Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Just blogging some more
I think that we should get A's out of this course. Not b/c I want an easy A, but because we are helping to create an entire class. I think that this is all new to everyone, including Tiffany (which she stated). So, I don't think that we should be graded on this pilot program. I think that we should be graded on participation and attendance. So, I hope a lot of leverage is put into the final grades. But, this is only my opinion, which definitely matters to me of course.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you 100%. I do not believe that the weight of our grade should be held in our peers hands.
ReplyDeleteYou make a very good point. This overall grade for this course should be based on participation (attendance included) I mean being graded on anything else just doesnt make sense, at least to me. I think the class is doing a great job as a whole in trying to create a syllabus for the Fall semester.
ReplyDeleteI very much agree with the fact that since this is a class under design that some understanding should be taken into consideration, especially when it comes to being graded. It has been interesting brainstorming ideas, but there has been a lot of confusion because of the constructing aspect of the class.
ReplyDeleteI am going to be the dissenting voice. Although I understand your points, I don’t agree with them in totality. Yes, we are helping create a new course to be offered, but simply showing up each week doesn’t warrant getting an A. We have been asked to complete many tasks in this class, including research, presentations, group work and we still have one very big one left. From my perspective, there are certainly individuals in this class that have not contributed and put forth the effort that others have. I’m not sure how you graded the presentations of the bibliographies but I did not give everyone a perfect score, I didn’t even give everyone what would amount to an A. My guess is nobody did. If we are going to grade ourselves in a fair and equitable manner, shouldn’t Tiffany have the same right? When its all said and done, my guess is that most everyone in the class will be satisfied with their grade. Tiffany continues to praise our work, both individually and in our groups. The end result of our work in this class will not be reflected in the grade we receive but how we use what we have learned to create new mindsets, in both our personal and professional lives.
ReplyDeleteHi Lawanda,
ReplyDeleteI wantedto make sure I responded to your comments on my blog in a place where you could get them. If you mistook my response as an indication that others don't have a right to their opinion, I think you may have read too much into the point I was trying to make. Based on your response below, we are closer in our thoughts than you think. However, what I would say is that if you think the entire class deserves the same grade for our group effort, then it should probably be a B, since this would likely be the average grade of the effort of the entire class.
I agree with your thoughts on gravity and the differing levels of seriousness that students exert in class. Those that don't take it as seriously as you and I, will ultimately not reap the rewards that this class has to offer. And that is their loss, in my opinion. But they should not be rewarded at the same level just for their participation. To me, there is a parallel with one of the biggest problems we have in education- there is no accountability for the teachers in the schools. Once they put in their 4 years and earn tenure, their level of seriousness in many cases begins to drop, at the expense of those teachers who are brighter, more educated and certainly more serious about their craft. Those teacher's, who have begun to slack off, are not getting what they deserve. In many cases they are being rewarded with raises, just for accruing service time, or showing up to class but not necessarily putting in the work.
Wow... I kind of went off on a tangent, didn't I?
Last thought... not quite sure your closing isn't a little controdictory. It seems to me that we are weakening the strong by trying to strengthen the weak (by giving everyone the same grade, even if they haven't earned it).
There is a very good chance I am misinterpreting what you are really trying to say. I will catch up with you in class on Wednesday so we can continue to discuss this in person. I do not want you to take what I am saying out of context because you may read what I write from a different mindset than where I am coming from.
Hey so it turned out that at least a portion of our grade will be an automatic A :) Not quite fully what you were wanting or hoping, but it is a good percentage!
ReplyDeleteIn defense of your opinions Lawanda, I agree that we should get A's because it is not our responsibility as students to come up with a legit class for college students to take; rather, it is the job of the Regents of the University of Michigan. But, you should be thankful that Tiffany is being nice enough to give us all A's for our productiveness as a unit. This A constitutes for 15% of our final grade and it carries a significant amount of weight!
ReplyDelete