I have spent a good portion of the past two weeks responding to comments on a debate I started on the TED.com Conversations page called, "Isn't it time to eliminate grades in education?" Since narrative feedback over grades is such a huge part of the Results Only Learning Environment, I wanted to see what others thought about the subject. The response has been overwhelming.
The debate is closing in on 600 comments. The range of feedback is remarkable, and many countries are represented (this, of course, is emblematic of TED). Some people are completely supportive of the elimination of grades and of results-only learning, while others are completely convinced that education can't survive without numbers and letters.
Along the way, I've learned is that people all over the world are passionate about education. Some people have left 10 or more comments, even creating debates of their own within my TED conversation. It's also obvious that although many are in favor of some kind of reform movement, they are still nervous about it.
What surprises me is that an idea so simple is being so intensely debated. I sort of expected people to just sign in and say, "Yes, you're right. Let's eliminate grades."
Hopefully, this is the beginning of a legitimate movement.
More from this TED.com debate later.
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteWhen someone highly regarded says they are eliminating grades, people respond. For those who are against the idea, I would bet they spend much of their time grading, so that very idea would cause a response.
For those who spend much of their time focused on authentic learning, they are probably used to various assessments and have seen the results from self assessment.
Where do I stand? I like having multiple assessments, but don't pay too much stock in the summative. If you teach them how to think, then bubbling in an answer is easy-peasy-lemon-squeezey.
In order to pull off the type of classroom where students give themselves their own grades, then there is a huge amount of weight on that teacher as facilitator, knowing how to cater to students' strengths, engage them, tap into authentic learning... I think that is something we all could and should do; but sometimes wonder if everyone has that gift.
Do you think it's something that can be taught? Or is it just something that magical teachers intuitively "get?"
My other question I ponder is if this is just a discussion for the older grades, or are we talking our primary kids too?
I love the discussion. Thanks for causing us to think!
Kind regards,
Tracy Watanabe
Tracy, thanks for your insights on this. You sound like a ROLE teacher already. Maybe you'll consider committing to the Results Only Project linked above.
ReplyDeleteI think the ROLE is for all grade levels. You are right, to a degree, about teachers needing to understand how to tap into intrinsic motivation. I think it's fairly easy to learn, though.
Thanks for weighing in on this.
Hi Mark,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you said it can be taught. That's the response I give when I'm asked that question. I just have to remind people that it's a learning process for the teacher. It doesn't all happen at once, but steps over time.
Kind regards,
Tracy Watanabe