Abstract and Synthesis FIAE Chapter 10

Abstract 

This chapter explained several ideas behind allowing students to redo work for credit. It explains some of the criteria teachers should taken into consideration when determining whether to allows students to redo work or not. One such criteria is to require parents to sign off on allowing the student to redo work, that way the parent is involved and can help to hold the student accountable. Another suggestion or criterion is to have students create a calendar or plan of completion. Don't allow students to have as much time as they want, but instead hold them responsible for creating a deadline to turn the revised work in by. Having students attach the original assignment to the revised assignment allows the teacher to see the progress made or changes made and helps the teacher to determine whether the student revised it themselves or had assistance. Something that goes along with this is to have students fill out the self-assessment again or to include a detailed list of what they changed/fixed/revised. This not only saves time on the teacher's end, but also requires that the student be able to determine for themselves what they changed. If they can't figure it out, then they didn't make a significant enough change. If a student's revised grade is lower than the original grade then the higher grade should be the one put into the gradebook. As Wormeli argues, "In most of life, we're given credit for the highest score we've earned," (134). Possibly one of the most important suggestions from this chapter is to stop accepting revised work during the last week of the grading period. This is done for the teacher's benefit. Having even more work to grade is not worth the loss of sanity that one would suffer if he were to accept additional revised work.

Synthesis
The general consensus is that allowing students to redo work is okay, as long as students have a valid reason to do so. If a student were to waste time and turn in an incomplete draft just because he or she knew that the option to redo it would be given, then we generally would not be likely to accept the redo. Students who always try and work hard in class would be given more opportunities to revise work, while students who never show up to class would not be. Creating a clear policy and sticking to it was also favored; no one wants to be the teacher who is walked all over because of their redo policy. Having students create a calendar/plan of completion seemed like a good idea because it keeps the student and teacher on the same page during the revision process. It also holds the students accountable, just as having parents sign the original task or assignment before the student is able to redo it.. Attaching the original task will be helpful because we all want to see the first attempt or any successive attempts.