Practice without Penalty

For the first few years I taught, I thought it was my job to check everything the children did. This took a tremendous amount of time, but I was diligent. I still remember the relief I felt when an older teacher suggested that I was doing kids a disservice by checking everything. They need to practice without penalty while they're learning.

Now I personally check and grade only tests or papers used for grading, about one per week per subject. All other work is self-corrected. There's no real incentive to cheat because no grades are given on these. The object is to prepare for the test, when the grade counts. The kids like this and actually work harder than before! It helped them view learning as a process. I was their advocate in helping them learn rather than always their judge.

Some students work much more quickly than others. It used to bother me that they didn't all finish their assignments. Later, I realized that it is the quality of work that counts more than the quantity. If they work diligently, it no longer matters to me whether they finished every problem. After instruction, I'd make an assignment and help individuals. When the hour was up, I'd call a halt and move to the front of the room.

Here's a trick if you haven't prepared a key. Ask, "Who can tell me the answer to the first problem?" Once a student volunteers, ask how many other people got that answer. If no one else did, it's probably wrong. If there's a split in the vote, more instruction is needed and the teacher should talk through the problem on the board.

Once the kids have checked their answers, ask, "How many of you got 100% on the ones you finished? Good, give yourselves a pat on the back. How many of you missed only one? How many missed more than one?" Make a mental note of the children who missed more than one. They may need special attention or additional instruction.