Extra credit for students
I show students that I am paying attention by giving extra credit to students who have been excellent in front of the class and this has encouraged other students to work harder. On the flip side... there have been times when a student has approached me and said it was unfair because they were going to personal issues. But I managed to build a relationship with those students who opened up.
extra credit makes the student feel special and recognised. I would make the students earn extra credit in groups. this would make them team build as well.
I use extra credit. I tell my students if they do not volunteer then I have the option of selecting anyone. I would prefer volunteers. I use "Who wants to be a millionaire" options such as asking the class, ask the expert who is the instructor and call upon someone in the class to help you.
Sometimes, I get students who state that they are shy or have not looked at the problem. I say mistakes are great learning tools.
I think extra credit is an excellent tool. I use it to encourage students to focus in areas that I believe are more important to understand. The student is rewarded for building a more knowledgeable foundation especially in a progressive and challenging subject area.
I give out extra credit assignments to whomever wishes to take them. I don't like to single people out for verbal extra credit because this will soon degenerate into a situation where the same confident students are the ones constantly applying for the chance over and over, further increasing the learning and scoring gaps between them and the reluctant learners.
I often feel that extra credit could be seen as an issue for school accreditation. Students should be able to complete the coursework without requiring any extra credit.
I don't typically offer extra credit opportunities. Instead, I will let the students choose one project to revise from the term. They must submit the first version (with my markings) and their revised version for comparison.
This has worked fairly well. The students tend to do well on the revision and learn to look at their work critically - as well as improve their proofreading skills.
If the student is focised on the task at hand, there should be no reasion for extra credit. All this leads to is students will not do the required work and at the last minite do just enough to pass the class.
Jennifer, I sometimes offer the same opportunity that you do so students can bring their grade up and provide examples of where they were at the beginning and to show how far they advanced over the course of the term. I select or allow them to choose one of the earlier assignments and increase the requirements to incorporate concepts covered throughout the term. I rarely have students take advantage of the extra credit because the extra credit assignments are more rigorous than the original assingment. However, the students usually come away with a better attitude and thank me for offering the assignment so that they could at least have the opportunity to change their grade.
I give extra credit assignments to all students. I understand your reasoning of encouraging students to excell in front of others. But perception is everything and in this case students that are not offered extra credit (especially those that NEED the extra points) may feel the situation is unfair. You cannot offer to one student (or type of student) what you are not offering to all the rest of the class. I do try to remember the type of student I am teaching to. I work at a vocational college and I need to constantly be mindful of the backgrounds my students come from and the obstacles they face on a regular basis. I try to offer extra credit assignments that also have relevance to homework or upcoming quizzes (i.e. I will offer ec for writing "standards" with their weekly term words. They get the extra points, plus are studying for their terminology quiz at the end of the week. Killng two birds with one stone so to speak).
Hi Jeanna,
This is a very good and balanced approach to offering extra credit. I commend you for the way you have developed this method. It is a good way to encourage some extra effort for learner that are being challenged at certain times in the course.
Gary
I am not a fan of extra credit. I also believe that students should be able to complete the coursework without relying on extra credit. I know that some students have blown off assignments early in the term because they were under the impression that they could gain some points by extra credit. I don't think that is fair to those students who consistently complete their work.
Hi Heather,
Extra credit needs to be thought out very carefully for just the reasons you outlined. It should never be allowed to be used as a make up effort for neglected work. Thanks for sharing your perspective on this.
Gary
I think part of the key is in how much extra credit you make available. It certainly should never be enough to make up an entire assignment grade. And it shouldn't even be made available to a group of students who've not put effort into the class.
As a rule of thumb, I only offer the class extra credit when it's clear to me that the majority of the class has given a solid effort, or if a particular project requires them to go above and beyond. For example, back when I taught photography, I would frequently give extra credit to students for attending and photographing events outside of class time, or for participating in photography competitions. Even then, it was usually only in the realm of 25% of an assignment grade, often less.
Steven,
Extra credit is always a topic that generates discussion. Your approach is a good one because it is based upon personal effort and interest. The other side of the extra credit is the fact that you limit the amount of extra credit that can be earned so there is a balance to how you incorporate it into your total grading scheme.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
