Math Confidence Success Tip #2: Effort and Learning

Be consistent with effort and learning as test grades may fluctuate!!
Math test grades often seesaw due to content difficulty level as well as performance factors (breakfast, mood, weather, etc.). 'Little mistakes' can easily add up to 10 - 15 points.
Recommendation: Think of an 85 as being a very good Math grade.

Grading without A's

Response to New York Times article "Report Cards Give Up As and Bs for 3s and 4s"
http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2009/03/25/education/25cards.html?permid=61#comment61

While parents, students, teachers and society at large would like to know how students are faring, a good grade is not the only measure of learning. In fact, for the bright student, an A may be a result of their excellent 'raw materials' yet once these bright students reach Algebra, most will have to buckle down and actually study to learn the quadratic formula.

In secondary Math, an 85 is an excellent grade since 15 points will be lost to 'fuzzy errors' made under the pressure of an exam. It is hard to get an A in Math. As Barbie said “Math is hard” and it can be -- while offering many other life skills such as
Problem-Solving, Critical Thinking, Optimizing Your Potential, Escaping the Perfectionism Trap, Appreciating Effort vs. Obsessing about Ability, Financial / Medical Information Fluency, Expanding your self-teaching Skills, Finding a (new) career, Lifelong Learning and Brain Fitness.

As a Math peak performance coach, I help students and their families to focus on the learning and the effort expended while quieting the quest for perfectionism.

As Jim Rohn says, "Make measurable progress in reasonable time".

Robin Schwartz, Math Confidence

Motivation and Mindset

Motivation is an important component to Math success -- an interesting book related to education and effort is Mindset by Carol Dweck. She divides the world into two basic categories -- Ability vs Effort.
A study of Stanford freshman Chem students (the average grade is a C+ and many of these students have never gotten less than an A) -- the students who were ability-oriented thought they were just not smart enough and dropped Chem.
In contrast, the students who were effort-oriented stayed the course and developed and implemented a plan so they could improve.
http://www.mindsetonline.com/

Response to NYT Rewards for Students: Brain Fitness

While money (or other incentives) can work in some cases, there are inherent rewards in a “honest day’s work”. Effort (whether put forth in a classroom, an office or a kitchen) is a key ingredient for self-esteem, character building and success. Engaging the disengaged is a challenging task. Another tool may be to publicize the benefits of “brain fitness” thereby improving the PR of some subjects (such as Math).

Math Confidence's Perspective of Math as a "Life Skill":
Strengthens critical thinking and reasoning skills
Broadens career and educational choices
Instills values of discipline and excellence
Improves self-awareness, focus and attention
Builds confidence for academic, professional and personal success

Adding Character Building to the Dialogue on Grades and Effort

Huge Response to NYT Article re: Student Expectations

The New York Times published seven letters today relating to last week's article (which was the most emailed article for at least a day or two). Most of the letters were focused on the reward of effort with a grade.

The reward of effort is the character building and internal self-confidence that are boosted by hard work and perseverance. It would be terrific if the dialogue on this topic would include the non-grade related payoff. When I have posted about effort and learning are among the top benefits of technical content, grades have not been mentioned.

There is a great visual in the NYT OpEd next to these 7 letters that says:
90 - 100 A
80-90 A
70-80 A
60-70 B+
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/opinion/l23grades.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

Last week, I posted the distribution of grades in engineering courses...(see 2/18 blog below)...oops, I forgot to mention how much grades depended on the class average (usually far below 50). This hardens the learner as the 'easy' A is just never there and the payoff is looking longer horizon toward the degree, job possibilities, life lessons...rather than embarassment, a lot of camaderie was constructed by exchanging test score information (that were so LOW). You hoped for a C but sometimes, a D was for diploma -- you got your 3 credits toward your degree...Engineering schools do this on purpose to build mental toughness and it works although some drop out not because they are asked toleave but rather because they are used to getting As.

Thanks Syracuse University L.C. Smith College of Engineering!

Response to Teach Your Children Well HuffPost

Confidence is often a result of effort and mistakes.. As a Math peak performance coach and a parent, my role is to help people to build their Math Confidence through knowledge, skills and attitude. Self-esteem in any discipline can be heightened by taking risks and making mistakes -- thereby growing wiser.
The huge attitudinal component associated with Math is twofold:
1. a grade of A is usually harder to achieve in Math than in other subjects. It is tough to be perfectionistic and be a Math student.
2. "When Are We Ever Gonna Use This Math?" is not posed because they so eager to use it, it"s a you-can't-make-me type of question?rather than "This is so cool " I can't wait to use it!!"
People confuse utility with critical thinking skills -- maybe the curriculum should be Excel spreadsheets. For now it's Algebra and Trig. Why did we read "The Odyssey"? It's just plain good for you like gym and vegetables.
Looking beyond grades and focusing on learning and effort is a great life lesson for students, parents, teachers and society at large.

The Easy A vs. Learning & Effort

(click on the title to see the New York Times Education article)
"Student Expectations Seen as Causing Grade Disputes"

A de-emphasis on grades helps learners, parents, teachers and society focus on effort and learning which are the true goals of education.

Well-intentioned parents can unintentionally discourage students from furthering their studies in Math and Science as technical courses tend not to be easy As (or even hard As). In engineering school, many professors distribute the grades as follows: 10% A, 20%B, 40%C, 20% D, 10%F. Getting used to the possibility of a C is an important life lesson that speaks of effort and learning.