Post date: Oct 28, 2014 4:12:56 PM
Today, as I was beginning to conquer the mountain of student portfolios that still need grading, I noticed that I have begun to change the value I place on different components of an assignment. I found myself rushing through all of the complex mathematics, and zeroing in on the student reflections at the end of each portfolio.
I feel I should warn readers; never ask students to evaluate the assignments that you create unless you are ready for some very pointed and incisive critiques. Students pointed out many flaws in planning and execution of their latest project. They also offered some very helpful ideas about how I could improve the assignment next year. Many ranted about how difficult the project was in one sentence, and then reflected on how much they had learned in the next. They almost universally agreed that I should repeat the project (with their suggested corrections) next year.
What struck me most about their reflections, however, was the repeated use of the word "think." Many of them felt that, even though there were not that many actual math problems to do, they had been required to think a great deal. Some found all of this thinking time to be a wonderful change in their daily routine, Others wished that I had directed them more, so that the work could have gone quicker. One student wrote that the assignment had "strained [her] brain" but felt that all the strain had "stretched [her] brain a little."
Here's to stretching their brains.