Extra Credit
You have to make sure that it is offered to every student and not just the students with low test scores.
I love the idea of asking the question "what have you learned that you were not tested on?". This will also open up discussion in the class,
Hi Amy:
I think this is a great activity. I would not put it in extra credit, but somewhere else, say, in class participation, even quizzes or homework.
Another way is to put points in the test for this question, and award whatever is earned. Or asked, without assigning points is worth considering as well.
Regards, Barry
Hi Deborah:
I agree to be fair, all graded material has to foolow the same criteria and certainly offered to all students.
But nobody says there has to be EC in the first place. If the course objectives are well written and the teacher does a good job of teaching and meeting those objectives, EC should not be needed.
Regards, Barry
I have always founfd that extra credit is usually done by the students who don't need it. I
You are so right. Usually the students who are getting good grades want higher grades. Many times the students who are doing poorly will not want to put much effort into advancing. Some are satisfied with just passsing.
That makes sense because if the course outline and assignments are set up right then there is no need for EC. There are students that may look to turn in extra work.That extra work could be added in the class participation category.Some students expect a chance for extra credit points to offset an absance or low test score.In order to make up their grade they should have the chance to turn in missed assignments with a percentage to be deducted automatically.If the student was absent for emegency reasons then they could be able to turn in that work for full credit.
Hi Steven:
In principle, there's nothing wrong with EC. I believe there should not be a grade or points for it. If a student wants to do more than expected, that initiative is reward enough. If it's worhwhile,then all students should be required to do the activity, and al should be graded the same.
Regards, Barry
Hi Deborah:
In many professions, just passing is almost the same as failing (medical, engineering, accounting) because the consequences of errors can be hamful to people. That's why many schools have policies against awarding EC in the first place.
Regards, Barry
Hi Gilbert:
You've got a good point. I just try to relate the world of caeer training to the world of work. I think extra activity is great for demonstrating competency and learning; I just don't thing giving credit for it is consistent with learning; it's more aligned with awarding points. So, points vs learning?
All that said, EC is very controversial, no right or wrong (although many schools have policies preventing awarding EC), with differing opinions. These are mine.
Regards, Barry
I agree. Extra credit should be allowed for all students for the process to be fair.
Hi Marlene:
Extra credit can be a valuable tool to assist students who are close to the margin of passing, but not close enough.
One good practice is to let the students know at the start of the course what kinds of extra credit opportunities there will be, as well as how students can earn it.
Regards, Barry
I agree with this. The students who could use don't usually want to do the extra work involed. They wouldn't need extra credit if they were willing to do the work in the first place.
Most of the time I feel extra credit should be reserved to those with extenuating circumstances.
But I also feel that it helps on a case by case bases to be fair to all.
Deborah,
Very true, to be fair, it has to be available for all, and I feel that defining the guidelines at the beginning of class is important in order to avoid being labeled "arbitrary" or "playing favorites".
Barry Westling
