How to Help Students Take Ownership of Their Work
When I first started teaching I would dread the end of each marking period. Suddenly student after student would be asking for extra credit and wanting to know why I gave them a ” C”. Then reports cards would go home, and I’d receive angry parent emails wondering how in the world their child got a “c” in art class.
While I’m sure that there were only a few emails, the weight of those emails felt like 100’s. They added unwanted work and stress to an already busy time of the year. I wanted to be spending time with my husband, creating art of my own, and writing new lesson plans, and I’m sure that you feel the same way.
I knew that there had to be a better way, and it turns out there is.
I’m a firm believer that whenever you’re feeling frustrated with your students, it’s important to pause, reflect, and think about what role you play.
Here’s what I mean. If parents keep seeming surprised by their student’s grade. And/or if students continue to blame you for their low grade, that means that you need to try something new, otherwise the same frustrating thing is going to happen over and over again.
Since I believe that it’s important for students to take responsibility for the grades that they earn, and I want them to know how to put in an improvement plan in place, I realized that I needed to teach them how.
They’d spent years, saying why did YOU give me this low grade, without having people encourage them to rephase and ask, what can I do differently so that I don’t earn a low grade in the future?
Students are used to the teacher setting the due date and telling them what they should do when, making them unsure of what to do when they get off schedule and need to develop their own plan. Without practice, planning for success is hard.
Telling parents and guardians about grades during report card time is really too late, there often isn’t anything that can be done, which leaves everyone frustrated, leading to those angry emails and phone calls. Instead, have students reflect on their grades and progress halfway through the marking period, and two weeks before the end of the marking period. This sets everyone up for success, as there is time to reflect on what is going well, and develop a plan for improvement.
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