Note: this piece is a lot longer than the piece which appeared in the Independent, which has a limit of 750 words
by Jim Buxton
by Jim Buxton
I know of a number of schools
which are adopting flexible deadlines for student work. This seems to mean that homework due Tuesday
could also be handed in on Wednesday, with “no charge”. The logic seems to be that hard deadlines
impact certain kids unjustly. We’re
asked to imagine the student who goes home from school, and then has to manage
all the younger siblings while the single Mom works the night shift. Wouldn’t it be more fair if that student
could hand in homework on Wednesday if his Mom is home on Tuesday nights, and
he can get work done then? I would
certainly agree in this case. It is a
reality that some students have much less support at home than others. Although, some students get far too much help
at home!
Another argument in support of
flexible deadlines is that kids learn at different rates. What takes one student 30 minutes to complete
may take another student 90 minutes. The
first student may be able to complete it by Tuesday, while the other student
will need the extra day and hand it in on Wednesday. Another related argument is that it doesn’t
matter whether they got it in on Tuesday or Wednesday, the important thing is
that they learned the material, right?
Although the aforementioned
arguments do carry some weight, I wouldn’t recommend basing my classroom
policies on these “exceptions to the rule.”
For most of my 32 years at South Kingstown HS, my policies were directed
to the “flock”, and not to the “lost sheep.”
This may sound like a pretty insensitive policy coming from a pretty
sensitive guy. Let me explain my
policies dealing with deadlines which I would employ in a “college prep,
non-honors” class (perhaps 2/3 of the SKHS students during my tenure).
Firstly, in regard to minor homeworks,
they could not be turned in late.
However, I would drop the lowest homework each quarter. So, if a student tells me that their dog ate
their homework, I’d say (sensitively) that I was sorry they had such an insensitive
dog, but lucky for them, they could drop their lowest homework. In regard to more significant homeworks,
essays and papers, they can be turned in, but they lost 2/3 of a grade per day
late. Therefore, if a student turned in
a paper, valued for 100 points, one day late, the most they could get was a 93.
Why the difference between
minor homework and papers, for example?
This can be seen by looking at the problems resulting in accepting minor
homeworks late:
1) Let’s say I’m teaching the
causes of World War 1 on Monday, and on Monday night the students had homework
relating to the assassination of the Archduke, and the declarations of war
which were to follow. On Tuesday, I had
planned to review the course of the war, leading to a debate as to which
country was most at fault for World War 1.
However, on Tuesday morning, I collect homework and only 5 out of the 20
students did it. Only one quarter of the
class understands how the war broke out.
What do I do? Do I carry on with
the Tuesday plan, or do I go over the Monday night content? If I go over Monday night’s homework in
class, doesn’t this do a disservice to the 5 kids that completed the
homework? If I carry on with the
original plan, then 15 out of the 20 kids are lost. Either way, because of the flexible homework
policy, I don’t know what to expect on Tuesday.
My policy was
that a deadline was a deadline, and if it was late, it was a zero. As a result, I would say that I averaged 80 –
85% completed homework over my final 20 years of teaching. (It took me a decade to get to this
level) Note: a typical homework might be worth 30 points
in a 700 point quarter. It’s not the end
of the world if you get a 0/30, but it does have an impact! I would show the students the Mathematical
impact, and most responded by getting the work done regularly.
2) Another
problem I have is this. My goal was to
hand back the homework the next day. I
think most educators would agree that prompt feedback is crucial for student
learning. However, if I have loose
deadlines, if I hand Monday night’s homework back on Tuesday, then couldn’t
Johnny copy Mary’s returned homework, and hand it in on Thursday? Additionally,
doesn’t that put Mary in a tough spot when Johnny demands she share her
returned homework. One could say that
Johnny could also do this if Monday night’s homework was due on Tuesday, with
no lateness allowed. However, the
difference is that I have both Mary and Johnny’s homework with me on Monday
night, and I can check if there was any copying. With flexible deadlines, the only way to
ensure there was no copying is if I photocopied all homework handed in so I can
tell if someone copied later on (that month??)
3) Another
problem occurs when dealing with # 2 above.
Teachers will delay handing back homework until everyone has done it. By the time the work is returned, students
don’t even recognize it!!
4) Another
problem resulting from flexible deadlines is that we cannot flip the classroom,
as many suggest. We can’t make class
more interactive and dynamic because they didn’t do the work at home. Student homework output drops, and teacher
centered teaching is the result during class time.
So, why do I have different
lateness policies for papers, for example?
Firstly, papers might be weighted out of 100 in a 700 point quarter. Getting a zero out of 100 would hurt one’s
grade too drastically. Thus, you can
hand it in late, but for 7 points off per day.
I would note that major papers are not returned the next day, therefore
the copying issue is not a concern.
Additionally, the paper is a culminating (summative) activity, whereas
the minor homework is formative, therefore the formative assessment
(homework) can be used to track the
progress of the class as a whole or of individuals within it.
Now there are some that argue
that formative assessments should not count for your grade. I disagree with that policy as it would lead
to all the problems mentioned earlier.
For more on formative assessments, see the Blog post on that topic.
Lastly, perhaps the most
important reason for hard deadlines is because that’s the way the world
is! For the most part, if your boss says
get it to me by Tuesday, he/she means Tuesday, not Thursday or next
Tuesday! If the first class at your high
school is supposed to start at 7:35, you’re not going to be looked on with
favor if you frequently show up at 8 AM.
Additionally, if a high school senior has flexible deadlines, then what
happens when he goes to URI where a deadline is a deadline? I heard that one principal said that it’s not
the high school’s job to prepare the kids for URI.
Having stated my case, I have to acknowledge that this policy may not
work as well in a culture where students just do not do homework. Therefore, I would accentuate that the
policies above worked well for me with the top two tiers of SK classes (which
covered about 80% of SKHS students during my tenure.) With the lowest of the three tiers, these
policies did not work as well. I grant
you that. However, if this is so, then I
think it is unwise to make policies geared for the lowest tier which would be
applied for the entire student body.
Homework deadline policies should be made with the flock in mind, and
separate policies should be, sensitively enacted for the "lost
sheep."
I believe that flexible deadlines is one of the trickiest and difficult areas of teaching. However, I do not believe that a student should get a homework grade of zero if they did not complete a homework assignment for a good reason. The reasoning part of my policy differs from that of Jim Buxton's. Even if the homework assignment was out of 30 points and you dropped the lowest homework assignment the student should not get a zero for the homework. I would find it very challenging to say to a student who was sick, lost a family member, or for other extreme personal reasons that you get a zero on the homework. It would be very undeserving if a student was severely sick and I told him that it wasn't a valid excuse for not completing the homework. I understand dropping the lowest homework assignment but in life there are curveballs hit your way constantly, possibly more than once a school year or semester. However, extensions should not be given for every excuse in the book. It all depends on the excuse itself. Teachers should try to put themselves in their situation and say to themselves whether they would be able to finish the homework under those conditions. If so, then do not except the excuse and grant him/her extended time. If you believe that the student did not make that much of an effort to finish it and could have finished it, then give them a zero if it is a minor assignment. If it is a major assignment then take points off, possibly 10 each day it is late.
ReplyDeleteI agree with RS that flexible deadlines are very difficult to think about. I like Mr. Buxton's perspective on this matter, especially the idea of losing 2/3 of a letter grade on a paper for each day late. Sometimes things happen in life and a student hands in a paper late and losing an entire letter grade can be very distressing. I think if I were running a classroom, my policy would be closer to 50% for minor assignments if a student got it to me by the next class period. I think it is more important to have a student complete the assignment and get some credit then to just give up if they missed one. If there is a valid excuse, then an exception could be made. I think by having the student get 1/2 credit instead of no credit it encourages them to still do the assignment and get the knowledge and practice on the material. If there is no reason to make up the assignment a student may choose to skip it and thereby miss out on the information.
ReplyDeleteThanks for agreeing with me LGr. Flexible deadlines are very difficult indeed. I do agree with Mr. Buxton's idea of losing 2/3 of a letter grade could work and seems just in unfair if the student has no excuse for handing in the assignment late. However, like you stated, "If there is a valid excuse, then an exception could be made." I want to further your policy on handing in late homework assignments. I believe that homework should be turned in no later than class time. If there is a valid excuse then extended time can be granted. I agree with your policy that if the student hands it in at the end, then they will receive 50%. Like you said it is at least some credit towards their grade. I believe that is crucial for the teacher to explain this to the student and believe that the some credit will help your grade a lot more than a zero. A lot of students will copy another student's homework due to the stress of them forgetting to complete the homework. There must be a lot of homework assignments so a zero or a fifty will not harshly lower the student's grade due to one simply human mistake of forgetting to do it or losing the homework.
DeleteHi RS, I think the next class period is more beneficial than simply if it is in by the original deadline. While I understand your concern about students copying another's work, I think it is still better for that student to get 50% if it gets done. A fifty will still fail you so it isn't a free pass, but it allows the student a second chance. Of course, if it is obvious that the homework was copied I see no reason to give anything other than a 0. To clarify, in the case of a valid excuse I would extend the deadline without penalty.
DeleteI agree with a lot of what is being said here. Flexibility within homework deadlines is a really touchy subject in the manner that, if we stick to hard deadlines, certain students may fall behind in school due to a home environment that is either unhealthy emotionally/physically or hyper-stressful, both leading to the result that the student cannot get her/his work done. However, it is worth stating that a lot of students will take advantage of the homework deadlines being flexible. I think it is possible, however, in order to have more of a controlled classroom, to make it clear that there will be mandatory "pop-quizzes" throughout the semester. I think this both encourages students to learn the material and keep up/constantly be on their toes in case of a quiz. I would run my classroom with pop quizzes so that students are always (or, hopefully always) prepared for class somewhat.
ReplyDeleteRS makes a great point that "in life there are curveballs", and I think that sometimes teachers forget that a family member might pass away and the student may be too distressed to complete work. It's always important for teachers to see where the student is coming from. LGr also makes a valid point that it's better for the students to make an effort to do the homework regardless if it's late or not. The students are expected to learn the material that they are taught, so giving at least half credit seems incredibly reasonable. I also think that Liz Getts has a great point. Pop-Quizzes force the students to know the material at any give time, and I think that in this day and age, students are more prone to doing the bare minimum but by having pop-quizzes, students will have more motivation to do their readings. In all, I'm a strong advocate for a happy medium in the classroom, and always taking into account how students respond to the work and their situations at home.
ReplyDeleteAs almost everyone has already established, flexible deadlines is a very challenging concept. In my classroom, I would have to put in a great deal of thought if i were to have flexible deadlines. Homework is incredibly important but I think something of equal importance is a students ability to talk to they teacher. While reading the post with its comments, I just kept thinking that if a student were to have a problem, I want them to talk to me because I'm a reasonable person. I think most of the time, students are afraid to speak up or stay after class to talk with their teachers. It is my hope in my classroom that I will not be a scary person standing in the front of the room and I am someone students feel comfortable talking to and addressing their problems. As RS said, deadlines should be flexible for good reason, but I want my students first and foremost being comfortable talking to me about these good reasons. Flexible deadlines for students with challenging home lives is incredibly important to consider, but it may set a standard that everyone does not need to adhere to deadlines. I liked Jim Buxton's analogy that rules are for the flock and not the lost sheep. Additionally, I agreed with his point that deadlines are deadlines and students must understand the importance of them. This is a very interesting concept and I would love to continue the discussion in the classroom or with classmates.
ReplyDeleteFlexible deadlines is a tough subject to come up with a solution for. I agree with most of what was said in the blog. I will not have flexible deadlines as a teacher where students can hand in homework whenever they want, but I will have some rules for handing in work late. I like the idea of taking of partial credit for every class period something is late. As a teacher you never know what a student is going through at home, so they should not be given a zero if not handed in on time. I believe that a teacher should take more points off homework for being late than a big assignment. I will probably accept homework one class period late for half credit. The policy needs to be strict enough where students feel like they need do the homework, but flexible enough where they won't suffer too much for submitting one assignment late. My policy for papers and projects will be that they lose a letter grade for every class period it is late. I think this is enough of a punishment that they will hand it in on time, but also it won't kill them if they need an extra day. Over all I believe that the best way to deal with deadlines is to have a good mix of a flexible, but strict policy.
ReplyDeleteWith homework deadlines, I understand the mentality that you have with making sure that students understand that a deadline is a deadline, but I think that it is also important that a student feels 100% confident in the work that they turn into me. One method that I have come across as a student is something that one of my high school teachers had. His rules were that if you turn in your homework on time, then you could redo the Homework as many times as you would like, until you were happy with the grade. You could turn in late homework until the second to last week of the quarter, with no penalty on the assignment grade, other than not being able to redo it. He had another grade in the class though, which was points for turning homework in on time. If a student turned every assignment in late, he would get a zero for that grade, but the grade was only a small percentage of the final grade. So you would not be able to get a 100 in the class, the highest you could get was a 97. RS made a point that I absolutely agree with which is “flexible deadlines is one of the trickiest and difficult areas of teaching”. This is another reason why I do not like the idea of subtracting a certain amount of points each day the assignment is late. It will get confusing and leaves an open area for the student to argue with you in an already complicated situation. LGr made a point that I fully agree with, which is “I think it is more important to have a student complete the assignment and get some credit then to just give up if they missed one”, if a student knows that they are going to get an automatic zero if they miss an assignment, then they will have no desire to actually complete the assignment. Homework is also very helpful when trying to collect data on your class about who understands what you are teaching. One person who comment made a very interesting point about late deadlines. TS said “I will not have flexible deadlines as a teacher where students can hand in homework whenever they want, but I will have some rules for handing in work late”. I completely understand where they are coming from with trying to make their students responsible, but it is important that you are understanding in certain circumstances. We only know a fraction of what is going on in our student’s lives and we have to be willing to accommodate for them, or they will think that we do not care.
ReplyDeleteFlexible deadlines for student work has been part of many discussions for a while. While both sides are very reasonable, I agree with each of the points that you made on the post. It is true that part of the reason why teachers assign homework is to make sure students have a solid understanding of the material that was learned in class that day. However, the teachers have a plan for the week in regards to teaching this material. Having students pass this homework in after the deadline will result in a backup in the schedule planned. Another good point that I agree with was when you mentioned the returning of homework. It is to the students advantage when the teacher returns the homework in a timely manner while it’s still fresh in the student’s head to give feedback or correct a misunderstanding. If students take a while to turn in their homework then this may ruin it for the rest of the students that did manage to turn their work in on time. I do not believe that teachers should allow flexible deadlines for homework that is assigned, it is a disadvantage to the students and teacher as well.
ReplyDelete