Exit Slip (Oct 14)

 The aspects of the lecture that resonated with me the most were the videos that we watched. I thought that Jo Boaler and Alfie Kohn did a spect3acular job at articulating their thoughts to the intended audience. I especially loved Kohn’s discussion on how the abolition of grades would be extremely beneficial to the authentic learning of students. I certainly agree that grades can have a huge negative effect on students and their mental wellbeing. In my experience, I focused a lot on grades and trying to achieve A’s on all my tests, quizzes, and assignments. Reflecting back on this, I certainly focused on getting high marks to feel good about myself, and not genuinely learning the content of the classes. I did not strive for academic greatness for the appropriate reasons. I do not think that I learned genuinely and wanted to learn for the correct reasons. As I think deeper, did I only study hard and complete assignments to fulfill a checklist? Why did I put so much effort into getting high grades? Did I really enjoy what I was learning, and did I want to learn the content? I think that the shift of the “new” curriculum to a rubric-based system for assessment is an essential beginning to a more productive education experience for the next generation.

However, the complete elimination of grades is not the most optimal solution. I love the ideas that Kohn talks about in the video: authentic teaching/learning, less stress about grades, coercion of marks as a way to control students. Unfortunately, I think that educational institutions need to have some sort of assessment for students. I like how he was saying that the best teachers try to make students forget about grades and how students can self-assess themselves. I certainly agree that rubric-based assessment, or standard-based assessment, is one of the best ways to accurately assess learners. Using this methodology, educators are able to accommodate and be flexible in their lessons and evaluations.