Hi Amina,
I am in agreement. EC affects points or grades, but does little for real learning.
Barry Westling
none!there should be no place for extra credit.
I agree with Jeff,I am against extra credit,grading system becomes unfair for those who have worked hard and know their stuff.
Failing students get into this habit that they will be saved by this no matter what.
Hi Jennifer,
One of my faculty has a bucket of candied treats and as students participate and engage throughout the class he rewards the student with a treat (food is not allowed in our classes), so getting a treat is special. Another non-graded reward is allowing students to share their clinical experiences in class (this would normally only occur in clinical settings). Students like to share what they're doing, but having an audience is special.
Barry Westling
Hi Rita,
Many institutions and teachers prohibit the use of extra credit. So we need to recognize that policies vary, and many believe that although EC may make students feel good and assist adusting their grade, it mostly doesn't contribute to learning that much. For me, I don't use EC with the exception of a bonus question on a final exam (that all students can opt for), or maybe throwing out the lowest quiz score (if there are more than 10 quizzes). Just my bias and opinion.
Barry Westling
The policy at my school is no extra credit. However, I feel there are other ways to reward hard work to the students. A reward bucket is fun to have and the students like the instant acknowledgement. Otherwise they are waiting until the end of the semester to see if the extra credit made a difference.
Student's love extra credit. it is a great motivater for students. If you see that a student has been struggling and is just about there but need a little help you can offer the entire class an extra assignment for extra credit..most times students love that.
Hi Lori,
I've tried all sorts of techniques involving EC. For me, it just hasn't worked out. And students don't even appreciate it that much. So, I finally decided it's best (for me) to set the grading criteria at the outset, work as hard as I can to get all students up to speed, and let the grades fall where they may.
Barry Westling
I fell that extra credit should not effect the students final grade. I am not a big fan of extra credit. The first time I used extra credit it backfired and I felt a student received an undo amount of extra credit. So now I am much more cautious in this area.
Hi Amber,
Things like a bonus question on an exam, dropping the lowest quiz score are differnt than giving additional assignments beyond what is asked for and expecting credit for missed assignments or poor performance. My opinion.
Barry Westling
Hi Crissia,
I know giving EC is a controversial topic. I've taught for 30 years and learned it really doesn't help students. So for me, I choose not to give it at all. Others may choose to do so. They may learn what I did, or maybe they'll be satisfied with whining students. That's OK with me. I just try to share what has worked and not worked for me.
Barry Westling
Majority of material I give throughout instruction is required and a good way to access knowledge attained. Although, some students do have emergencies that prohibit them from attending claa, and this could be supplemented by adding in extra credit or dropping a lowest score.
I do not use extra credit.
I completely concur. In the right context it can be a useful tool, but that's exactly why I don't tend to give stand-alone extra credit projects that aren't attached as a "bonus" or "buffer" to a required project. If the point is just to alter a grade and if it's only being offered to those doing poorly it's not fair to the stronger students, and it's not really fair to the mediocre students either because you're giving them the idea that they can slide by without doing what should be required, and that will only harm them once they leave school and find how much that doesn't fly in the job market.
Eddie,
I teach medical classes and our program policy is all classes have to be passed with a 70% ("C") or better. For a medical procedure, or a grade in a medical course, would you want a student who only barely passed due to giving EC performing a procedure on you?
But I understand these decisions about EC vary and each institution and teacher needs to sort it out for what's right for them. This is just my opinion, I don't give EC (and have learned over many years the act of doing so doesn't ever really help, but great harm is potentially possible).
Barry Westling
Crissia,
Well, as I have commented frequently, policies and opinions vary by institution and teacher. That said, your situtation might be a bit different due to the competitive nature of the class (and profession). So perhaps allowing for EC may be applicable. In fact, I have no bones about EC as I agree, it does demonstrate drive, effort, or expemplary performance. The issue has to do with awarding credit for it.
For instance, on a test, an optional essay question to demonstrate original thought would be terrific. The bonus point(s) from this is not significant and would seem like an appropriate assessment of learning. Dropping the lowest quiz score is another way of making an adjustment that does award extra points but gives some leeway to the realities of some students may have a bd day or is weaker in one single area.
Suppose there are a group of students that consitently do all assignments and achieve near perfect scores on all assigned work. They are probably going to receive nearly all available points and receive the higher grades in that class. Now suppose you have some mediocre students who are just getting by. They want and ask for an EC project or assignment to bring up their grade. Is that fair to the stronger students?
I will just say giving EC to mediocre or marginal students serves more to alter grades than to enhance learning. If EC is given to recognize effort and improve learning, that is a good thing, and I would support it wholeheartedly. But to give points or alter a grade because of it, my bias would defer from that practice.
Barry Westling
I think the role extra credit should have on a student's final grade depends upon your reasons for offering it and whatever guidelines you've made clear about it to the class ahead of time. Consistency and fair, equal application are the main things to be careful about. My opinion is that if you're offering extra credit, it should be equally available to all the students as a reward for work and effort, not just as a means of grade inflation.
It seems most of the responses here are against the practice, so I'm sure there are some courses / subject matter that makes extra credit not terribly useful or practical. However, for the classes I teach (Interactive Animation / Programming and Game Scripting) I find it a helpful aid to encourage hard work.
I do not generally offer stand-alone extra credit projects. If the student has some issue that requires discussing make-up work for missed assignments, that is a separate matter and the school has rules about how to handle that. The approach I use for extra credit is that the opportunity for it is attached to other specific, required tasks and awarded if the student puts in extra effort in some way.
There are generally two scenarios for which I find extra credit useful:
1) Providing a few extra credit tasks on practical exams. The extra-credit tasks are of the same difficulty as the others and they score at only half the point value of the required questions, but if a student ran into trouble completing one of the required tasks or if they worry that they may have made other errors, they have the option to perform the additional extra credit tasks in an attempt to boost or assure their exam score. The extra points are figured as part of the student's grade on the test, not to exceed the total points possible. I find this practice lowers student anxiety a little over exams by giving them more control over their grade that is directly proportional to how hard they want to work. It is available to everyone and rewards effort.
2) Because interactive is such a creative and competitive field, going above and beyond expectations in the real world is a way of distinguishing yourself in the job market. I reflect that by offering a standard, set amount of possible extra credit on a few major projects throughout the term. It's available to all the students - anyone who goes above and beyond the required specifications for the project in some significant way and clearly demonstrates to me and the class how their addition brings added value to their project. In this instance, I do let any excess credit not needed on that particular project apply to either the student's lowest test score, or their lowest project/homework grade. Interestingly enough, the students with good grades are as apt to participate as those who actually need the extra boost and I see a lot of extra creativity in my classes as a result.
Extra credit should as it said in the course be the difference between a minus and a plus in a grade. I like to use extra credit to direct the students to a subject they are not all that interested in or may be a current event that is relative to the course. This helps illustrate the real life situations in their future field.
Makila,
EC is great in the way you describe, and I would agree anything that motivates a student is good. I am just leary of awarding points or some sort of grade to the EC assignment. For me personnaly, I just aoid EC assignments that alter, inflate, or modify a students true grade. Opinions vary, these are my biases.
Barry Westling
I feel that extra credit can play a role in encouraging students to go the "extra mile." I think it can be an opportunity to show the "expertise" they have gained during the course in a way meaningful to them. An instructor can help a student create their own project that they can put in a career portfolio to use during their interviews.
