I’m suffering from competing values.
I want my pre-calc students to make as much mathematics as they can. When they solve a problem, I want their excitement to carry them into the next problem.
I also want them to practice getting their ideas down on paper, with correct spelling and grammar. They are seniors, and their great ideas won’t get them very far if they can’t express them cogently. Their professors and employers will take incomplete, ungrammatical, mis-spelled, mis-punctuated, mis-capitalized sentences as evidence of ignorance.
The rules in class are that grades will be based only on finished papers. Finished means (among other things) a sensible problem statement, explanation and conclusion, with no grammar or spelling errors. (I secretly allow one error per paper.) I give lots of feedback on every draft, but no credit for unfinished work. Result: as the term ends, the relaxed pursuit of new problems has given way to a grumbling, resentful process of revision after revision. “We already have to do this in English and History. We understand having to write it up once, but why do we have to make perfect drafts? This is math class, not writing class!” They’re stressed: students with ten papers in progress have no credit yet. And I sympathize. I remember this from grad school. The fun part was figuring out the solution and a neat way to explain it. The long, boring, maddening part was the subsequent rounds of reviews, revisons revisions, rewriting.
So why am I doing this? I guess because my experience is that everything I start teaches me something, but only the things I finish move my life forward.
Is that the most important lesson at this stage of their lives? If it is, am I teaching it the right way? Turning a fun class into a tedious chore seems like a bad idea. But letting them skip off to college in the habit of turning in papers that would embarrass many 7th graders seems like a bad idea too.
Maybe I should ask them.
In the meantime, if you find any errors in this post, please let me know.
I see no errors in your post, but I do have some thoughts.
1) What if students had to finish one paper before they moved onto the next? That would mean that you’d have to turn back all drafts the next day, so that students would have something to work on the day after they turn in a draft – so if that’s too much grading for you every night, maybe set a limit of two papers at a time? It would save them from dealing with the “10 papers in progress but no credit for the term” issue. It may also be a good way to teach that “only the things [you] finish move [your] life forward.”
2) Setting periodic deadlines for finished papers could also incentivize them to get drafts done, rather than leaving all the revisions for the last week of term….and push students to produce more than one or two papers per term.
3) It might be nice to give them credit for something besides finished papers – maybe have a kind of presentation grade, like you do with the AP Calc classes? A solved problem is a ticket to present, and you have to give a certain number of presentations throughout the term? It could be a good incentive to finish more drafts so they can move on and do another presentation…also, they should learn to express their ideas orally as well as in writing.
I’m not sure how many of these are feasible in practice, but I thought I’d share anyway. Send my best to everyone!
Anna
@Anna: Great thoughts. Some kind of balance is needed, for sure. I’ll raise these with both classes and let you know what we come up with!
At the end of paragraph 4, you’ve misspelled ‘revisions’.
You were serious about finding errors, right?
Yep! Thanks!
I am going to give your statement that only the things you finish move your life forward some thought. Will thinking about it move my life forward, or must I reach some conclusion about it first? I have an artist friend (http://www.thomdougherty.com) who used to tell me the greatest frustration for him was that during the time it took to complete a piece, many new ideas would come to mind with no time to pursue them.
On the other hand, there are students (I have one now) who will attempt to negotiate the grade they want by arguing that their errors are minor, and “you know I get this concept” is a constant refrain. I teach all the college prep math in my small high school, and I see much of the development within a course and from one course to the next as developing the ability to manage more and more detail accurately. If they want the A at the end of the term, understanding the general idea is necessary but insufficient.
> I see much of the development within a course and from one course to the next as developing the ability to manage more and more detail accurately.
Wow. That’s one of the first really helpful statements I’ve come across regarding vertical planning for process. Thanks!
Let me know if you reach any life-advancing conclusions!