ERIC ED445049: The Long-Term Learning Agreement: A New Assessment Tool for Educators.

10 Pages·2000·0.17 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 445 049
TM 031 665
AUTHOR
Venditti, Phillip N.
TITLE
The Long-Term Learning Agreement: A New Assessment Tool for
Educators.
PUB DATE 2000-00-00
NOTE
9p.
PUB TYPE
Opinion Papers (120)
EDRS PRICE
MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS
College Faculty; *College Students; *Contracts; *Grades
(Scholastic); Higher Education; *Student Evaluation; Student
Projects
ABSTRACT
Long-term learning agreements are compacts between faculty
members and students that permit students to "borrow" a grade and then pay to
keep it by carrying out specified supplementary activities during an extended
period after an academic term ends. These agreements can combat grade
inflation, reinforce students' self-confidence, allow instructors to
diversify and individualize learning experiences and pathways, and counteract
the tendency of students to "take" classes the way a person "takes" medicine,
by consuming it as swiftly as possible and then forgetting about it forever.
The cost of the agreements is negligible, their applicability throughout the
college environment is broad, and their specifications can be decided on by
instructors to meet any learning objectives they choose. A sample learning
agreement is attached. (Author/SLD)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
Long-term Learning Agreements
1
The Long-term Learning Agreement:
A New Assessment Tool for Educators
Phillip N. Venditti
Director of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Wenatchee Valley College
Wenatchee, Washington
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
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2
Long-term Learning Agreements
2
Abstract
Long-term learning agreements are compacts between faculty
members and students which permit students to "borrow" a
grade and then pay to keep it by carrying out specified
supplementary activities during an extended period after an
academic term ends. These agreements can combat grade
inflation, reinforce students' self-confidence, allow
instructors to diversify and individualize learning
experiences and pathways, and counteract the tendency of
students to "take" classes the way a person "takes"
medicinethat is, by consuming it as swiftly as possible
and then forgetting about it forever. The cost of the
agreements is negligible, their applicability throughout
the college environment is broad, and their specifications
can be decided upon by instructors to meet whatever
learning objectives they choose.
3
Long-term Learning Agreements
3
The Long -term Learning Agreement:
A New Assessment Tool for Educators
In a college public speaking class I taught recently,
the students and I developed a mechanism for reaching
several goals I've long cared about as an educator. The
mechanism is called the "long-term learning agreement," and
I believe it may be useful to other college instructors
around the country.
Nature of the Agreements
Students whose performance in a course doesn't measure
up to their own expectations may, before the end of the
academic term, join their instructor in signing a pledge to
carry out certain supplementary activities during an
extended period after the term ends.
Students who participate in long-term learning
agreements acknowledge that the instructor will withdraw
the points associated with the supplementary activities in
the event that the students fail to complete them. In
essence, the students borrow a grade and pay over time to
keep it permanently by demonstrating that they have learned
things which merit it.
Instructors can structure and define the terms of a
long-term learning agreement any way they wish. Students
might, for instance, be expected to engage in tasks
4
Long-term Learning Agreements
4
normally impossible to complete within the time constraints
of a standard quarter or semester. In my public speaking
class, as an example, one cluster of supplementary extended
learning activities valued at 10 points out of 100 for the
final grade was to join a local Toastmasters club, attend
at least one of its meetings per month for six months, and
submit a confirming written statement from the club
president after each visit.
Indeed, the range of assignments which can be
stipulated within a long-term learning agreement is limited
only by the imagination of instructors. Following are just
a few further examples of what students might be expected
to achieve in various disciplines:
Science: Interview a number of authorities on a topic
of contemporary interest, such as biotechnology, and
prepare a report which summarizes and assesses their
perspectives.
Mathematics: Solve problems in territory which was not
thoroughly covered within a course but about which a
student has demonstrated aptitude or intereste.g.,
multivariate equations or projective geometry.
Humanities: Produce a work of art, visit and assess
the exhibits of selected museums, attend a lecture series,
or interview a speaker of another language in that person's
5
Long-term Learning Agreements
5
native tongue.
Social Sciences: Serve as a volunteer in a political
campaign or write an analysis of how effectively a juvenile
probation office achieves its mission.
Practical Applications/Implications
A well-crafted long-term learning agreement can
benefit students and promote the facilitative aims of an
instructor in several ways. First of all, because the
agreement offers students an occasion to transcend the time
boundaries and expectations of a particular course in order
to achieve a higher grade, instructors may feel less
pressure to reduce standards during the academic term. In
othei: words, the likelihood of grade inflation in the
actual body of a course may be diminished.
Second, some students are more extrinsically motivated
than others, and the long-term learning agreement provides
a special opportunity for those individuals who are
predisposed to strive toward a particular grade to achieve
that goal through hard work. In some cases, realizing this
opportunity may reinforce students' self-confidence and
help them maintain progress in the academic environment.
Third, long-term learning agreements present a chance
for instructors to diversify and individualize the learning
experiences and pathways they create for students. Because
6
Long-term Learning Agreements
6
the agreements breach rigid academic time blocks by
extending over a lengthy period of time and may allow
students considerable latitude in how and when to
accomplish tasks, they may encompass elements which permit
or require significant challenges and independent personal
growth.
Fourth, long-term learning agreements resemble an
"incomplete" grade in that they can aid students who
encounter health or personal problems during a course which
prevent them from finishing all the required work by the
end of the term. The advantages of long-term learning
agreements as opposed to an "I" grade, however, are that
they start with an affirmation of students' abilities,
incorporate a promise by the instructor to act as a partner
with the students to develop those abilities, and yield a
positive manifestation on the students' transcript.
Finally, perhaps the greatest implication and strength
of the long-term learning agreement as a pedagogical
measure is its potential to counteract the perennial
tendency of students and faculty members alike to "take" a
class in the same way a person "takes" a dose of medicine
that is, to consume it as swiftly as possible and then
forget about it entirely. The long-term learning agreement,
in contrast to this "medicinal" approach, may contribute
7
Long-term Learning Agreements
7
toward students' lifetime growth and development by
focusing their attention, outside and beyond the range of
the academic environment, on the nature and value of a
particular kind of knowledge.
Conclusion
In summary, long-term learning agreements constitute a
pedagogical innovation which enables instructors to keep in
meaningful contact with students longer than the usual
academic term and permits students to maintain their
intellectual development for an extended period on an
independent basis. The cost of the agreements is
negligible, their applicability throughout the college
environment is broad, and their dimensions can be decided
upon by instructors to meet learning objectives of their
choice.
8
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LONGTERM LEARNING AGREEMENT FOR
COMMUNICATIONS 220PUBLIC SPEAKING
The best learning continues and lasts. What students and teachers learn as a result of spending time in a
particular college class should benefit them after the class concludes by promoting life-long growth.
This agreement specifies activities related to the goals of a course at Wenatchee Valley College which a
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student will perform within a specific interval after that course ends. It is a voluntary covenant whose
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successful completion will, in addition to providing the student with benefits s/he might not otherwise
41
have attained during the class, entitle the student to a grade for that class higher than the one s/he would
have earned if limited to what s/he could accomplish within the duration of the course.
QUARTER/YEAR: Spring 2000
COURSE DISCIPLINE/NUMBER: Communications 220
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STUDENT'S PLEDGE
promise to complete the activity(ies) checked below:
I, (signature)
41
Join Toastmasters and attend at least 1 meeting of a Toastmasters club each month in June, July,
August, September, October, and November 2000, submitting a written statement from the club
president to the LAS (Liberal Arts & Science) office at the end of each month (10 points).
b.
41
Attend six (6) meetings of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce by December 12, 2000, and submit
notes to the LAS Office from each meeting by 5 days after it takes place (10 points).
Participate in a Wenatchee Valley College Poetry Slam by December 12, 2000 (5 points).
Appear for at least two (2) minutes on commercial radio on a topic of my choice, for any length of
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time, by December 12, 2000, and submit an audiotape to the LAS Office by then (10 points).
Call in to six (6) radio "talk shows"one each in June, July, August, September, October, and
November, 2000--and submit an audiotape of each conversation to the LAS Office by the end of
each of those months (10 points).
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I understand and agree that...
The grade appearing on my transcript at the end of this course in June, 2000 presumes that I
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will keep this promise.
41
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Phil Venditti will do his best to assist me to fulfill my promise.
2.
If I fail to keep my promise, my grade will be lowered by the number of points associated with
3.
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the learning activities I pledged to complete.
Instructor's Signature:
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Student's Signature:
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Date:
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