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WillyPete · 02-08-2005, 09:44 AM

what I know of violence as a means of earning respect is that it's usually done by those wanting to earn the respect of the group they are with and not the person they have fought.

How about assigning tasks for class credit or reducing homework?
Set the tasks so that they encourage either independent action for higher points or even higher for points gained in association with a kid not doing so well in class.

The end reslut is that kids wanting higher grades will end up seeking out less capable/motivated students and helping them with small research tasks for their own selfish reasons.
Set a large and varied number of tasks that they can do, some with different levels of point assignments based on difficulty.
Points/number of students working on the problem = total personal points per task.
Throw in a rating of 1-4 (1 =hi, 4 =lo)where the kids are placed according to current task grade. Make it so that the more lo graded kids are in a task group, the higher their individual points will be. A Lower graded kid can also get more points than normal for higher graded tasks if they do them alone. encouraging independence and personal achievement.

The more frequently they do them, you'll notice that the kids that needed help will move up the 'ladder' and the top kids will make the obvious choice to work alongside those that have moved lower.

You'll be generating a kind of 'aid' economy where kids will tend to group to get ahead and reduce their class workload. If the emphasis is on assisting those lower down, then you will also build up a general class respect for those seeing and resolving the problems for the kids with grade troubles.
Everyone wins and it should help bond the students. They can also strike out and do tasks on their own, but the points are less than if they drag others into the task presentation.
It also encourages students to ask for help.

If it's voluntary, then students either have to do all the class work to get a good grade or supplement it with these tasks to make up that A.
If you make the points supplementary to any coursework, but not exceeding 1/3 of the semester's total, then kids can quite easily get full points for the course by helping lower graded kids.

Any thoughts?

02-08-2005, 09:44 AM	#7 (permalink)
WillyPete Addict	what I know of violence as a means of earning respect is that it's usually done by those wanting to earn the respect of the group they are with and not the person they have fought. How about assigning tasks for class credit or reducing homework? Set the tasks so that they encourage either independent action for higher points or even higher for points gained in association with a kid not doing so well in class. The end reslut is that kids wanting higher grades will end up seeking out less capable/motivated students and helping them with small research tasks for their own selfish reasons. Set a large and varied number of tasks that they can do, some with different levels of point assignments based on difficulty. Points/number of students working on the problem = total personal points per task. Throw in a rating of 1-4 (1 =hi, 4 =lo)where the kids are placed according to current task grade. Make it so that the more lo graded kids are in a task group, the higher their individual points will be. A Lower graded kid can also get more points than normal for higher graded tasks if they do them alone. encouraging independence and personal achievement. The more frequently they do them, you'll notice that the kids that needed help will move up the 'ladder' and the top kids will make the obvious choice to work alongside those that have moved lower. You'll be generating a kind of 'aid' economy where kids will tend to group to get ahead and reduce their class workload. If the emphasis is on assisting those lower down, then you will also build up a general class respect for those seeing and resolving the problems for the kids with grade troubles. Everyone wins and it should help bond the students. They can also strike out and do tasks on their own, but the points are less than if they drag others into the task presentation. It also encourages students to ask for help. If it's voluntary, then students either have to do all the class work to get a good grade or supplement it with these tasks to make up that A. If you make the points supplementary to any coursework, but not exceeding 1/3 of the semester's total, then kids can quite easily get full points for the course by helping lower graded kids. Any thoughts? Last edited by WillyPete; 02-08-2005 at 09:56 AM..