Awarding Extra Credit
I think extra credit can really help many students. Depending on what you give as extra credit, you can really get give them good projects and/or great questions to answer on an exam. I think we as instructors should give students the opportunity to open up new challenges and offer variety with extra credit.
Jean,
In general, I think every instructor want to measure learning, and therefore, have to decide how much buffer they want to give students without interfering with the basic goal of assigning grades
Barry Westling
I only award extra credit to students who go above and beyond in class. It doesn't matter if they are a high-scoring or low-scoring student.
If I have a student who is struggling because they lack focus, are lazy, or they just plain don't give a hoot, there is no way I am giving them extra credit.
Of course I do everything I can, for all the students, to make sure they know the material and can score (somewhat) well on the assignments.
But I do not think it is appropriate to be throwing extra credit around willy nilly.
My school used to do this thing on a weekly basis, called Student Development Points. It was a weekly project that if completed on time, it could earn them up to 20 points. That was a good and bad idea at the same time. It was good for students who just needed a little boost, or the high-level students who enjoyed extra challenges. However, too many low scoring students (who were missing their regular assignments already) would rely on the Student Development points to keep them afloat. And then, inevitably they assumed that just because they turned it in, they would automatically receive full credit (which was not the policy).
Anyway, S.D.P. was done away with, which was probably a good thing. Now the instructors may award extra credit on a case by case basis.
Phyllis,
A small motivational adjustment like you describe is perfectly appropriate, and is really not extra credit per say, because we are still evaluating the assigned course work a student has completed. Also, I presume that quiz adjustment will result in a very little significant amount of total points. If our goal is to measure learning, this small adjustment should not interfere with that goal.
Barry Westling
Generaly, at our facility we do not give extra credit unless the student has gone above and beyond. We do however, drop the lowest test score for each mod. This gives the student a little extra breathing room in an instance where the students personal life gets in the way as it can, from time to time.
Martha,
My take on EC is if an assignment has value towards learning, why not require it from the get go? That said, I know in some classes, some instructors will give EC. My suggestion is that the guidelines for how, when, where and what need to be given at the outset, and in my opinion, should have only a very small percentage contribution to the grade.
Barry Westling
I do think that extra points can be earned for student participation in the class, homework etc. I also feel that points should be deducted for poor attendance, tardiness and non participation. I have one student that I feel always falls back on my extra credit and isn't studying as hard as she should because she feels she has a back up plan. Sometimes I feel like never awarding it. I feel like it can turn into a headache.
Sarah,
Each instructor has to decide what is the best way to measure student learning. I use bonus questions on major exams, and sometimes drop the lowest quiz score in classes where there are a lot of quizzes. I feel this gives a little extra leeway from the formal stated grading standards.
Barry Westling
