"Gimmie an A" A few years ago (about 25), I made the observation that my personal undergraduate efforts were geared around doing those things required by the instructor to get a good grade. On the surface this seems like what a good student should do. In my case it wasn't so good and I suspect it isn't so good for many others either. Let me explain.
I had been conditioned from early years in school to seek out opportunities to get better grades. My elementary school made a big deal of being on the honor roll. My parents made a big deal about making A's. Several of my high school classmates would bug our teachers for opportunities to make bonus points to try to improve our grades. This was the stuff that schools were all about--performing well for grades. As a young freshman away at college, I was afraid not to study to get good grades. Like some of my fellow freshmen, I focused on what the instructor said would give me the best chance to get an "A". If the assignment was to read chapters 3 and 4, I read chapters 3 and 4. If we were told to look up five articles in the library, I looked up five articles. If the assignment was to memorize names and dates, I complied in order to get a grade. I don't ever remember asking whether the assignment was important, just was it important for a grade.
My first graduate school effort was a psychology class which wasn't going very well. I couldn't get myself into the flow of things. I was bored. The class met in the evenings once a week after I had taught a class of students all day. I can almost remember the exact moment when I asked myself a question which shaped my entire graduate school efforts from that point on. The question went something like this…"Why am I in this class?" The quick response I gave myself was I wanted to get another degree and someone had decided that a course in psychology was required. I remember reflecting even more on the question with several additional questions. "What is the value of the course to me?" and "Does it really matter if I make an A, B, or C?" (Remember I was a little bored?) I already had a job and nobody had asked me to disclose my GPA. In fact, I have never had to disclose my GPA to anyone for anything! I wasn't on a scholarship program that depended on maintaining a specific set of grades. Do you even remember your GPA?
As the instructor lectured on to the 35 or so students in the class, I looked around at my classmates taking notes. The question "Why were they taking notes?" was answered with "…so they can make a good grade." I saw myself for the first time as a "grade-seeking" graduate student. I did a quick fast forward to the end of the course when I would sell my expensive book and "flush" my brain of all facts I had memorized in order to make room for the set of facts required for the next course. Suddenly, the curtain dropped on the stupidity of what I was doing and I had an original idea concerning my graduate program. I resolved not to do anything anymore just for a grade! I would focus on the learning of useful ideas and let the grades fall where they may. I think I remember the excitement I felt going to the next psychology class. For about three sessions or 12 hours of class we had all taken notes. Whatever the instructor said, we just wrote down. After ten minutes into the class, I decided enough was enough and raised my hand to ask a question. This may not seem like much, but it was the first attempt by any student to speak since the beginning of the term. I asked for a clarification of the last point. The class shuffled somewhat at the break in the routine. The instructor was slightly annoyed, but attempted to further explain his idea. Later in the lecture I asked 4-5 more questions and set a pattern (for me) of trying to get the instructor to abandon his notes (did I mention he was reading them to us?) and share his vast knowledge about psychology. I reasoned that just like a product I purchased in a store, I wanted to get my money's worth. If I memorized things and flushed them, where was my tuition money going? I was determined to get something permanent from the course. If the instructor was not inclined to put forth the effort to inspire me to learn something useful, I would give him a little help.
The questions I continually posed and his responses turned the trick. Not only was I sufficiently motivated to read the homework assignments, but also found the additional readings I was able to get from the instructor to be equally interesting. At the conclusion of the class, I had completely changed my study habits from working for an "A" to working for knowledge and information. I had risked the consequences of failing to memorize a single fact. Studying and investigating the way I now did resulted in many (not all) of the facts belonging to me. As far as I was concerned, I had a path in graduate school, which guided me to the end of the last degree. I have yet to memorize a single idea for any course to this day. I gained the confidence in myself to determine if the assignments were interesting or too insignificant to be worth the time. Most of my instructors were agreeable to alternative assignments after we talked. Some were not and I didn't do them. Sometimes my "grades" suffered. I found the act of assuming responsibility for my own education to be a heavy load. It is much easier to lean on the expertise of the instructor to decide what is important.
Fast forward to today.I have been teaching graduate classes in mathematics, statistics, and technology for twenty+ years. I have taught both educators and non-educators during that time. Although my sample is small, 400 - 500 students, I think I can make a tentative generalization to the two groups. Without any question, the educator-types are more driven by behaviors that lead to good grades. It is a rare class of educators that doesn't have at least one person ask "is this needed for a grade?" in one form or another. The behavior may be attributed to the fact that we educators give grades to students, so we put so much stock in the value of a grade. For whatever reason, educators are highly motivated to make a good grade.
Over the years I probably have frustrated many educator-types with a lack of clarity on the specifics of what constitutes "A" work in my courses. A required research project usually is accompanied with the question of how many pages are needed or how many footnotes or references are the minimum. Often I have wondered what the results a similar question might evoke if asked by the students of the teacher asking me!
Occasionally I have had a few students suggest an alternative to my assignments that have turned out better for those students. Usually the energy and effort is better. The creativity generated by getting the student involved in selecting his own educational path is much higher than when I make a specific assignment that fails to capture the imagination of the individual student. A few get caught up in the process of learning. Most still have one eye on my gradebook. While I understand and agree with the responsibility of the evaluation process, often it has seemed to limit rather than elevate the actual learning.
I have discussed the strategy of choosing to not work for a grade with some of my students and fellow educators. Some have responded with comments about the courage such a decision requires. Others think the entire idea is foolish and could undermine the foundations of education. Perhaps chasing grades rather than chasing learning is a desirable behavior for you. Perhaps I just have a quirky personality, but the opposite seemed to work for me.
This process of education is a funny thing. Most of my fellow educators subscribe to the concept of "life-long" learning. I often wonder if our approach to giving grades helps in the process of obtaining a quality education or does it sometimes get in the way. It makes one pause and think and thinking is good!