Engendering Competence through learners thinking about learning, not grades
Engendering competence represents the fourth quadrant of . The authors define engendering competence as 鈥渃reating an understanding that students are effective in learning something they value.鈥� In other words, this motivational condition offers learners multiple ways to demonstrate their learning, and as a result, reaches a diverse population of learners in ways that allow them to apply their learning as it fits for their future needs. It is easy to think about the outcome of engendering competence in terms of grading learners; however, as Weimer explains below, engendering competence relates to learners thinking about learning, not grades.
Five Ways to Get Students Thinking about Learning, Not Grades
叠测:听
The past several decades have seen an interest in learning surge. It鈥檚 always been part of our educational endeavors, but the recent focus on it has been intense鈥攖hat is, for teachers. Our interest is not shared by most of our students. They are still pretty much all about grades, preferably those acquired easily. They will work for points, but not very enthusiastically, if at all, without them.
Grades are important; we can鈥檛 say they don鈥檛 matter. They鈥檙e what gets students financial aid, job interviews, and admission to grad school. But in the larger scheme of life, grades don鈥檛 matter all that much. When was the last time someone asked about your GPA? It鈥檚 the knowledge and skills acquired in college that make a difference in what we do and how we live. Yes, grades are supposed to measure learning and they do, but not all that definitively.
Somehow, we鈥檝e got to get students more focused on learning and more accurately understanding what it requires. So many students still cling to the notion that grades measure ability, and that good grades result from big brains, not time and effort devoted to study. How do we make the point that IQ matters far less than the commitment to hard work?
Most of us aren鈥檛 na茂ve enough to imagine whole bunches of students being converted to learning enthusiasts simply because we so convincingly proclaim that it matters. We need to be thinking more along the lines of water droplets eroding rock with a slow and steady drip, drip, drip. Forward movement too slow to see but powered by a relentless commitment to reposition thinking about grades and learning. Here are five ideas that illustrate these less splashy ways of advancing the learning agenda.
- Assignments as learning opportunities 鈥�聽For most students, assignments are tasks they do please the teacher. We hear that when they ask what we 鈥渨ant鈥� in the paper, project, or presentation. What if we introduced every assignment by discussing the knowledge and skills it advances? Or we could put the question to students, 鈥淲hat might you learn by doing this assignment?鈥� and constructively be in their faces until they answer.
- Learning reflection 鈥撀�Students need to move beyond the 鈥淲hacha get?鈥� exchange when we return graded work. Here鈥檚 an interesting approach one teacher uses. Early in the course, he asks students to think about their professional destination or even the kind of life they hope to live one day. 鈥淲hat skills and knowledge are you going to need that you don鈥檛 have or don鈥檛 have enough of?鈥� Students make a list (yes, they get a few points for doing so) and they keep it handy. After every assignment or activity, they look at the list and write a short reflection on how what they just did supports what鈥檚 on their list.
- Evolving assignments 鈥�聽Most assignments, activities, and even exams are something students do once and then move on to the next task. One-time assignments don鈥檛 illustrate how learning is an evolving process and they don鈥檛 teach students how to do more work on something they have already done. Let鈥檚 rethink that approach with a paper written in installments, or a reaction to one reading, followed by a reaction to a second in light of comments made about the first, and so on. Installments in a single document are submitted every time a reaction is due. There鈥檚 teacher feedback (not necessarily every time) but no grades. The need-to-know on the grade front is calmed by announcing that everyone has at least a B unless they hear otherwise. The paper is graded once, at the end, with a few summary comments.
- Better collaboration with peers 鈥撀�Students go to peers with lots of learning related questions: 鈥淲ho should I take for econ?鈥� 鈥淲ere her tests hard?鈥� 鈥淚s that a class you can skip?鈥� Unfortunately, these aren鈥檛 particularly good questions. Students can learn important things from peers but they鈥檝e got to ask better questions. How can we help them to ask better questions when they鈥檙e deciding whether to take a course?
- Change the conversation 鈥�聽Talk 鈥渓earning鈥� with students. I once had this exchange with a student. 鈥淪o, you鈥檙e taking political science? Tell me what you鈥檙e learning in the course.鈥� To which the student replied, 鈥淣othing.鈥� 鈥淩eally?鈥� I asked incredulously. 鈥淎nd what鈥檚 going to happen when you鈥檙e interviewing for the job of your dreams and the interviewer says, 鈥楪ee, I see you took a poly sci course. That鈥檚 such an interesting field. Tell me what you learned in that course?鈥欌�� I loved how the student鈥檚 eyes widened.
The idea for this list came to me after rereading a聽Journal of Education for Business聽article, which contains a list of recommended practices for learning-centered classes. The ideas shared in the article are related to, but not the same as, my list here.
References:
Farias, G., Farias, C. M., and Fairfield, K. D., (2010). Teacher as judge or partner: The dilemma of grades versus learning.聽Journal of Education for Business, 85,聽336-342.