Problem in edu is that we don’t have outcome Based courses
Why do kids get papers back, look for the grade, then toss them?
One of the main challenges we face is that assignments and assessments are meaningless.
We don’t have enough outcome-based lessons, units, and courses.
Outcome-based means they have an product rather than just an assessment at the end of it.
What are those outcomes? Something where you produce something of value as a result of participation. A grade ain’t it.
It doesn’t have to be a huge outcome, but it should be something that matters. And sure, it can have a grade with it, too.
Early in my principal career, a veteran first grade teacher used the same lesson she had used for almost 30 years, something to do with frogs. It took weeks. It seemed totally pointless, but I realize now what she was getting at:
She was helping the students create a piece of artwork that was good enough that they would want to display it on the walls of the school and then take it home and display it there.
In my youthful ignorance, I did not see the value in what she was doing.
In my youthful arrogance, I deigned to say that she should stop doing that lesson because it didn’t align with what our current standards were.
I missed the point completely. That frog art activity was valuable because not only did the kids learn important skills, but they also created something of value as a part of the classwork.
All too often, kids turn in assignments that only the teacher sees. It’s no wonder they only look for a grade and throw it away when it is handed back to them, because it didn’t have meaning.
If it’s only for the teacher, it probably isn’t meaningful to the students.
One simple way I started doing this as a teacher was having my students blog on the internet in the early 2000’s. This gave them a real audience to read their writing and give feedback.
What are some excellent and simple outcomes you have seen?
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