Daniel Pink's latest book titled Drive discusses the merits of looking at motivation in the 21st Century completely differently than we have in the past. Intrinsic motivation now dominates over extrinsic and so on....great stuff! I want to look at motivation from a slightly different angle.
What if we assessed competencies in the classroom the way video games tend to grade progress? Students would work their way upwards towards mastery without an expectation of previous experience (like having zero points at the start of your favorite game). The vast majority of school grading systems are based on the idea that a student starts with a perfect score, and works downward from there. Failed tests are a sea of red. By that definition, the most successful student is the one that has failed the least. It's like keeping baseball statistics: a hall of fame player fails at the plate nearly 70% of the time! What if students started from a point of being functionally worthless and slowly work their way up towards mastery?
Any job descriptions I have seen are written in terms of competencies such as; “you should be able to do x, y, and z and the ability to do a, b, and c is a bonus.” Any extra skills you might have are generally immaterial to the job. I’m a school administrator and so my ability to spin a basketball on the end of my finger is meaningless.
Could we define grades in terms of competencies, rather than points on a test? Consider grading a unit on Newton’s laws. What if the expectations, presented at the beginning of the unit, looked like this?
A student will receive a grade of D upon: (1) reciting Newton’s three laws, and (2) giving an example of each.
A student will receive a grade of C upon: achieving the requirements for a grade of D, and (3) solving basic force problems using Newton’s second law in one dimension.
A student will receive a grade of B upon: achieving the requirements for a grade of C, and (4) solving basic force problems using forces at right angles using Newton’s second law in two dimensions.
A student will receive a grade of A upon: achieving the requirements for a grade of B, and (5) solving complex force problems involving four or more forces at any angles in two dimensions.
A test would become five questions, corresponding to the numbered entries above. Or maybe 15 questions, three for each item. The student “passes” that competency if he/she gets at least two of three right.
Optimistically, this system gets rid of grade inflation and deflation. Numerical grades tend to be relative to one another, and the entire class can swing up or down as a whole.
If you’re an overachieving student, an average of 97% doesn’t tell you anything about your absolute proficiency at the subject. And worse, it dissuades you from learning even more, since the system says that you’re already at - or very close to - the top of the scale. At the same time, if hours of studying result in a 47% on a test don't we tend to feel defeated and confused? Why bother?
Maybe students could even choose “majors” in high school. For those who have a good sense of what their career would bring them, this isn’t a bad thing in the least. What if students could direct their energy toward really excelling in those fields, while attaining lesser mastery in those fields in which they have no interest?
Lots of Questions.....
Why even bother having a maximum grade? Why not design assessments around the premise that students start with no knowledge in a particular area and that each student may have a different set of competencies needed to achieve traditional grades? Are we ready for such a system? If not; should we change that fact?
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
The future is coming....
Here is an interesting post on a blog that I visit from time to time titled 21 Things That Will Become Obsolete in Education by 2020. Follow that, check out; 21 Things That Became Obsolete This Decade. Enjoy!
Tell us your story!
Once a month I have the honor of addressing the students in the Upper Division at Casady and this morning my message focussed on students' lives as stories:
This year’s theme in chapel is STORY.
So what IS a story?
Stories can be movies, TV shows, books, video games, conversations, etc.....
And stories typically accomplish something.
Stories entertain, explain, sell, prop someone up, tear someone down.....
But there is another way to look at defining what a story really is.....
Your lives….our lives…..they are all stories.
Your life is a story….each day is a story….even individual activities can be stories.
I want to share my story with you throughout the year because there are little lessons to be learned and shared along the way.
Most of the time I haven't been aware that I was learning anything but one of the reasons I absolutely love my job is that I get opportunities to share what experience I have with you.
I've made mistakes along the way - and typically learned something.
I've been fortunate to have had some successes as an athlete, coach, teacher, friend, husband, father - and typically I have learned something.
I'll share my story/stories with you throughout the year.....
But for today I want to talk about YOUR stories.
Everyone in this theatre has a story to tell.
Some may not be comfortable telling their story and some may be too comfortable
For some of you (I'm resisting the urge to use names) you make it a point to tell me stories almost every day.
Some of you may even feel like your story is not worth telling but I’m here to tell you that one of the things that makes this school, your school, so special is that the faculty and administration want to hear your story.
You might want to share your story with a teacher or an administrator.....
When you need help.
When you have something exciting to share.
How about when it’s time to start thinking about applying to college?
There are lots of people on campus who will listen to your story.
In fact, as of today, you each have an advisor who acts as the primary point of contact for you and your parents for school related "stuff".
That doesn't mean that other faculty or administrators can't be a resource for you but it does mean that you have someone set aside to act in the role of "professional story listener".
Now, the other angle I want to take this morning when talking about you and your stories is helping you understand how and when you are telling a story.
For a lot of the adults in your lives here on campus....our stories are, to a great extent, written.
That doesn't mean that we can't change or that we won't ever do anything noteworthy again in our lives.
Instead; I want to draw attention to the advantage you have as young leaders who have the world at your fingertips and opportunities to do almost anything you want.
We want you to learn math, history, biology, etc. here at Casady School.
But as important to all of us is your ability to create and build upon your story while you're here.
I know some of the structure we put in place isn't always popular with you (dress code, demerit system, etc.) but all of that structure acts as the guardrails within which you get to construct and tell your story.....
The way you work in class....tells a story.
The way you handle adversity....tells a story.
The way you treat each other....tells a story.
The way you impact the world around you....tells a story.
Exhibiting your many talents....tells a story.
These things and many more tell us about you...they tell us who you are.
We're watching.....not because we're waiting for you to slip up.
We're watching because we care about you and we want to hear your story....so show us who you are....tell us your story...
This year’s theme in chapel is STORY.
So what IS a story?
Stories can be movies, TV shows, books, video games, conversations, etc.....
And stories typically accomplish something.
Stories entertain, explain, sell, prop someone up, tear someone down.....
But there is another way to look at defining what a story really is.....
Your lives….our lives…..they are all stories.
Your life is a story….each day is a story….even individual activities can be stories.
I want to share my story with you throughout the year because there are little lessons to be learned and shared along the way.
Most of the time I haven't been aware that I was learning anything but one of the reasons I absolutely love my job is that I get opportunities to share what experience I have with you.
I've made mistakes along the way - and typically learned something.
I've been fortunate to have had some successes as an athlete, coach, teacher, friend, husband, father - and typically I have learned something.
I'll share my story/stories with you throughout the year.....
But for today I want to talk about YOUR stories.
Everyone in this theatre has a story to tell.
Some may not be comfortable telling their story and some may be too comfortable
For some of you (I'm resisting the urge to use names) you make it a point to tell me stories almost every day.
Some of you may even feel like your story is not worth telling but I’m here to tell you that one of the things that makes this school, your school, so special is that the faculty and administration want to hear your story.
You might want to share your story with a teacher or an administrator.....
When you need help.
When you have something exciting to share.
How about when it’s time to start thinking about applying to college?
There are lots of people on campus who will listen to your story.
In fact, as of today, you each have an advisor who acts as the primary point of contact for you and your parents for school related "stuff".
That doesn't mean that other faculty or administrators can't be a resource for you but it does mean that you have someone set aside to act in the role of "professional story listener".
Now, the other angle I want to take this morning when talking about you and your stories is helping you understand how and when you are telling a story.
For a lot of the adults in your lives here on campus....our stories are, to a great extent, written.
That doesn't mean that we can't change or that we won't ever do anything noteworthy again in our lives.
Instead; I want to draw attention to the advantage you have as young leaders who have the world at your fingertips and opportunities to do almost anything you want.
We want you to learn math, history, biology, etc. here at Casady School.
But as important to all of us is your ability to create and build upon your story while you're here.
I know some of the structure we put in place isn't always popular with you (dress code, demerit system, etc.) but all of that structure acts as the guardrails within which you get to construct and tell your story.....
The way you work in class....tells a story.
The way you handle adversity....tells a story.
The way you treat each other....tells a story.
The way you impact the world around you....tells a story.
Exhibiting your many talents....tells a story.
These things and many more tell us about you...they tell us who you are.
We're watching.....not because we're waiting for you to slip up.
We're watching because we care about you and we want to hear your story....so show us who you are....tell us your story...
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Hypocrite say What?
Last evening on my drive home from campus I did something I rarely do….I surfed a few radio stations. Typically I have sports radio, NPR or the Tragically Hip along for the ride but I was looking for something a little different. I stopped on a station that was playing some classic Journey and stopped right there. When the song was over the host of an evening call in show took to the airwaves and waxed poetic about love, relationships and her latest venture into the dating pool. Then she switched gears and spent some time lamenting the fact that marketing and product placement are taking over movies and media in general. She is clearly not a fan of Skittles being placed in the cinema classic ET or Dell paying millions to have their computers appear in the cult classic Snakes on a Plane. Fine. I get it. I have no problem with her complaint even though I see product placement simply as ad revenue and a sign of the times but certainly not in an apocalyptic way. Here’s the interesting part…..after approx. two minutes of slamming the pervasive nature of advertising in the media, this particular radio show host transitioned smoothly into reading two promos on the air….presumably aware of the verbal assault on ad placements that she had just delivered! She explained how sleeping on a Serta mattress had changed her life and how Weight Watchers had helped her lose more than fifteen pounds this summer. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I waited…assuming there was a punch line to be delivered…..no dice! She was really doing promos on her radio show, for products that she claims have changed her life, immediately after exalting all things negative about that very practice in the media. Wow…..sad…..but entertaining.
I don’t understand why no judge on America’s Got Talent is even American but more importantly I don’t understand this radio host being a hypocrite…which leads me to my point: let’s not be hypocritical. In education, we ask things of our students and as administrators we ask things of our faculty. We need to model the behavior which we are asking to see replicated throughout the classrooms. W should pick up a piece of trash if we ask others to do the same. We should be courteous and listen as much as we speak if that is what we ask of others. I’m in no way immune to this notion myself and plan to do a better job modeling in my role this year as well. Perhaps we all need to consider, prior to asking someone else to do something; would that be a fair request of me….do I model that behavior?
I don’t understand why no judge on America’s Got Talent is even American but more importantly I don’t understand this radio host being a hypocrite…which leads me to my point: let’s not be hypocritical. In education, we ask things of our students and as administrators we ask things of our faculty. We need to model the behavior which we are asking to see replicated throughout the classrooms. W should pick up a piece of trash if we ask others to do the same. We should be courteous and listen as much as we speak if that is what we ask of others. I’m in no way immune to this notion myself and plan to do a better job modeling in my role this year as well. Perhaps we all need to consider, prior to asking someone else to do something; would that be a fair request of me….do I model that behavior?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)