Barry Westling

Terry, This is a great way to approach grading. As in all classes, we want to make sure that whatever system or process we use, it accurately and clearly measures learning. Some systems look sound, but the weight is not rightly distributed, so that, in the worst case, students do lots of busy work to earn points, but their grade does not reflect their learning which may have come mainly from the project, or preparing for exams (exam scores), etc. Reviewing is very important, and the more students can do this on their own, the more they will learn. However,… >>>

Michael, I wholeheartedly agree students deserve all the chances we can give them. I guess it depends on the climate and reason for EC. When students don't do assigned work, are lazy abouit turning stuff in, then want a reward via EC to get extra points that other students don't get (and didn't ask for), that's a scenario based on points and grades, usually with little to do with real learning. Perhaps in other settings, there is a place for EC. I will give bonus points on exams for optional demonstration of learned material. Also, I usually drop the lowest… >>>