I do the same thing, for the same reason. I also have fairly little grubbing for grades. I also emphasize the word ³earn² when describing any score on a paper.
I also do not, generally, grade for attendance. If they ask about it I say that their grade is determined by their demonstration of competence and mastery of the material. I also tell them that I view a C as demonstrating that they know a lot of the facts and definitions associated with the topic and that I expect to see an analytical and applied capability in students who¹ve earned an A. That also seems to reduce grade grubbing. -- Paul Bernhardt Frostburg State University Frostburg, MD, USA On 2/18/09 10:44 AM, "Steven Specht" <[email protected]> wrote: > One of the subtle things that some teachers do to reinforce such beliefs is > "taking off points" when grading exam questions. I remind students that they > come into the exam with zero points and that they earn/accumulate credit with > good answers. That is, you'll never see "-3" or "-5" on my exams; not because > I'm avoiding "negativity" or anything, but because it makes no sense if you > start from zero. I feel like I have had some success in starting to change the > mind-set by doing this. It's not as subtle as it seems. > > On Feb 18, 2009, at 10:40 AM, Mike Palij wrote: > >> On Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:36:16 -0800, Christopher D. Green wrote: >>> According to a UC Irvine report covered by the NYT today, about one >>> third of students expect B's just for attending lectures, and 40 percent >>> believe they earn B's by doing required reading. >>> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/education/18college.html?_r=2 >>> >>> If I had only known... >> >> There are some things that are unclear here. Although the article >> seems to suggest these expectations are based on student's experiences >> in K-12, I have to wonder what do the syllabi for courses they take >> say about how the final course grade is calculated. Consider, if the >> final course grade is based on a 1-100 point scale with "thresholds" >> for different letter grades, then how can such expectations be maintained >> if the student is told this is how the final course grade is constituted: >> >> 10% - Attendance, participation, and homework >> 20% - Exam #1 >> 20% - Exam #2 >> 30% - Final Exam (cumulative) >> 20% - Papers: 2 Papers (about 10 pages each; 10% each) >> >> If one lays out the components of the final grade, I know >> that a student may still hold unrealistic beliefs ("but I always >> showed up for class, how could I fail?") but the instructor can >> point out how and why the beliefs are unrealistic ("attendance >> at best counts less than 10% of the final course grade"). >> >> So, are students' expectations unrealistic because they are >> "delusional" or carrying over beliefs from high school or is it due >> to the lack of specificity that some professors have in identifying >> how a course grade is determined (i.e., the point contribution of >> specific activities)? >> >> -Mike Palij >> New York University >> [email protected] >> >> >> >> >> >> >> --- >> To make changes to your subscription contact: >> >> Bill Southerly ([email protected]) >> >> > > > ======================================================== > Steven M. Specht, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > Chair, Department of Psychology > Utica College > Utica, NY 13502 > (315) 792-3171 > > "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort > and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." > Martin Luther King Jr. > > --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
