Outlier Practices Make or Break the Learning Experience

We learn, and remember for that matter, from experience.  Thus, it is critical that the culture in your classroom and school positively impacts learners while adequately preparing them for their future, not our past.  I shared the following in Chapter 7 of Disruptive Thinking in Our Classrooms:

Almost all of us have heard the phrase, “Experience is the best teacher.” Growing up, I heard it a great deal. At the time, I didn’t appre¬ciate it or fully understand its meaning, but now I wholeheartedly con¬cur. Of course, there are some experiences I wish I could have avoided that resulted in negative outcomes, but they are still a significant com¬ponent of my story. The driving force behind the decisions we make is the innate beliefs we have about ourselves. Our experiences, positive and negative, shape who we are. They become an integral part of us and create our story.

Think about why you went into the field of education.  For many of us, the answer lies in the relationships that were forged by amazing teachers, administrators, coaches, custodians, bus drivers, or other support staff.  It was the experience that each provided that helped shape us into who we are today.  For me, there were several standout teachers that impacted me in ways that I am forever grateful for. Here is what I shared in Disrutive Thinking:

These teachers—and a handful of others throughout my own K-12 educational journey—engaged in practices that were memorable and perhaps even outside the norm. They did not focus on grades and homework; instead, they focused on learning and creating experiences designed to enhance students’ learning and push our thinking. In many ways, they were “outlier” educators who engaged in “outlier” practices which resulted in outside-the-box thinking and learning on the part of the students with whom they interacted. Pockets of excellence such as these examples are no longer good enough.

Many practices in education can fall into the outlier category. For the intents of this post, I want to focus on those that are either overused, underused, or ineffective, and that can either make or break a student’s experience.  They are as follows:

• Grades
• Zeros
• Homework
• Feedback
• Reflection 

Grades

Numbers and letters are synonymous with education. While I am not opposed to grades, I do feel that they often lack true clarity in terms of what a student has learned but are still an overused element in a traditional classroom.  The key is to make them as meaningful as possible through the use of multiple means of assessment, including rubrics and scaffolded tasks aligned to relevant application.  Assigning arbitrary points for participation and behavior as a part of scoring guides or on research papers should be avoided. These do not reflect what has been learned.  

Zeros

The practice of assigning a zero is ineffective as the only role it serves is to punish kids. Once given, it will completely distort a student’s grade, which will no longer represent what has been learned.  It is essential to determine first and foremost why the task is not being completed in the first place. In almost all cases, the assignment should be marked as incomplete until it is done. In my opinion, a zero should only be considered in the cases of cheating or if all other strategies have been exhausted. 

Homework

Rarely does a child come home excited to complete homework, yet it represents another overused outlier strategy. It tends to diminish excitement and appreciation for learning.  Many times, it is assigned because that’s the way it has always been.  In moderation, homework can be an effective strategy if it allows for the authentic application of key concepts learned in a timely manner.  You also can’t go wrong with reading. It should not be graded as there are equity issues or take hours of time to complete. Kids need to be kids. 

Feedback

While a grade might be the final indicator of what has been learned, it’s the feedback that helps students along the way.  This is an underused strategy where there is always room for growth.  Effective feedback is delivered promptly, involves learners in the process, and articulates how to advance towards a goal in relation to standards or concepts. 

Reflection

John Dewey said, “We don’t learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.” Reflective learning allows kids to step back from their learning experience to help them develop disruptive thinking and improve future performance by analyzing their experience. It assists them in moving from surface to deep learning. Writing, video, peer interaction, and closure questions are a great way to incorporate reflection regularly. 

Outlier practices, depending on how they are implemented, can either promote or inhibit disruptive thinking. As you reflect on the outlier practices above where do you see an opportunity to grow or improve? What action steps will you take? The main takeaway is how they are implemented in ways that support or enhance learning while helping to build powerful relationships in the process. 

The Problem With Zeros

The dreaded zero. For many students, this number elicits a certain amount of fear and anxiety that all assignments are turned in on time. I, for one, felt this way and made sure that everything was turned in when it was due.  Compliance and following rules, even if I didn’t agree with them, were just natural parts of my view of school.  Unfortunately, the effect does not transcend to every kid. Sometimes they forget. Other times they just don’t care. Regardless of the reasons, I think it is essential to critically examine the message and lesson that we are imparting to our youth through this outdated and, quite frankly, insensitive practice. 

The policy for giving zeros to students who do not turn in assignments when they are due has pretty much been entrenched in schools across the world. It is one of many examples that fall into what I call the “death trap” in education – that’s the way we have always done it.  Just because something has been done in the past, or is a traditional component of school culture, does not mean it is an effective practice.  In my opinion, it is well beyond the time to revisit this practice and determine if it truly is in the best interests of our learners.  Take the scenario below shared by Powers Thaddeus “Teddy” Norrell.

Emily is an engaged student who always pays attention in class, has a high class rank, and has never made a grade lower than an A. Emily’s first four grades in physics are 100, 99, 99, and 98. Emily is set to have a 99 average for the term. However, she has had an unusually busy week, and when she arrives at school on the morning the final assignment is due, she realizes that she has completely forgotten to do it. She explains her situation to the teacher and begs to be allowed to turn it in the next day. The teacher is unsympathetic and assigns Emily a grade of zero for the final assignment, telling her that this will prepare her for the “real world.”

Let’s examine the last statement regarding preparation for the real world. Correct me if I am wrong, but in education, teachers and administrators don’t receive zeros if they:

• Don’t arrive to work on time.
• Fail to meet a determined deadline (i.e., turn in lesson plans, complete all observations/evaluations by a set date, etc.)
• Don’t read or respond to email and as a result, are unprepared for meetings or don’t get needed information to colleagues when required.
• Forget to call parents back

Now other professions might have stricter accountability, but more often than not, there is leeway.  The question then becomes what message or lesson are we really teaching students by giving zeros? If learning and growth is the goal, then it is our responsibility to tackle this issue as the negative impacts on our learners far outweigh the need to make an example or fall back on the “preparation for the real-world” rationale. 

As a principal, I worked with my staff to tackle this issue as well as the overall practice of grading. I’m not going to lie; it was one of the hardest change initiatives I ever engaged in during my tenure as principal. Now I am not saying our solution was perfect or the best by any means. However, it did represent a step in a better direction in that we focused more on learning as opposed to grades and marks. You can see the specific changes and associated rationale for our revamped grading philosophy HERE. Below is what the committee came to a consensus on in regard to zeros:

No zeros: Students are not to be assigned a grade of zero (0).  This not only reflects grading as punishment but also creates a hole that students cannot dig out of (Guskey, 2000; Reeves, 2004; Reeves, 2008; O'Conner and Wormeli, 2011).  This includes HW, quizzes, tests, projects, etc.  An exception to this would be cases that involved cheating, plagiarism, or a midterm/final exam no show without a justifiable excuse (i.e., doctor’s note, death in the family, etc.).

For some practical alternatives to dishing out zeros check out the latter portion of the article by Norrell titled Less Than Zero. It is important to determine why students don’t turn in specific assignments such as homework and projects as a way to mitigate even having to consider doling out zeros.  Consider the following questions:

• Is the assignment meaningful and relevant? 
• Does the learner see the purpose in it?
• Will feedback be given?

Reflecting on these questions can help lead to the creation of better assignments that are more relevant, and kids actually want to complete.  Punishing learners with zeros destroys both morale and a love of learning by digging a hole that many cannot recover from (nor do they have any aspirations to do so).  They also create a mirage in terms of what was actually learned.  If a grade does not reflect learning than what’s the point? We owe it to our students to pave a better path forward. 

Guskey, T. R. (2000). Grading policies that work against standards … and how to fix them. NASSP Bulletin, 84(620), 20–29.

O'Connor, K. (2007). A repair kit for grading: 15 fixes for broken grades. Portland, OR: Educational Testing Service.

O’Connor, K., & Wormeli, R. (2011). Reporting student learning. Educational Leadership, 69(3), 40-44.

Reeves, D. B. (2004). The case against zero. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(4), 324–325.

Reeves, D. B. (2008). Effective grading practices. Educational Leadership, 65(5), 85–87.