The concept of learned helplessness was the most common problem I observed throughout my first practicum experience. There were several students that expressed they weren’t smart enough, they couldn’t do it, or they always had an educational assistant present when they did their work. Learned helplessness can become a serious problem in a student’s educational journey, especially if they aren’t willing to even attempt their assignments. I appreciated Elizabeth’s sense of “withitness” when she recognized that her class was becoming too concerned with their grades rather than the actual learning that was to take place. I also agree that Elizabeth demonstrated the ability to adapt in this tricky situation, which is important to learn to do ourselves if we want to become effective teachers. The one point of contention you address yourself having is the matter of student’s submitting their work multiple times, and in this case study, seven times. This presents a complicated situation itself. It seems to be that the way we were taught through grade-school was that deadlines were firm, and you had one attempt to submit your work. However, in Elizabeth’s scenario, she allows multiple attempts in handing in assignments. For me, I do see the value in allowing multiple attempts for students, but I also see your point in that people often have one chance in further education or in the workforce. This dilemma is one that I’m sure would spark quite the debate. While we want to ensure our students understand the teachings and achieve the desired learning outcomes, we also want them to be prepared for life after school. This causes me to reflect on the new grading system, whereby the majority consists of comments rather than a letter grade. While I see the value of a comments-based approach, I also fear that if it continues partway through secondary school that students will not be set up for success in the senior grades or post-secondary education. This paradigm shift will certainly take some adjusting to!
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