Wk 2 - Comments to Tiffany Scanlan

Tiffany's post:
What stuck me the most from this week's reading was the idea of giving an A to create a positive learning environment from the start. I plan on using this approach when I have my own classroom and have to use grades again. I noticed many of the students I worked with last year we overly concerned with getting an A in my class (Art) and were not willing to experiment or play with techniques. They wanted to know exactly what they were supposed to do, what it was supposed to look like and how they could get the best grade. It took them a little while to adjust to me repeatedly telling them to try things out and see what happens. They also wanted my feedback instantly when showing me a project, asking if they were done. I would simply reply, "Is that the best you can do? Are YOU happy with what you made?". Many times the students would go back and work on the project a little more; I think this was the first time a teacher had asked them if they were happy with what they made. I think if I had started out using the idea from the book, the students would have been more relaxed from the start and more willing to try out ideas. The one question that I still have about the giving an A process is what happens to the students that do nothing because they already have an A? What are the criteria for keeping the A and how do you motivate these students to want to keep the grade?
My comments:
This was a very interesting concept that I had a hard time with.  Yes, I understand the confidence boost it can give and that essentially that really this is where we are all starting from when you think about it.  But as a chemistry teacher, I'm not sure how I could implement this strategy successfully since my course very objective instead of subjective like some other courses.  This is one of those topics that will be something that I will need to put on the shelf for a little while and then bring it back down to think about some more before I decide to use this strategy.