Wow, after Tuesday's class we will be at the half-way point for this course. I suppose this is good and bad news as I know many of you are probably feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work in the course. My advise would be to just complete one assignment at a time and don't forget your journals (1-4 are due this weekend).
This week: you should have finished your powerpoints by Tuesday's class. I will show you how to create a rubric to grade the powerpoints (which we'll do on Thursday!). I will also introduce the wiki assignment in class on Tuesday. On Thursday, you will grade powerpoints, be introduced to Inspiration/Kidspiration, and work on the copyright assignment.
Journal 4: We are going to move outside of L&L for Journal 4. This journal comes from a magazine called "T.h.e Journal," which is a complimentary magazine when you join CUE (Computer Using Educators). It has some great articles and is another resource for the remaining journals. I will ad a link to it under "Really Cool Links!". For journal 4, I want you to read the article, "Moderating and Ethics for the Classroom Instructional Blog," by Paricia Deubel. If my embedded link doesn't work, you may use the link to the Journal and search the "article search" in the magazine area to fine the article.
Journal 5: Optional for extra credit. You may either search L&L or The Journal to find an article related to an issue of technology. The same criteria apply, but you must get this in by the due date if you are to receive extra credit.
Journal 6: This begins the second set of journal articles. Journal's 6-9 are due July 2. You may choose your own articles for 6-9, but I will also give you options if you do not want to choose. For this journal you may read "Filming Compassion," by Janet Bremer and Marilyn Clark. L&L, April 2005.
This Week's Question: Would you try just as hard in a class that was pass/fail or are you primarily motivated by grades? Explain your answer.
15 comments:
I've never taken a class that was pass/fail except for an internship that I had in a Senator's office, so probably tried harder in that internship than I did in any one class.
I would suspect that if I was taking just a regular class for pass/fail, that I would not try as hard. I did't view each individual class as my goal, my goal was getting my degree and doing so with honors. I was able to accomplish that, but there were times when I decided I didn't want to put the work in for an A so I settled for a B. So I don't see a reason to stress myself out for an A in a class that isn't going to look any different than a C.
If this question was asked in undergrad than yes, I would not try as hard and just get through the semester. This way I could consentrate on the biggest lesson learned at Chico State...partying! ;-)
But, these days I am older and more mature (hehe..)
In my classes today and starting in the fall, I would try my best to get the highest grade possible. The difference is that my classes now is what is going to make me a great teacher. I have to do my best in order to use everything I have learned and apply it in my classroom.
I feel like I always try to do my best, but in a pass/fail class I might be a little less hard on myself. Of course it also depends on the teacher and how much their opinon matters to me.
I’m going to be perfectly honest, if I knew I was taking a class that was pass/fail then I would not put as much effort in turning in quality work for the class. I’ve only taken one class that was a pass/fail and I did find myself not putting as much effort as I did in my other classes. Moreover, depending on the class, I think grades reflect the amount of effort a student puts into his/her work in the class.
Earlier in my educational career, I bet I would have happily taken a course pass/fail, and sadly, I cannot guarantee I would have put forth my best effort. Today, as a grad student, my GPA is really important to me, as are professional ethics. Sometimes pass/fail can be beneficial if one is taking a course outside of their comfort zone/subject area, such as an enrichment course. Much like Allison, I probably would have opted for this while at Chico State.....
For me, it really depends on the course. I know that there have been some courses that were required for me to take and I just wanted to get through them and for others, when I am interested in the material, I really want the highest grade.
My answer is not going to be definitive. It depends. I want to turn in all of my work on time and with high quality. These are things I try to make happen all of the time. It does make a difference, however, if a class is pass/fail. It's different because that class takes a lower rank in my mind of which class I need to spend most of my time and effort. I have other classes right now that require a lot of my time. If there are assignments due in the class where I receive a specific grade and the pass/fail class, I will probably put more effort into the class that gives grades. Then again, that pass/fail class could be my favorite class that I care very much about, and if that is the case, that teacher will see nothing but my best work because I'd be ashamed of providing anything less.
I would not work nearly as hard at school if there was not a grading system. I take great pride in my grades and work hard for them. In some classes, the assignments limit no one to getting less than an A. But in some classes, the only way to achieve an A is through critical thinking and hard work. It's classes like this that I take pride in getting a good grade from. If there is no system to which my work can be compared to my peers, showing better or worse work, then why try? Besides, that would bring up the issue of how we would select and admit candidates for higher education. The system would have to be completely rebuilt.
I usually try decently hard on most classes just because I always have. I guess that I don't always do my best because I am somewhat lazy and also because I have pitiful time management skills, so I end up procrastinating and then pounding something out last minute.
But I've pretty much always done stuff that way, so I guess I'm used to it because I usually pull it off with a decent grade. And I never have and I don't think I ever will be lazy enough to go for credit/no credit.
wait-- which one is this class?
It depends on what the pass/fail rate is at. I believe if you set the passing grade/percentage high enough, students will do well and work harder (ex. 80% or higher is passing). Unfortunately we have all grown up with teachers telling us that the letter matters more than the lessons learned.
I had a couple of classes that were pass/fail in undergrad, but I felt that they were just as rigorous as the regularly graded classes I was taking, so my effort really did not change. In addition, the pass/fail classes I took really emphasized the actual learning (vs performance on tests, assignments etc.) In many ways, I found that these classes actually motivated me to learn. So often we get caught up into what our work equals in terms of a number, or letter (A,B,C, etc), when often it can't be quantified. I suppose pass/fail could be troublesome for students who are difficult to motivate, but I believe the class could be set up in a way that would encourage self motivation.
I don’t like the current grading system. My philosophy is that it’s functional but doesn’t always produce quality work. Students focus too much on the grades they are going to get and less on the content and quality of work. What ever happened to really learning the concepts, sometimes it takes more effort and sometimes less, depending on your skill level. School is suppose to be set up to give students specific skills, that’s why we pay money to go, otherwise people could go online or buy a book and do it themselves. If you really want to learn something, grades shouldn’t be the motivator. I have taken classes at the JC level CR/NC and have learned a lot. I didn’t worry what grade I was getting and focused more on learning the skill.
Yes and no to this question. When I was taking a lot of general eduation classes, I think that getting through a class that I wasn't interested in was more important than trying hard. Now in my classes, I really do want to learn so I think I would be motivated to try my best!
Post a Comment