This blog is the third in my set of three interviews I completed as a result of the multiple revision policy for my AR project. The first two interviews were with one pair of girls and a set of three boys. Now, this interview was with two boys who have been in my class all year long. I wanted them to elaborate upon the survey questions the class had responded to the week before. I asked them only to elaborate on certain questions as I did with the other two interviews. I asked them to explain more about questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, and 14. Then I left time at the end for them to let me know about anything else they wanted to speak about.
The students who participated in the interview were not selected but were instead self chosen. They told me that they wanted to be interviewed.
1. Has the ability to redo assignments multiple times been beneficial to you?
The first student said that the ability to redo assignments has been beneficial to him most of the time. He often has to redo assignments that he has not put the most time into. When he does redo and assignment, it helps him bump up the grade. The other student in the interview agreed to what the first students said. He also acknowledged that it was good to have the extra time to complete the work.
2. Has the ability to redo assignments had a positive change to your thinking about learning and being a successful learner?
The first student indicated that he thought so. He said it let him have an advantage by having a redo. Now he has been getting mediocre to good grades where before that was not the case. The other student agreed.
3. On average, do you do an assignment correctly the first time the assignment is assigned?
The first student indicated that sometimes he took advantage of the assignment and redo because he didn’t do the work 100% the first time. Knowing that you can redo the work, sometimes the incentive isn’t there to do it right. When you are able to redo the work, you do not always do it 100%. The other student commented that it depends on the amount of help he gets. If he is getting help from the student teacher or the teacher, which most of the time he is getting help and on serious papers, then he does.
6. Thinking about the feedback you receive on assignments, did it help you succeed as a learner?
The first student said that the feedback on each assignment helps. It shows me how and what I am doing wrong. Feedback always helps me improve my grade. The second student agreed.
Do you take the multiple redo policy for granted?
The first student said that a lot of people can take advantage because you have so many times to redo. If there was only one time, you would probably put the most you could into the work. With the redo, you keep improving, which helps learning but people can take advantage. The second student indicated that most people know they have extra time so they do not do the homework that night. But they also want to get it done so things do not build up.
The first student also had the suggestion that to redo the revision policy, maybe the student must first turn in the assignment on the day it was due, and then they can redo the assignment since they turned it in on the original due date. I asked them to clarify what that meant. He clarified that that might mean some students rush to get the work done, but it could also take away some of the flaws he believed of the redo policy.
Knowing that you have multiple opportunities to redo your work, has your effort declined on those assignments?
One of the students indicated that his effort has not declined when doing an assignment because he thinks about all the free time he could be having rather than redoing work, If he sees flaws in his work, he thinks about fixing those. The other student indicated that there could be times when others rush their work and that could show their effort has declined.
Throughout the semester, do you try to perform harder at first so not to have to redo it?
The first student indicated that when he first started redoing work, he didn’t really utilize the policy very much. He did the assignment and got an OK grade. As he progressed, he would add a little more to the assignment and his grade would improve. PLNs are an example. The other student indicated that his grade last semester supported his view. He realized this semester that it is better to do everything when it is due so things don’t pile up. He is trying not to have the build up of work which led to bad grades.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the greatest improvement, how have you improved as a student as a result of the multiple redo policy?
One of the students rated himself an 8-9. He gave the example of writing this position paper because he has been behind but the policy gives him the chance to get in the work in and grades on his paper. The other student rated himself a 6-7. He gave the reasoning behind his ranking that being able to redo doesn’t enhance knowledge. Adding sentences doesn’t add to knowledge it just makes you more aware of what the teacher wants. That is not learning.
14. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being greatest improvement, how would you rank the redo policy vs. a non-redo policy in terms of it actually improving writing?
One of the students rated himself as a10. He indicated that he is getting a lot of work night after night. A non-redo policy the kids wouldn’t learn or do the work. With redo the kids can redo their work the following night. The other student rated himself at an 8-9. No explanation followed.
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