Professor Abandons Grades for Experience Points
- Thread starter Greg Tito
- Start date
This would have helped me finish school I think. The idea of gradual and easy to understand progress through a course, even if only a thin veil over the curriculum, would have been refreshing. I do have an interesting thought. What if this practice were taken to it's furthest degree? In The Tao of Leveling [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_237/7035-The-Tao-of-Leveling] Brett discusses his own personal level through life. He also takes the idea to stat points and skill points.. Could we one day, instead of getting grades, earn "specialties", like in the World of Darkness games? Get an A+ in Math 11, get a 3 dot specialty for Math 11.
Could a resume one day look like a character sheet for a Pen and Paper RPG?
Could a resume one day look like a character sheet for a Pen and Paper RPG?
I like it!
Besides doing something that many of the students actually understand, its cool because you can constantly improve your grade.
I was never good at taking tests and just one bad test grade can ruin your overall grade, so earning points based on EVERYTHING that you do to get a final grade is an excellent idea.
Besides doing something that many of the students actually understand, its cool because you can constantly improve your grade.
I was never good at taking tests and just one bad test grade can ruin your overall grade, so earning points based on EVERYTHING that you do to get a final grade is an excellent idea.
Certainly an interesting attempt at motivating student as since everything you do got you points you would feel like nothing is pointless. I know from my own experience you sort of prioritise the tasks/write-ups that influence the greater percentage of your final grades over the smaller tasks. If it all meant something I would certainly treat every task the same and give them all equal priority; I like it!
Sounds awesome. I'd love a system like that, just to watch my teacher's try to keep a straight face as I level up in front of them.
I'd be level 70 scholar by the end of the year!
I'd be level 70 scholar by the end of the year!
I am, and have always been, of the opinion that 100% of one's grade should be based on a practical exam at the end of a course. Open-Resource, because that's the way the world works. If you can't apply your knowledge, and can't look up what you don't know, then you don't deserve to pass.
After you graduate and get a job, every day is an exam. I'm sick of having to carry college grads and/or "certified" workers on my back.
After you graduate and get a job, every day is an exam. I'm sick of having to carry college grads and/or "certified" workers on my back.
Hmm... from what I can tell, the main difference is that the EXP. system is almost purely a point-based system, rather than a percentile grade system (which is what the traditional letter grade system is like). Ideally, however, for an "Experience Points" system to work, and make sense with in-game experience points systems... I think each "quest" or project/assignment/quiz/whatever, would need to have its "EXP gain" based on how difficult the assignment generally is. If the teacher/prof. implementing such a system wanted to take it further... additional EXP points could be awarded for students challenging themselves, or coming up with especially clever solutions to various problems that a given project would present.JRCB said:
Sorry... I'm the child of two teachers.
Wow, that's actually pretty awesome.
Now I feel really stupid, since I'm leaving for Pennsylvania when I could just stay home here in Indiana and get taught by this guy. He seems to definitely know what he's doing.
Now I feel really stupid, since I'm leaving for Pennsylvania when I could just stay home here in Indiana and get taught by this guy. He seems to definitely know what he's doing.
This pretty much sum the whole thing up. I just wish they did this over here (the xp in lieu of grades thing, not the picture)buy teh haloz said:
I think the main difference is that you get rewarded for work done throughout the year as opposed to purely based on exam results. A lot of courses do a similar thing, I need to do assessments throughout the year that all count towards my final grade, I suppose this is a novel way of approaching the idea. It also provides some interesting ideas, for example can anybody get an A if they work hard enough if there are unlimited "quests" or "sidequests"?? And would this be a good or bad thing?mokes310 said:
Because it actually takes into consideration what works in the modern world and attempts to revitalize the interest in school related activities. The reason educational shows with puppets have been around for decades is that you need to grab people's attention by starting from something that they actually care about and/or enjoy. Put on a teacher saying "A is a letter. you have this many letters, and they form words" and the kids will start playing with their shoelaces. Put on a furry monkey singing about how "A is for Avocado" and the kid starts learning letters and words.mokes310 said:
