Here's some good advice on whether to give students extra credit work. As Dean Dad notes, giving a student the opportunity for extra credit at the end of the semester is unfair to all the other students. I would add my own observation that students DO talk to each other, so if you decide to do this, count on other students lining up for their own extra credit points. Also, allowing some students this opportunity and not others is unfair and opens the door to a grade appeal or worse, a lawsuit.
I agree with Dean Dad's comments below that we really aren't teaching the student useful skills when we allow them extra credit opportunities at the end of the semester. As he notes:
"If students start to expect end-of-semester freebies to bail out three months of slacking, what, exactly, are we teaching them? Sometimes I think “suck it up” is one of the most valuable lessons we can teach. It’s certainly an important life skill, and one that comes in handy at entry-level jobs. A kid who hasn’t learned to suck it up is in for a rude shock when he gets to his first real job."
If you want to provide your students the chance to earn additional points, build it into your syllabus so that all students can have the same advantage. I would also put deadlines on these to encourage students to do these assignments early in the semester (and make your grading load more manageable at the end).
Comments