Oct. 19 entrance slip): Reading on marks in math or physics (Boaler or Sarte et al paper)

Entrance Slip - What do marks do in school?

Oct 19, 2017 

I really enjoyed this article because the authors raising questions about the grading system. According to my perspective grading criteria is not only one thing that you could assess the students. Another thing native grading sometimes creates a negative effect on students which sometimes lead to the mental health problems. Negative grading also daunts the students towards the career. 

We found several articles related to motivation and the impact of rewards on motivation and not support the learning criteria. Students sometimes lose their self-efficacy by negative grading Self-efficacy is a more specific form of confidence. Increasing self-efficacy in students results in the perseverance and resiliency power towards their career. I am strongly agreeing with Kohn finding of the grading. They are interested in shifting the focus away from grading and towards learning. This interest raised a number of questions in our minds. What motivates students to work well in school? Are they motivated to learn or only to achieve certain grades? What are the effects of grades on motivation? Are grades punishments or rewards? How can teachers promote student motivation? How do intrinsic and extrinsic motivators affect learning? 

I would like to share my experience. I was very weak and troublemaking student in high school. My teacher graded me and it was not even passed marks. I underwent long drawn depression. The negative marks decreased my motivation level and I decided not to take math in future. Nobody motivated me towards the math. I was also thinking kind of punishment in my life and that affects my mental health causing increase anxiety.  

The outcome may result is a decrease in learning. Similarly, according to Butler, grades tend to focus students on their performance relative to others, rather than on the task itself. When marks are removed, students are able to value the task itself and gain satisfaction by demonstrating their competence in completing an activity. Therefore, as a teacher, it is very important to not to give a negative grade based on their formative assessment but also look summative assessment, their participation, interaction etc. 

Finally, I want to say If teachers avoid using grading as an extrinsic motivator and focus on engaging the students in learning, they will promote intrinsic motivation in students and improve their feelings of success in the course.

Thank you have a happy reading!!!

Sadhana