Taking Ownership
One of the challenges with today's students is to get them to take ownership in their education. We assign tasks with deadlines but they always seem to want to push it to the limit. Commonly asked questions are," What do I need to do to get a 70". Are they really OK with mediocrity?? By putting them on a "Performance Contract", does this really make them take ownership, or does it give them just enough to push just a little harder and not excell?
Ownership..Deadlines, not with this generation
From reading all the threads it seems that most Instructors feel the same. We are now in the process of eliminating deadlines for most of the term/classwork as they are never given on time and we are constantly changing deadlines for classwork up until the last days of the term.
WE are now accepting mediocrity for the average and it shows in the students that we are putting out into the workforce.
Richard,
yes, at a recent orientation our VP for academic affairs had the students take out their cell phones & snap a "selfie." He then made the point that the person they just took the picture of is the one who is most responsible for their academic success. He encouraged them to pull the picture out often & remember that.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Taking ownership is what education is all about. I see a proliferation of students "paying" for a degree who are placing the lions share of responsibility on instructor and institution to ensure they do well in their course of study. I'm willing to explore anything that will help students realize the value of hard work and experience.
Jamie,
yes, I've found that if I emphasize the ownership of the grade, most respond well.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
When they are given a challenge regarding grade ownership, the majority of them are not really ok with just getting by. If you give them a senirio that relates to them ( imagine if Bill Gates settled for just getting by - we wouldnt have the Iphone) in regrards to settling for just ok they will make an attempt to do better. Who knows you could be him.
Jill ,
this is a sad, but good question. I try to cover the basics & inform them that they are accountable for what they have read & signed.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I agree. My performance contract that I hand out seems to be losing it's value as the years go on. I sometimes wonder if my students have even read the contract before they sign it.
selinza,
I have been experiencing this more & more lately as well. I consistently try to reinforce the message that they own their grade & their success.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
our students are very diverse, having different deliberate intents, assessing this first, determine what the students goal is. My experiences have not been the student who is satisfied with what is required for a 70. the majority seem to expect any results in the 90's, any grade below this may fall to being failure on the part of the instructor, no matter if the student exerted effort or not.
I have them actually using their assignments as a check sheet that must be completed in journal form. So they are responsible for missed assignments and making sure that I sign documents of completion. They have appointments with me to show work log and progress reports.
Mary,
this is a great point & we need to be focused on how we can keep them accountable for fulfilling their part of the bargain.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I hear this all the time from students and it drives me crazy. It seems like the students are alright with mediocrity. I do not understanding this. Some students in Generation Y do not seem to watch to push themselves or understand the importance of hard work and this can help as they go into the profession.
I think depending on how it is done, the Performance Contract can create ownership. However, I think teachers need to model the importance of creating ownership with their work and assignments.
I see this issue every day with my girlfriend (she being a gen "Y'er" and me being a gen "x'er"). After she had attended 4 years of college with a major in Psychology and placed into the real world job market, she found almost no jobs in her field of study. According to her, she did not ever take ownership of her education but instead, listened to other people's opinions, checked the internet for confirmations of the other people's opinions, then based her whole college career off of it. Critical thinking was nowhere to be found and now she is paying the price for it.
Absolutely! Keeping that contract on file and available to show to the student should they fail to hold up their end of the bargain after they signed their name to the agreement curtails any argument over what was expected of them. In addition, I make copies of the signed agreements and return them to the individual students so they can refer to it as they see fit.
Eliminating any confusion as to what is required of the students makes things go much more smoothly. It gives them a target to shoot for rather than to aimlessly hope they are doing just enough.
Warren,
yes, this is a way to motivate them. And hopefully those students who are less motivated will also find something to inspire them as well.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Warren,
yes, this is a way to motivate them. And hopefully those students who are less motivated will also find something to inspire them as well.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think those students who wish to excell will do so anyway. A performance contract may push them to try just a little harder but in the process they may find them selves more invested in their own learning.
How about instead of a contract creating a tiered system that rewards based on performance? In a vocational setting, we can reward with dress code, small prizes, etc.. This may make students more motivated to not accept average grades.
I teach cosmetology and unfortunately with students in this field I find they don't really care much about grades. As long as thy are passing they could care less if it is "just enough". The sad thing is is that employers in this field don't really care if a student got decent grades either. How do you stress the importance of trying to do your best when all thy need to do in order to get a job is mediocracy?
