The role of the teacher in the digital age is not a source of knowledge, the sage on stage, rather to help students develop the skills and ‘habits of mind’ to function effectively in the information age. What interests me is inquiry-based learning. Inquiry includes structured inquiry, guided inquiry, and open inquiry.

Inquiry includes structured inquiry, guided inquiry, and open inquiry.

“If it doesn’t count, either I won’t do it or I won’t put much effort into it”.

Some burning questions for me that I am investigating are: “If I can’t enforce strict deadlines, how will I manage my marking load?” and “In the case of a late or missed assignment, should a student be required to provide a justifiable reason before being given a second chance to complete the assignment or an alternate?”.

Separately grade product criteria (which capture students’ academic performance toward goals and reflect how they demonstrated learning) and process criteria (which reflect non achievement data that impact learning, like citizenship, peer relationships, and persistence).

Another way to make grading serve motivation is to reconsider what goes in the gradebook. Practice work throughout the unit, such as in-class assignments and homework, should be collected and returned with feedback. However, this is practice, not the game; performance on it shouldn’t contribute to the overall points earned. Reserve points for end-of-unit assessments of learning.

“Many educators perceive that students’ attention is constantly diverted by digital distractions, making sustained focus nearly impossible”. “Too often, measuring behavioral engagement, like physical signals of attentiveness, compliance in task completion, and the number of clicks on a digital learning platform, takes precedence. Cognitive engagement is routinely overlooked”.

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