Every Student Wants An A: Will They Work For It? Valerie Ooka PangAndrea Saltzman-Martin

Not Always!

Should Students Get An A for Attending Class? Why is that a common belief in some classes?How can we change student attitudes?How can we change professor attitudes?

Do you want to put the responsibility for grades on students?Grades are about student choice and not professors.

Student Entitlement

“Have It Your Way!”

“We don’t make it,, til you order it.”

“That was easy.”

Some Students Do Not Want To Study or Know Their Chosen FieldHard to Motivate Without Direction

Low Expectations of ProfessorsAn example of homework for a week-Asks for a 200 word response of BB in which students must only identify facts from a reading rather than examine and describe relationships such as cause and effect.

Class Gets Reputation for Being An Easy “A”

Reinforces that everyone can easily get an “A” for not doing much work.

Large Class Size Prevents Professors From Getting To Know Individual StudentsMaybe lack of relationships among students and professor.

Contract Class: Placing Responsibility of Grade on StudentsStudents may not like it, but they do understand more fully why they may not have earned an “A” or “B.”

Strategies

Clear High Expectations.If you work hard, you expect your students to work hard too.

Clear SyllabusIdentified Course Objectives

Course Assignments Including Description and Assessment (Rubric or Assignment Criteria)

RubricCriteria Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Score

Identification of teacher/lesson’s rationale/Philosophicalorientation    

IncompleteIdentifies how prejudice threatens basic national values of equality, democracy, humanity, civil rights

SatisfactoryIdentifies how prejudice can damage the ethnic and self-esteem of students and how these actions are in opposition to national values of respect and equality.

CompetentSees name calling/bullying as part of a larger issue of discrimination and how institutions and communities can be involved in making changes to address the issue. Initially teachers has students examine the impact of name calling/bullying on…

ExemplarySees name calling/bullying as being in opposition to national values of social justice, equality, compassion, and respect and how students, teachers, and administrators have an ethical responsibility to address the underlying prejudices.

 

TPE 1Specific Pedagogical Skillls for Subject Matter Instruction or other standards from national organizations, local school mission, ELD standards, etc. 

InsufficientHas not reviewed federal, state-adopted curriculum standards, school mission, district standards for student behaviors, national organization standards.

MinimalHas identified only surface aspect of name-calling/bullying and how the unit addresses specific subject matter standards.

SatisfactoryHas identified a more comprehensive state adopted standards and school mission and begins to identify concepts, terms, real-world issIues, and skills needed.

CommendableHas developed a comprehensive plan based upon a series of state-adopted standards, school mission, and national behavioral and student professional standards that tie in closely with instructional objectives, concept development, analytical skill development, …s

 

Assignment Criteria

Criteria for Assignment on Malcolm X (reviwed as exceptional and comprehensive responses, strong responses, minimal information provided)

How well written are the responses? Are answers clear and well documented?Has the student actually read the text? Is the evidence given clear and logical? (25%)

Has the student carefully reviewed her/his viewpoints and attitudes of Malcolm X? (25%)

Has the student provided evidence and thoughtful analysis of the text and Malcolm X’s life? (25%)

Has the student explained how Malcolm’s values can be seen in his behaviors and how he lived his life? (25%) 

 

GradingGrading-This is a contract class. If you attend class, complete the readings and assignments, participate in class discussions, pass the final, participate in all of the discussion boards, write consistently in your personal journal, pass the quizzes as indicated below, you will receive a B. For an A, A-, or B+, you must complete the Final Project and demonstrate high quality in its development. The project also includes making a presentation of your unit. I encourage every student to complete the ESA and accompanying presentation on June 30th. This is an optional assignment. The ESA must be uploaded on Blackboard by June 28th, 9 pm, so that it can be graded by the end of the session. No exceptions. In order to earn an A, A-, or B+, you must have completed the ESA on time and gave the ESA presentation in class.  

Class StandardsA = Significantly exceeds standards for a 400 level

class. For example, written material is of publishable quality. Presentation of written material is professional with consistent margins, type face, and well-formatted bibliographies and footnotes. Print is unquestionably legible and cleanly presented. Cover is well formatted and interestingly designed. Content shows originality, depth of thought, and critical thinking. The ESA and Powerpoint presentation must be completed with high quality along with all assignments listed under standards for a B grade. Quizzes are passed with 90% accuracy. Attended and participated in all mandatory classes

Standards: BExceeds minimal standards for a 400 level course but not the level of an “A.” Content may recapitulate thoughts of others, but is not particularly original nor critical in its approach. Mechanics are in place and the writing flows well and the thoughts make sense. All assignments must be completed as listed in the Course Activities section which includes the group project, discussion boards, quizzes, exams, group presentation, personal journal, participation, and charts. In addition, the professor will assign participation points. Quizzes are passed with 80% accuracy. An average will be used to gauge peer reviews. A person who does not participate in the group project and that person receives no credit for the assignment, their grade can be dropped a half a grade. Attended and participated in all mandatory classes.

Standards: C & DC= Meets minimal standards for a 400 level course. You have completed the assignment, but there are errors in the mechanics, required sections may be somewhat weak or nonexistent, the flow is logical but not consistently so. All assignments must be completed for a C, however the quality of these are of minimal standards. In addition, the professor will assign participation points. Quizzes are passed with 70% accuracy. An average will be used to gauge peer reviews. A person who does not participate in the group project and that person receives no credit for the assignment, their grade can be dropped a half a grade. Attended and participated in only 70% of the mandatory classes.D=Does not meet minimal standards for a 400 level course as stated above for Standard C because assignments were not completed and/or turned in. In addition, the professor will assign participation points. Quizzes are passed with 60% accuracy. A person did not participate in the group project. Did not attend or participate in 60% of the mandatory classes.

Final Project-OptionalAssignment 3-ESA-Optional, (Individual assignment for those seeking an A, A-, or B+ grade), Uploaded by June 28th at 9 pm with all handouts and comprehensive unit. No Exceptions. Present a 3 minute Powerpoint speech on June 30th. Embedded Signature Assignment (ESA), Name Calling/Bullying. This is a comprehensive outcome measure. It will be used to assess your subject area knowledge of multicultural education and ability to plan an instructional unit that integrates this knowledge into your curriculum and instruction. The College of Education has asked that this assignment be used to assess your abilities and knowledge. Please take this assignment very seriously.

Follow the carefully developed format that is presented in the ESA. The complete directions can be found on blackboard under assignments. The format is for the development of an instructional unit. The elements identified are needed to develop a comprehensive unit. Also remember to include ways to do the following:Build on prior knowledge of students,Chunk information so students can better learn important concepts;Use culturally relevant examples and content; Use multiple pathways of instruction; andDo Not Plagiarize. It is easy to Cite the original source. Even when you paraphrase, use citations. Be sure to specifically identify the standards that are guiding your unit and reference which standards they are taken from whether district, national organization, school, etc. Also develop a short presentation of not more than 3 minutes organized using Powerpoint to explain the highlights of your unit to your peers.

Remind Students From 1st Day: Contract ClassThe Grade Choice is the Students’

To earn an A, A-, or B+, students must complete the final, comprehensive project.

Hurray!!!

The student choosestheir grade.

It is not about the professor.

Thank You!The powerpoint will be available on the websiteValerie Ooka Pang and Andrea Saltzman-MartinAcknowledgements-Larry, Stephen, Cynthia