It should be an incentive for students to show a little extra of what they learned.
Nicole,
Clear instructions about when, how, and other criteria are important with an assignment like this. I've had students make accusations implying being unfair, and good students who do all their work can be offended when too much leniency is given, so I tread softy with EC.
Barry Westling
I like to offer extra credit assignments once per class. It is graded with a rubric just like all of my other assignments, and it is outlined on the syllabus with the other assignments, so the students know about it well in advance. The purpose it serves is to help those students who have been seriously trying, but may have made a seemingly small mistake in the semester that hurt them. These extra credit assignments are not of huge point value, so it is not like you could walk in with an F and then receive an A. It's to help those who are sitting at a C+ reach the B.
Peter,
I agree with this sentiment. Rewarding slacker students by giving them extra points conveys the wrong message about what our structured learning is all about. Also, it is difficult to fairly determine define those that deserve and those that do not deserve EC. For me, grade adjustments are minimal, and are applied the same way for all students.
Barry Westling
The role extra credit should have in final grades is minimal. Being able to raise their grades a point or two should be a maximum. It is quite easy to have over 600 cumulative points in a semester. Mathematically it would be hard to raise a grade by a whole letter grade. Extra credit should be reserved for the students that are going the extra mile to learn, not for slackers who neglected to do work throughout the semester and now want to raise their grades significantly in only a few days.
david,
Many students will opt to take the easy way if given the chance. Extra credit in lieu of failed or missing coursework may raise a grade some, but does little to improve learning (in many cases).
Barry Westling
I find they all too often will take extra credit instead of the coursework.
Namisha,
EC does influence grades, and points earned may help struggling students achieve a passing score. Although we want our students to be successful, too much adjustment becomes only about points and grades, and no longer about learning, which of course is what we are striving for. Also, students who don't need or want EC may feel it's unfair.
Barry Westling
Extra credit can influence the grade if a student has a failing grade, want to ensure student that extra credit is available and let student know that we are here to help the student progress and awarding student for perserverance.
Aretha,
I think extra credit is a great tool to affect grades, but doesn't do much for learning. But in some settings, EC may be perfectly satisfactory.
Barry Westling
I think extra credit should be provided for students who are diligently working in the course but for some reason the material is not coming together.
aRetha
Sonia,
Every instructor and institution has to decide what works best for their students. In some classes, extra credit may be an appropriate motivator.
Barry Westling
I like rewarding students with extra credit as a motivator. Exams can be tedious and in some cases students know the material but score low on exams due to test taking techniques and stress. Depending on how involved the student was in class, I decide how much (if any) extra credit will be awarded.
Namisha,
Right. If we want to provide and measure learning, extra credit can skew those results.
Barry Westling
Namisha,
I'm not fond of extra credit, but recognize some instructors choose to award some. I feel it usually does not contribute to learning, but helps raise poor grades. Maybe that's OK in some classes.
Barry Westling
Extra credit should be awarded in projects. Extra credit sometimes are not good ,cause students know and would not do well,if they are certain"oh I am going to get extra credit".
Students should understand the learning abilities is not about extrra credit.
To achieve their goal they need to know its not about extra credit or they will not put forth en effort to strive for excellence.
Donald,
The ability to demonstrate learning in individual and creative ways is a great concept. I'm not sure doing it by extra credit would be the best category anyway. I'm sure you would want all students to participate -- why not look for a category that already exists for an assignment, such as "applied learning assignment", or something similar, that all students could do, and it would part of the required graded assignments? Just an idea.
Barry Westling
I would like to implement extra credit but given the college grading system difficult to introduce. The purpose would be to allow students to express strengths not captured by other testing methods.
Mickey,
My opinion is no extra credit assignments (that are worth points that contribute to a grade). In the past I have provided that opportunity, but I outlined the criteria in my syllabus on day one. All had the same opportunity to participate (to assure fairness), and the total points that could be earned was very small. Even then, students with borderline grades wanted more. So I just choose not to give it.
Barry Westling
