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The Fabulous Contract Grading Experiment
With just a few days left of official classes, a reflective mood sets in. As in most semesters, I try new things. They are not always successful,, nut never truly flops. There is an odd mix of a chaotic growth, and this semester, is no exception.
The fabulous contract grading experiment in my Poetry Writing class proved to be a lax contagion, somehow contributing to an atmosphere of forgetful requirements. I began the semester with a brief outline of my rationale: "This semester, I will be using a contract grading evaluation method. This method will set forth the amount of work necessary to achieve a minimal final grade of a C or B. Since this course focuses on writing, I prefer that you concentrate your efforts on writing and not worrying about your final grade. My hope is that by knowing ahead of time what you need to do for a C or B (all based on effort), you can spend your time putting energy into your writing without fear of what grade you’ll end up with in the class." I set basic criteria for those two grades such as basic attendance, peer responses, workshop participation, portfolio completion, and literary magazine submission. For an A, students needed to submit a contract that moved beyond these basic requirements. Most students chose this option, crafting a series of contracts which went back and forth, as I asked questions and prompted criteria specific to the writer.
This part of the experiment was a sucess. The initial conversations through the contract helped me get to know some students I had not previously had; it also helped me see the variety of ways students in the class would define their excellence. Approximately midway through the semester, I had students set some specific writing goals they hoped to achieve by the end of the semester. Shortly after setting writing goals, the class became forgetful about requirements. Students disappeared due to life situations, and the original twelve dwindled to seven. When one of the seven was missing or unprepared, class seemed to disassemble, more fragmented than before. Yet, as the semester drew to a close, the final workshops contained huge leaps in writing, and the poets proudly took ownership. Perhaps they had truly heeded my initial instructions, fully concentrating on their writing and forgetting about what grade they might receive.
And so, it's at the end of the semester, and I begin reading portfolios, none alike since like the contract experiment, I did not set forth specific portfolio requirements. Instead, I told the class to put together a portfolio that reflects their contract and their writing goals. Students who have had me before, modeled the portfolio over past ones, including a reflective essay and commentary about what they've included and the chocies made/not made. Since I like reading these, I need to make sure to require this part of the portfolio. Final conferences should prove interesting, as students and I examine the portfolio and contract, assessing a final grade.
Will I try this again? Probably, although I am uncertain how well this would work with a much larger creative writing class. Changes I I might make (aside from the portfolio requirement) are a contract renewal/renegotiation at mid-semester, figuring that what were priorities before really getting into the class were perhaps changed. What truly matters is that a community of writers prevailed, and despite some laxed attitude toward class "responsibilities", poets experimented and matured, producing continuous improvement in their works. For that, I am grateful.
technorati tag: teaching-carnival
