ERIC ED374102: "Teacher-Pleasing," Traditional Grading--and Learning? A Collaborative Qualitative Study.

58 Pages·1994·1.1 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
SP 035 424
ED 374 102
Aaronsohn, Elizabeth; And Others
AUTHOR
"Teacher-Pleasing," Traditional Grading--and
TITLE
Learning? A Collaborative Qualitative Study.
PUB DATE
[94]
58p.; Paper presented at a Conference of the
NOTE
International Society for Exploring Teaching
Alternatives (1994) .
Research/Technical (143)
Reports
PUB TYPE
1);.c...hes/Conference Papers (150)
MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
Classroom Environment; College Students; Elementary
DESCRIPTORS
School Students; Elementary Secondary Education;
Grades (Scholastic); *Grading; Higher Education;
*Learning; Perception; Qualitative Research;
Secondary School Students; Self Evaluation
(Individuals); *Student Attitudes; *Student
Evaluation; *Teacher Expectations of Students;
Teacher Influence; *Teacher Student Relationship
ABSTRACT
This study examines whether students' constant focus
on meeting teacher expectations might cause students to see
themselves as producers of products for someone else, rather than as
learners. Four researc:hers asked elementary, middle, high school, and
university students to describe their experience of classrooms,
listening for patterns that would reveal how the need for teacher
approval makes them feel about each other and about their work. The
researchers also engaged in systematically trying out methods of
teaching and assessing learning in which the teacher's role is
primarily that of facilitator and in which students evaluate
themselves. Findings suggest that participation in "teacher pleasing"
interferes with genuine student intellectual, social, and moral
growth. Students operate under pressure to please the teacher rather
than construct their own meaning out of the classroom experience.
within
They become competitive with each other as they carefully stay
the safe boundaries of right answers. Weaning students from those
the number of
concerns seems to be harder in direct proportion to
if the
years of socialization in "teacher pleasing" and harder
paradigm shifts only in one class. Implications for teacher educators
given to university
are discussed. Appendixes contain guidelines
"bad" as
students, and university students' definitions of "good" and
90
they relate to the classroom environment. (Contains approximately
references.)
(JDI))
***********************************************************************
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
***********************************************************************
//
TEACHER-PLEASING, TRADITIONAL
GRADING,--AND LEARNING?
A Collaborative
Qualitative Study
This
study
describes
the
effect
on
student learning of
traditional forms of
teacher
judgment. Each
of four researchers
contributed
data
from
elementary,
middle and high school,
and
university classes.
Findings suggest
that
participation
in the
dominant
school
game
of
"teacher
pleasing"
interferes
with
genuine student intellectual,
social, and moral
growth.
Elizabeth Aaronsohn,
Ed.D.
Assistant Professor in
Teacher Education
Central Connecticut
State University
New Britain, CT 06050
203-832-2419
239 Anderson Rd.
Tolland, CT 06084
203-875-4833
in collaboration with:
Ms. Judy E. Holmes
Greely High School
Cumberland Center, ME
and
Ms. Treva Foley and
Mr. Jeffrey Wallowitz
students in the Department
of Teacher Education
Central CT State University
"PERMISSION TO
REPRODUCE THIS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION
MATERIAL HAS
Mee of EdIcahonal
BEEN GRANTED BY
Research and Improvement
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION
CENTER (ERICI
0 This document has
been reproduced as
fable:vett from the person
or orgeruzahon
orpunating it
0 Minor changes have
been made to improve
reiSorrOUCttOn Quaid),
TO THE EDUCATIONAL
Points Olvrow or opinions
RESOURCES
stated .n Ibis OoCu.
men) do not neCeSsanly represent
INFORMATION CENTER
Mho&
(ERIC).-
OERI positron or poky
2
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
1
Framework
The Theoretical
England Educational
New
the
of
conference
1992
the
At
teacher, three
school English
high
one
Organization,
Research
Education faculty
Teacher
one
and
students,
Teacher Education
outlining our
paper
research
qualitative
a
presented
member
traditional grading
the
of
aspects
investigate
to
intention
testimonies
our personal
discussion followed
A lively
system.
levels of
university
and
school,
high
elementary,
the
from
that presentation
piece of data in
The most sobering
schooling.
that their
agreement
unanimous
students'
university
the
was
successful peers
their similarly
(and that of
preoocupying focus
on the game
had been
schooling)
sixteen years of
through almost
behaviors
what correct
right answers and
what
out
figuring
of
top grades. Rarely
in ordcr to get
required of them,
each teacher
of
permanent acquisition
goal been the
their personal
if ever had
of meaning.
of the construction
to say nothing
content knowledge,
conference, the four
1992 NEERO
since the
In the two years
methods
out and examining
systematically trying
engaged in
of us
teacher's role is
in which the
assessing learning
of teaching and
focus is completely
such that the
of facilitator,
.primarily that
of study. We
the materials
peers, and
learner, his/her
on the
a way that
in such
to teach
we try
ourselves as
also monitor
asssessment, with
primary method of
as the
students self-evaluate
much as possible.
being absent as
teacher judgment
administrative
and
parent,
student,
at
looked
have
We
particular, we watch
methods. In
these innovative
reactions to
(
A
2
locus of control in each of
an internal
development of
for the
on-going grades,
of
control
external
the
once
our students,
judgment, has been eliminated. In addition,
representing teacher
order to
and
students
teachers'
in
interviewing
we have been
understand what limits people feel they are bound by, and why, as
other teachers who
well as to locate, observe, and support those
in spite of
methods
teaching
alternative
use
trying
are
to
we had
than
issues
of
range
perceived limitations. A greater
surrounds our in-depth examination of the
originally anticipated
called °teacher-
have
we
what
students
to
of
socialization
pleasing" behaviors.
conceptual framework for this study
original
the
of
Part
bibliography of
exists from as early as 1913, as reported in the
whose Wad Ja Get?, a
Napier
(1971),
and
Simon,
Kirschenbaum,
learning.
grading distorts
of how
popularization of the issue
the heady freedom movements in
initiatives of
of the
Like most
'70's, the
early
and
'60's
mid-to-late
the
schooling during
power over students
teacher
about
assumptions
of
questioning
manifestation of that
(including teacher judgment as the primary
as the nation, driven to
forgotten
but
been
has
all
power),
basics" in a
to "the
to return
become "competitive,' has raced
desperate attempt to raise test scores.
that
however,
a
suggest,
literature
recent
of
Reviews
called
being
now
what
is
toward
movement
counter-balancing
sometimes
(though
as
known
also
assessment,"
"authentic
"performance
or
assessment"
"direct
from)
distinguished
3
assessment"
appears
gaining widespread
(Kirst, 1991),
be
to
interest.
some
cases
(Vermont,
Kentucky
Michigan,
and
In
California in
the US, and Alberta, Canada) statewide application
alternative
of
assessment
forms
developed and
are being
of
mandated
alternative
as
standardized
an
tests
to
and
to
traditional grading and reporting
At the
to parents.
1993 AERA
Convention, a
have spent much of his/her time
patrticipant could
sessions
classroom-based
student-assessment, hearing
on
in
researchers struggle
with issues
of validity and reliability as
well as issues authority
teacher
labor intensiveness.
of
and
is generally understood to be a form
"Authentic assessment"
of assessment "characterized
contextualized,
complex intel-
by
lectual challenges"
(Torney-Puerta, 1990),
which "plans for the
measures themselves to
learning
be
experiences
can pro-
that
vide feedback
on processes,
and...demands that measures address
central and significant issues" (Steele, 1992). Portfolios become
vehicles for on-going multidimensional "collaborative reflection"
(Johns & VanLeirsburg, 1991; Valeri-Gold, 1992) between students,
students and
teachers, and students, teachers and families. This
theory of
authentic assessment
of our re-
is what
the members
experimenting
search
been
with implementing in our
have
team
classrooms.
As in Kentucky,
that
for authentic
choice
we found
the
accompanies
assessment usually
choices
developmentally
for
appropriate and constructivist classroom
practices, professional
teamwork,
parent
involvement (Kentucky State Department of
and
4
Education, 1991). It offers
teachers "the opportunity
to redefine
the
curriculum"
while
offering
students
"the
opportunity to
engage
in
authentic
work
and
receive
feedback
that
speaks
directly to their
capabilities" (Lockwood,
1991).
An
ERIC
search
for
1982-1992 produced
abstracts of forty
five articles called
up
by
the
descriptor,
"authentic asses-
went."
Although only
one article on authentic
assessment dated
from as far back
as 1989, a fact
that can
be attributed
to the
lack of
pre-existence of that
particular phrase to
describe what
teachers
have
been
struggling
to
create,
the
expldsion
of
articles
since
1990
is
evidence
that a significant
force may
exist for counterbalancing
the
drive
to
a
national
focus on
scores and standardization.
Most
compelling
is
the
fact
that
of
those
forty-five
articles, only two (both
by the same pair
of authors)
argue for
the continued
use of
multiple-choice tests.
Even these authors
(Hambleton & Murphy, 1991)
acknowledge that
multiple-choice tests
can be
criticized for "foster(ing)
a one-right answer mentality,
narrowing) the curriculum,
focus(2ng)
on
discrete
skills, and
under-represent(ing) the
performance of students
from low socio-
economic backgrounds."
Nine of
the abstracts,
while essentially
supportive,
primarily
recommend
more
research,
speaking to a
range
of
challenges
presented
by
authentic
assessment.
The
remaining
thirty-three
articles
document
its
successes
and
advocate its
use.
A parallel strand
of literature,
primarily in the fields
of
6
5
language used by
how the kind of
therapy, looks at
counseling and
the process of
or undermine
authority can support
the person in
1964; Glastser,
(Erickson,
patient
the
for
self-actualization
or the
1969, 1983))
1968; Rogers,
1974; Karpman,
1986; Gordon,
Atwell, 1987;
1974, 1977;
& Roebuck,
1972; Aspy
student (Aspy,
1970; Elbow,
Britton,
1961;
Rosenbaum,
and
Bostrom, Vlandis,
works,
1951). These
1987; Rogers,
Stillman (ed.),
1986; Goswami &
feminist pedagogy
espouse
and
study
that
those
combined with
redefine the
the struggle to
1986), describe
(Culley & Portugese,
teachers' knowledge
that
teacher in such ways
"authority" of the
do not have
especially perspective
maturity and
base, experience,
themselves of
attempt to disinvest
as teachers
to be invalidated
students.
debilitating power over
recognize as
what they
in our having
study is grounded
for our particular
The need
the
of
much
of
descriptions
from
absent
essentially
found
into question of
any calling
authentic assessment
literature on
of having to
constant expectation
of whether the
the whole issue
in
more stature
of someone with
the expectations
focus on meeting
performers,
themselves as
students to see
might cause
a hierarchy
else, rather than as
for someone
products
of
producers
as
or
highest sense.
learners in the
On the
so complex.
our study
issue that wakes
It is this
1970's were widely
the 1960's and
in
critics
while
hand,
one
to have
served
it
agenda
whose
ask
to
publicized as daring
that
recorded,
and
measured,
monitored,
achievement
-student
exist except in
seems to
question rarely
essentially political
7
6
such small-circulation periodicals as Rethinking Schools,
Radical
Teacher, Feminist Teacher, and Growing without Schooling.
On the
other hand,
it has been shown that deep pleasure
can result from
engaging in and completing
genuine activities
that cause people
to stretch
beyond themselves in order to construct meaning where
meaning had not previously existed for
them. The
development of
the self-discipline (responsibility/ for that kind of struggle to
grow may
be what
teachers are
really searching
to provide for
students in
their classrooms, if only they trusted themselves to
do so.
Methodology
Collaborative
structures
data
gathering
for
data
and
analysis
began
We
asked elementary, middle, high
in
1991 -92.
school and
university students
to describe
their experience of
classrooms, listening for patterns that would reveal how the need
for teacher approval makes them feel
about each
other and about
their work.
All of
us are
using dialogic
feedback rather than
grades on student writing._ Essentially, we continue to
find that
students coming
in with traditional expectations exhibit a range
of difficulties adjusting to the responsibility
that accompanies
the freedom from teacher judgment.
The researcher
whose site
is her own high school classroom
used her 1992-93 year of data
gathering as
a pilot
study for a
1993-94 school
year of action research in one of five 10th grade
English classes.
From
the
themes
and
refined
processes that
emerged
from
that
pilot
study,
she developed a dissertation,
7
and teacher
assessment
experimenting with alternative forms
language in that one class.
the researcher whose
Through the fall and spring of 1992-93,
concentrated on systematic
site is her Teacher Education classes
written responses that relate to the
analysis of
generation and
Education students.
pre-service Teacher
research topic from her
within a structure that
student learning
data on
She collected
with intensive non-judgmental
traditional grading
replaces most
and
on-going dialogue, student portfolios
and
feedback
written
reader response
data include
self-evaluation. Student sources of
Salient passages
self-evaluation papers.
papers, freewrites, and
were photocopied or
semesters
from student writings over several
comupter file (see Appendix C).
expanding
an
into
transcribed
development of
data on the
These voices represent a rich body of
the real
consciousness about the issues surrounding
feelings and
therefore of grade-givers, over
and Imagined power of grades, and
earliest schooling to their present
from their
students' lives,
GPA's and expectation of employability.
professor engaged
and their
The Teacher Education students
and interview teachers on an
to locate
systematic attempt
in a
to find
trying
are
who
level
school
middle
and
elementary
children's work in ways that contribute
to assess
concrete ways
children's learning. We met, watched,
to rather than detract from
happened upon
the elementary teachers
some of
and interviewed
I
the state,
teachers throughout
observed student
in schools as
I
coordinators of districts.
and teachers recommended by curriculum
9
8
be randomly
there
out
are
to
The expectation is that if some
there are many more. Classroom teachers using
discovered, surely
and other
whole language, process writing, cooperative learning,
are
that
approaches
learning
integrative
constructivist
and
talking about,
are
means
conventional
difficult to measure by
trying out and even modeling inventive
or actively
asking about
work, determining
student
of
judgment
approaches to
grading,
student accountability, and reporting to parents.
the
and
teacher
The
bias.
researcher
Accounting
for
classrooms, and
decades in
professor come to this research from
collaboration in shared concern over the frightening
began their
affirm their
teacher
to
the
on
extent to which students rely
The teacher has written an article
their products.
thinking and
been
about engaging student responsibility, and the professor has
various forms of alternatives to on-going traditional
trying out
college and university
years of
grades for approximately twelve
The student researchers were selected for the clarity
teaching.
the
and thoughtfulness of their classroom observation reports and
their risk-taking atruggle for meaning, as evidenced in
depth of
professor's teacher certification
in the
their writings
all of
They welcomed the release from the pressure of grades,
courses.
and found their voices in the freedom of reader response papers.
forms of
traditional
against
bias
Thus all began with
a
of the research
the intention
However, since
teacher judgment.
students and
has been to observe and record the process by which
alternative ways to think about student
to choose
teachers come
10
BEST COPY AVAILABLE