As we are nearing the end of the first semester there are two different worlds awaiting my students. 1: they will receive a numerical grade from me for their past performance and 2: there will be several interesting student-organized final week projects..some of my students opted for the one called : "The Flow reloaded"
I am very interested to see how alive and motivated my students will be during their multiple Flow related activities:climbing;canoeing;parcouring and archery...if I had to give them a grade for how they did during this one week - would they be satisfied with receiving just a simple numerical grade( like a 3 as befriedigend or a C )? Or would it not be much more appropriate and helpful if I gave them narrative and very specific oral or written comments - just as any trainer would do with his team members?
So why then does "the system" require me to grade a student's performance over some 130 contact hours with a simple number instead of a written evaluation?
One reason could be that the numeric grading system is simply more convenient and manageable.But isn't it also stifling because it does NOT really help to invite a student to assume ownership of his or her learning process.....and isn't that the meta-goal in our role as a caring teacher?
