Generally my
research interests are sociologically based, and I like to look at how
communities act over long periods of time without manipulating any variables. I
would be interested in learning about how high students who are removed from
regular classes due to behaviour would react to a different way of being
graded. The experiment would require the teachers to have non-judgemental one
on one conversations with the students about the work they hand in instead of
offering formal letter grades. The only feedback that these students would get
would be these conversations, but the work would be separately graded by
another teacher. I would want to see if the performance of these students
improves over time (the dependent variable). The independent variable would be
the method of giving these students feedback. I wouldn’t place any controls on
the experiment. A control group might be ideal, but might create some ethical
problems, and these students might also influence each other when discussing
the feedback they receive.
Cool study, Margot! Interestingly enough, I have heard of many teachers who do not believe that a grading scale is appropriate for assessing (most) students (not just students with behavioural problems). The argument is basically formative vs. summative assessment, or process vs. product. Formative assessment is based on more observations from day-to-day assignments, summaries of what they have learned in their lecture, etc. It looks at how students improve over time (process) which differs from summative assessment which only looks at how much a student has learned, for example, at the end of a unit (product). The problem with summative assessment for many students is that studying and written tests (which are usually how summative assessments are completed) stress students out and may not be the best way to assess them according to their learning style. There are also people who say that having a mix of both formative AND summative assessment of students in classrooms is the best option, such as the small section found on this website: http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/howto/basics/formative-summative.html
ReplyDeleteI think your idea for this study is great because it aligns with the formative vs. summative debate!
This is a very interesting proposal, Lafrance. I'd always wondered whether a more intimate one-on-one approach would have a better effect than receiving a report card. This could possibly improve upon and foster a more open relationship and line of communication between student and teacher, which would be very positive for academic performance in the long run. I for one, sometimes found it difficult to talk to some high school teachers because of the (I feel) cold, impersonal approach to assessing a class which was probably adopted to account for the number of students.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really cool idea! Undoubtedly more research needs to be done around pedagogy in relation to different learning styles and different behaviour needs. In this case, it would definitely be interesting to see what role grades play in students' behaviour and performance.
ReplyDelete