Oct 19th Exit Slip

One of the questions we discussed in class today was "are marks accurate." Our group's discussion revolved around the fact that percentage marks are not accurate per se, but we still thought marks are necessary both for student motivation and for post-secondary institutions. If not percentage marks, then how do we grade then? We were discussing how we cannot differentiate an 80% student from an 81% student. That 1% different could be the result of one careless mistake or a small disceptancy in the marking. As a group, we decided that percentage marks are not accurate, but categorical marking might be a better way. By categorical marking, we were talking about proficiency rubrics. When we look at a percentage grade, sometimes it is hard for us teachers, and even the students and their parents to determine what that 81% means. However, if we use proficiency rubrics, teachers, students, and parents have a better grasp of what the student can improve on (i.e. student is in the developing category for substitution but in the extending category for elimination, so the student can work on solving systems using substituion).

For the second half of class, we watched a video by Alfie Kohn that highlighted the cooperative versus competitive nature of things. Personally, I thought that he was extremely biased towards everything being cooperative, as he only talked about the pros of a cooperative system and the cons of a competitive system. As a competitive individual myself, I enjoy the competitive aspect of things, like sports and games. Competitiveness drives me to be better and allows me to have something to look forward to, not to mention the adrenaline rush in an intense and close competition. I acknowledge that there are cons to the competitive aspect to things and some truth to Alfie's main arguments, but I felt like his perspective was very utopistic. Competition is a motivator for many, including myself. All in all, I believe that there are some grey areas that can incoorperate both competition and coorperation, like team competitiion (team sports). They involve a group of individuals working toward a common goal, to beat the other team. It incooperates both teamwork and competition, which is my cup of tea. 

Sections 1 & 2 of the Database Search Plan for the Inquiry Project

Title: Students' Incentive to Cheat

My Question: Why do students cheat? (motives, incentives, educational practices)

Analysing my topic into concepts:

Student motivations and thoughts on cheating. 

External factors to consider (psychological, environmental, etc.)

Our education system and cheating prevention

Challenges in preventing cheating.

Grades as an incentive.

Oct 19th Entrance Slip - Option 2

In our society, marks have become a form of currency where students will get rewarded and punished with by giving or taking them away. So what do grades mean and what are they for? Grades should indicate the students' comprehension of a subject material. If a student receives an A, it means they are exceeding in their understanding of the material. A B would mean that the student is profficient in the material, a C meaning satisfactory/developing, and an F/D would mean that students have little understanding of the material and are still emerging.  That being said, giving a student a 0 on a test for getting caught cheating or helping someone cheat would mean that they have absolutely no understanding of the subject material. Is that really true though? And if not, how would we fairly deal with issues like cheating? Although that would be a discussion for another time (my inquiry project), I would like to mention that grades can have benefits as well. Grades can serve as a motivator for some students and allows for feedback, accountability, standardization, and preparation for the real world. It allows students to see their strengths and weaknesses and from there, choose a career path.

Personally, I would teach math and science outside of the context of school without giving grades. Learning should be fun. Students learn best when they are interested and should not be solely motivated by grades. There is nothing better than a student wanting to learn math out of pure interest. That students would learn a lot more than a student studying just to maintain their A. As Bill Gates put it, "curiosity is the best teacher." However, post-secondary institutions and parents both need a method of checking in on how students are doing, and grades are a standardized way to do so. It allows for a better juedgement of where students are in terms of the class content.

Sept 28 Exit Slip

In class, we discussed about gender in society. Our group talked about how in hgih school, gender segregation was not as evident in our classes, but when we went to university, it became much more obvious. For example, classes like computer science, physics, and math had a high guy to girl ratio and classes like English, marketing and Education had a high girl to guy ratio. We talked about why this may be the case and concluded that it is most likely due to the societal and peer pressures we are surrounded with. Our parents and peers have a set list of jobs only females can work as and another ones for males. Hence, it is hard and sometimes demotivating to go against the norm.

Taking this to an educational context, what can we do as teachers to break this societal norm? As teachers, it is our role to challenge stereotypes and make students think beyond the scope of the classroom to why things are the way they are. It is our job to encourage students to pursue their dreams and provide examples of successful individuals who pursued their dreams despite going against societal norms.

In class, we also discussed about the upcoming inquiry project. I chose the topic "Why students cheat?" I feel like this is a very interesting topic because I believe that students cheat mostly because our education systems are flawed. Our educational systems treat marks as some sort of currency and use it to both reward and punish students behavior. I want to research more into this topic and explore different ways we as educators can implement strategies to minimize cheating. What should educators do when students cheat? What has society told us about cheating? I will explore these questions more as I further research into the topic.