Learn Like a Pirate Book Study Chapter 4-Improvement Focus versus Grade Focus!

I am linking up with the Primary Gal for the Learn Like a Pirate book study!

This chapter really opened my eyes! I have for years thought about this topic. What should we be focusing on: Their Improvement and doing the best they can through our immediate and detailed feedback or their grade. I for one agree with Paul Solarz on this. I believe that a grade does nothing for the child. All it does is put a label on their learning. Learning should not stop because they got a grade. 

Grades are not meaningful, student improvement is! I would rather have a child keep working on a skill until it is internalized and they are able to apply it to all situations then have a child stop learning because they got a good grade or become frustrated because their grade was not where they wanted it to be.

People put too much stock into grades. They are not the true picture of a child's ability. Just because they score high on a test does not mean they have internalized the information and can use it in other situations, Isn't that the goal we are after?

Feedback is vital in student improvement but not just teacher feedback. Students should receive feedback from other sources. This is why e-portfolios are such a valuable resource to be using in your classroom. By implementing e-portfolios, students have an area that they can upload, create and share their work with a larger audience. These portfolios make it easier for peers to comment on each others work!

Here are some thoughts on Peer Feedback!

and now a few thoughts about e-portfolios:

So those are my thoughts and the big ideas I came away with from this awesome chapter! Click on the button below to go see what some other educators thought about this chapter!