Wonderful post, Emily. I agree, we need to find more nuance in exploring positive examples of friction in the learning process and how this impacts alternative grading.
I've been a student at an ungraded school, and it worked well for me. We received written evaluations, which were written more as suggestions for improvement than final judgments. What we did well was equally acknowledged. I also taught at a learning center without grades. The approach for the high schoolers was to give them a pass or a do-over. There were no fails. Knowing that they would have to do things over until they got it right seemed to lead all the students to trying their best.
I agree with you about a healthy amount of friction. It seems that prior to entering school with its grades and tests, preschoolers are able to challenge themselves to just the right level, given the appropriate environment to explore. I wonder how that would be best replicated in an alternative setting for elementary students.
Thanks for this--love to hear from folks who thrived in gradeless environments. And if I could choose, I would replace final grades for my students with short narrative evaluations. I will admit to being entirely clueless about teaching in the elementary school context!
Helpful friction or productive struggle are necessary for learning. The goal is to normalize cognitive dissonance for students so that they see that yes, they will think and work and struggle, but they will be successful.
Wonderful post, Emily. I agree, we need to find more nuance in exploring positive examples of friction in the learning process and how this impacts alternative grading.
I've been a student at an ungraded school, and it worked well for me. We received written evaluations, which were written more as suggestions for improvement than final judgments. What we did well was equally acknowledged. I also taught at a learning center without grades. The approach for the high schoolers was to give them a pass or a do-over. There were no fails. Knowing that they would have to do things over until they got it right seemed to lead all the students to trying their best.
I agree with you about a healthy amount of friction. It seems that prior to entering school with its grades and tests, preschoolers are able to challenge themselves to just the right level, given the appropriate environment to explore. I wonder how that would be best replicated in an alternative setting for elementary students.
Thanks for this--love to hear from folks who thrived in gradeless environments. And if I could choose, I would replace final grades for my students with short narrative evaluations. I will admit to being entirely clueless about teaching in the elementary school context!
Helpful friction or productive struggle are necessary for learning. The goal is to normalize cognitive dissonance for students so that they see that yes, they will think and work and struggle, but they will be successful.
Thanks--I love this idea of "normalizing cognitive dissonance"!