A natural outgrowth of the AFL philosophy is the idea that redos are essential to learning. After all, if learning (rather than calculating a grade) is what's most important, and if for learning to occur students need lots of practice and opportunities to learn from their mistakes, then redoing an assignment just makes sense. If students can't redo an assignment - either right away, at a later date, or by demonstrating mastery on a future assignment - then by definition the assignment was summative.
It's common for teachers to grasp this concept but then have a difficult time figuring out how to make redos work in their classroom. That conversation is bigger than any one blog post, but Reed Gillespie from Nokesville, VA has taken a nice stab at it. Click on this link to read his recent blog post entitled: 12 Steps to Creating a Successful Redo and Retake Policy.
Thanks, Reed, for taking the time to add your voice and ideas to this important discussion!
Comments
Thanks for sharing these blog posts. I enjoyed reading them and learned quite a bit. It is a bit worrying the extent to which he refers to quizzes and tests, but I guess a lot depends on how the tests are designed. The idea of redo's and retakes works better with projects in which there is a final product that can be judged as meeting the criteria or not.
I agree, Jori. It's nice to have some very practical ideas to help make a philosophy play out appropriately.
Love, love, LOVE Mr. Gillespie's ideas. The redo ticket makes it possible for the student to have ownership of their learning.