tactic to lead to improvement. These could include having students complete the online practice tests available with pretty much all textbooks with a requirement that these have to be distributed (e.g. you can't earn the credit if you do them all the night before the exam!), having students create study guides, outline chapters or lecture notes, etc. If you are explicit in telling students why these are part of the course requirements, they may even use them in other classes! Best, Leah On Thu, Aug 11, 2016 at 9:36 AM, Carol wrote: > > No, I don't believe rewarding poor performance is the intent at all. > Rather, it sounds like Michael wants to reward honest effort and is trying > to come up with a way that is workable. It's why I use multiple measures > (exams, homework, other written work, etc.) so that I'm not assigning > higher grades to students simply on the basis of test-taking ability. I > think he's trying to maintain high standards and I've been interested in > this thread. C'mon Ed, don't be a curmudgeon. :) <-- note smile. > > > > > > > > Phone mail > > On Aug 11, 2016, at 8:01 AM, Pollak, Edward wrote: > > > > And the slide toward rewarding mediocrity continues > unabated.. We've already dumbed down so many of our > intro courses and now we're looking for ways to moderate the effects of > poor performance. > > > *Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D.* > *Professor Emeritus of Psychology* > *West Chester University of Pennsylvania * > *Doc's Bluegrass Newsletter: > http://www.docsbluegrass.net/bluegrass-newsletter.html* > *Husband, father, grandfather, bluegrass fiddler & > biopsychologist... in approximate order of importance* > > > > > > > > > > > *Subject: Grading improvement From: Michael Ofsowitz > Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2016 12:21:37 -0400 > X-Message-Number: 1 First, forgive me for stepping out of a long-entrenched > role as lurker. Do any of you have a system to formally grade/reward > improvement on course work (e.g., tests) as a component of the total > course grade? * > > > > > > > > -- > > This e-mail message was sent from a retired or emeritus status employee of > West Chester University. > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: devoldercar...@gmail.com. > > To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=177920. > a45340211ac7929163a021623341&n=T&l=tips&o=49176 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to leave-49176-177920.a45340211ac7929163a0216233 > 4...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: lcur...@knox.edu. > > To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13346. > fd4eeaf6abdc74d8c3a37fbfbb055cd9&n=T&l=tips&o=49177 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to leave-49177-13346.fd4eeaf6abdc74d8c3a37fbfbb055c > d...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > -- Leah Adams-Curtis Director of Assessment Knox College 2 East South Street Galesburg, IL 61401-4999 309-341-7260 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49187 or send a blank email to leave-49187-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] Grading improvement
No, I don't believe rewarding poor performance is the intent at all. Rather, it sounds like Michael wants to reward honest effort and is trying to come up with a way that is workable. It's why I use multiple measures (exams, homework, other written work, etc.) so that I'm not assigning higher grades to students simply on the basis of test-taking ability. I think he's trying to maintain high standards and I've been interested in this thread. C'mon Ed, don't be a curmudgeon. :) <-- note smile. Phone mail > On Aug 11, 2016, at 8:01 AM, Pollak, Edward wrote: > > > > And the slide toward rewarding mediocrity continues > unabated.. We've already dumbed down so many of our > intro courses and now we're looking for ways to moderate the effects of poor > performance. > > Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. > Professor Emeritus of Psychology > West Chester University of Pennsylvania > Doc's Bluegrass Newsletter: > http://www.docsbluegrass.net/bluegrass-newsletter.html > Husband, father, grandfather, bluegrass fiddler & > biopsychologist... in approximate order of importance > > Subject: Grading improvement > From: Michael Ofsowitz > Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2016 12:21:37 -0400 > X-Message-Number: 1 > > First, forgive me for stepping out of a long-entrenched role as lurker. > > Do any of you have a system to formally grade/reward improvement on > course work (e.g., tests) as a component of the total course grade? > > > > > > This e-mail message was sent from a retired or emeritus status employee of > West Chester University. > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: devoldercar...@gmail.com. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=177920.a45340211ac7929163a021623341&n=T&l=tips&o=49176 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-49176-177920.a45340211ac7929163a021623...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49177 or send a blank email to leave-49177-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
RE:[tips] Grading improvement
And the slide toward rewarding mediocrity continues unabated.. We've already dumbed down so many of our intro courses and now we're looking for ways to moderate the effects of poor performance. Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania Doc's Bluegrass Newsletter: http://www.docsbluegrass.net/bluegrass-newsletter.html Husband, father, grandfather, bluegrass fiddler & biopsychologist... in approximate order of importance Subject: Grading improvement From: Michael Ofsowitz Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2016 12:21:37 -0400 X-Message-Number: 1 First, forgive me for stepping out of a long-entrenched role as lurker. Do any of you have a system to formally grade/reward improvement on course work (e.g., tests) as a component of the total course grade? This e-mail message was sent from a retired or emeritus status employee of West Chester University. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49176 or send a blank email to leave-49176-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
RE: [tips] Grading improvement
Michael, Rather than providing bonus points for improved grades, you could consider making the early work (assignments, essays, quizzes) worth proportionally less than later work. That way, the students aren't "penalized" as much if they get lower grades on early work compared to their later work. I have also heard of instructors who will simply drop earlier quiz or essay grades if subsequent grades are higher. -Max Gwynn Maxwell Gwynn, Ph.D. Assistant Professor & Academic Advisor Department of Psychology Wilfrid Laurier University Waterloo, ON Canada N2L 3C5 519-884-0710 ext 3854 mgw...@wlu.ca -Original Message- From: Michael Ofsowitz [mailto:m...@rochester.rr.com] Sent: August-10-16 12:22 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Grading improvement First, forgive me for stepping out of a long-entrenched role as lurker. Do any of you have a system to formally grade/reward improvement on course work (e.g., tests) as a component of the total course grade? --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49169 or send a blank email to leave-49169-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] Grading improvement
I consider demonstrated improvement when determining final grades. I tell students that I will round up at 89.5, 79.5, 69.5 if they have improved over the course of exam performance. Otherwise I hold a very firm line stating that there must always be a cut point. While I can see that a students who has completed C B A A is improving a student who has had A A B C might be strategizing across all classes such that they need to devote more time in Calculus to get to a B while slipping in psychology will allow them to maintain a B (or even an A depending on point totals). It is often the best students who follow this strategy and who can blame them if they have the points. In another strategy, I have created created groups and offered extra credit to the group that shows the largest average improvement. My hope is that this will incentivize not only improving oneself but to encourage others. I’ve only done this once (this past spring) and all of the groups improved. Yes this rewards the group that improves the most but at least in my class the greatest improvement was for the group with the lowest starting score so the net result is more of a leveling rather than “the rich get richer” outcome. Note: the amount of extra credit was 2 points on that exam out of 600 points in the course so extra credit of about .33% in the whole class. The net gain from the competition was almost 4 points across the whole class and between 3. And 7 points per group (so what they gained from trying to earn those 2 points had more impact than the two points). I guess that could be called gasification. Doug P.S. I never considered exploring this more but after writing up this summer I think I’ll be submitting this to a teaching portion of my regional APA conference. On 8/10/16, 11:21 AM, "Michael Ofsowitz" wrote: >First, forgive me for stepping out of a long-entrenched role as lurker. > >Do any of you have a system to formally grade/reward improvement on >course work (e.g., tests) as a component of the total course grade? > >In the background, I'm thinking that it must be possible to measure >student learning independent of IQ; my tests and other assignments >reward comprehension and expression mostly (they're written), so all of >that is conflated with IQ. But can there be an acceptable measure of >learning independent of IQ? So if a person who's poor at comprehension >improves from poor to low-mediocre, can something show that in a >rewarding way without cheapening the experience to gold stars or a >dumbed-down grading scale? > >I'm also thinking that getting a rewarding experience of extra points >that are real and meaningful can take some of the frustration away from >the student who gets low grades, without me having to play self-esteem >games. > >I was thinking something like extra credit points for improvement based >on a baseline of the first test score. (I also thought about punishment >for a high-IQ student who fails to make improvements, but I'm ignoring >this for now.) Can it be done fairly and meaningfully so the improving >student experiences it as reward? And can it be formalized into an Excel >gradebook? Is self-handicapping a potential problem if this is >formalized into the syllabus (e.g., strategic underperformance on the >first test)? How to avoid that? > >And how much credit? Someone who gets grades of A A A A on four tests >should have a final grade higher than the student who gets C B A A and >much more than the student who gets C- C+ B- B. I thought maybe B A A A >could be equivalent to A A A A after the "improvement" addition. I >wouldn't be bothered by that. > >I'll spare you the rest of my rambling thoughts. Any ideas? > > --> Mike O. > >Psychology >Monroe Community College, etc. etc. > > > >--- >You are currently subscribed to tips as: doug.peter...@usd.edu. >To unsubscribe click here: >http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=12991.6a54289b29ceb58cb7609cc50e0dc1c8&n=T&l=tips&o=49165 >or send a blank email to >leave-49165-12991.6a54289b29ceb58cb7609cc50e0dc...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49168 or send a blank email to leave-49168-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
RE: [tips] Grading improvement
Mike O. Just to clarify are you wanting a measure of learning that is not consistent with IQ? In other words, you want to parcel out the effect of IQ on learning? Did I understand that completely? Bob I -Original Message- From: Michael Ofsowitz [mailto:m...@rochester.rr.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 10, 2016 11:22 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Grading improvement First, forgive me for stepping out of a long-entrenched role as lurker. Do any of you have a system to formally grade/reward improvement on course work (e.g., tests) as a component of the total course grade? In the background, I'm thinking that it must be possible to measure student learning independent of IQ; my tests and other assignments reward comprehension and expression mostly (they're written), so all of that is conflated with IQ. But can there be an acceptable measure of learning independent of IQ? So if a person who's poor at comprehension improves from poor to low-mediocre, can something show that in a rewarding way without cheapening the experience to gold stars or a dumbed-down grading scale? I'm also thinking that getting a rewarding experience of extra points that are real and meaningful can take some of the frustration away from the student who gets low grades, without me having to play self-esteem games. I was thinking something like extra credit points for improvement based on a baseline of the first test score. (I also thought about punishment for a high-IQ student who fails to make improvements, but I'm ignoring this for now.) Can it be done fairly and meaningfully so the improving student experiences it as reward? And can it be formalized into an Excel gradebook? Is self-handicapping a potential problem if this is formalized into the syllabus (e.g., strategic underperformance on the first test)? How to avoid that? And how much credit? Someone who gets grades of A A A A on four tests should have a final grade higher than the student who gets C B A A and much more than the student who gets C- C+ B- B. I thought maybe B A A A could be equivalent to A A A A after the "improvement" addition. I wouldn't be bothered by that. I'll spare you the rest of my rambling thoughts. Any ideas? --> Mike O. Psychology Monroe Community College, etc. etc. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: rc-intri...@wiu.edu. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13038.23745dd9b252ba856cdd795b606a47ea&n=T&l=tips&o=49165 or send a blank email to leave-49165-13038.23745dd9b252ba856cdd795b606a4...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49167 or send a blank email to leave-49167-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
Re: [tips] Grading improvement
Tricky issue. Could be major problems if 60&80 got higher mark than 80&60 or 70&70 or any other combo producing same average. Perhaps some formula to apply it to just low scoring students so they don't jump over other students? Not clear if that is possible. Sent from my iPhone > On Aug 10, 2016, at 7:22 PM, "Michael Ofsowitz" wrote: > > First, forgive me for stepping out of a long-entrenched role as lurker. > > Do any of you have a system to formally grade/reward improvement on course > work (e.g., tests) as a component of the total course grade? > > In the background, I'm thinking that it must be possible to measure student > learning independent of IQ; my tests and other assignments reward > comprehension and expression mostly (they're written), so all of that is > conflated with IQ. But can there be an acceptable measure of learning > independent of IQ? So if a person who's poor at comprehension improves from > poor to low-mediocre, can something show that in a rewarding way without > cheapening the experience to gold stars or a dumbed-down grading scale? > > I'm also thinking that getting a rewarding experience of extra points that > are real and meaningful can take some of the frustration away from the > student who gets low grades, without me having to play self-esteem games. > > I was thinking something like extra credit points for improvement based on a > baseline of the first test score. (I also thought about punishment for a > high-IQ student who fails to make improvements, but I'm ignoring this for > now.) Can it be done fairly and meaningfully so the improving student > experiences it as reward? And can it be formalized into an Excel gradebook? > Is self-handicapping a potential problem if this is formalized into the > syllabus (e.g., strategic underperformance on the first test)? How to avoid > that? > > And how much credit? Someone who gets grades of A A A A on four tests should > have a final grade higher than the student who gets C B A A and much more > than the student who gets C- C+ B- B. I thought maybe B A A A could be > equivalent to A A A A after the "improvement" addition. I wouldn't be > bothered by that. > > I'll spare you the rest of my rambling thoughts. Any ideas? > > --> Mike O. > > Psychology > Monroe Community College, etc. etc. > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: j.cl...@uwinnipeg.ca. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9&n=T&l=tips&o=49165 > or send a blank email to > leave-49165-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=49166 or send a blank email to leave-49166-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu