Students and professors at Kirkwood Community College recognize the importance of grades but question whether grades accurately reflect student learning or are simply a student’s ability to perform well under pressure.
Whether it’s acing or failing an exam, these between these two outcomes can have such an impact on a student’s mind and mentality.
One failed class can damage a student’s GPA and ruin their future academic goals. When the pressure to pass a class is so high, the learning aspect is hard to get through to students.
McKenzie Knebel, a second-year student at Kirkwood majoring in communication, plans to transfer to The University of Iowa after graduation.
“There is this pressure to keep my grades and GPA up, especially when taking mostly general education classes,” said Knebel. “Taking a class I don’t partially have interest in, it can be difficult because I don’t want to just put half my effort in, but it can be hard to learn the material when I’m not really interested in it.”
Knebel said some mandatory classes can feel like checking a box. She said she has occasionally turned to ChatGPT to help her complete assignments faster.
“When working a fulltime job, commuting to school and keeping up a social life, it can be hard to sit down and find time to study,” said Knebel. “When I know the material enough for a class, using ChatGPT as a tool for key points on an assignment can sometimes come in handy.”
Knebel said she learns better in a classroom when it’s a hands-on experience rather than a lecture.
She said she likes when a professor educates students with the lesson, but then also explains why this material matters in a student’s life and future.
Joshua Baker, professor of economics at Kirkwood, has a unique dynamic when teaching his classes. “At Kirkwood I get these smaller classes where I can be more personal with the students, and I enjoy having that connection,” said Baker.
He explained that his favorite times in his classroom are workdays, where a student can come in and get support from him one on one with the lesson.
“I truly get to help the students with their education and become their tutor,” Baker said.
Baker explained that he came from traditional learning so his in-person classes have exams on paper.
“I found out my classes’ online students were getting 90% to 100% on exams, while my in-class students were getting 70% to 75%, which is unfortunately the average in economics,” Baker said.
Baker recalled a student once telling him that taking an exam on paper made him feel that the instructor genuinely cared about his learning. It helped the student not only work hard for a good grade but also didn’t let AI become a shortcut to a perfect score.
Baker said feedback from students is valuable to him because it helps him ensure the students feel confident and set them up for success.
“I don’t change the quizzes and exams I give, I change the way I prepare to teach them,” said Baker.
“I started to give students prep quizzes,” he said. “They are completion based, so students can take them an unlimited number of times and won’t see an F in the gradebook. Students actually liked these preps and the ones who did them did better on the exams.”
Categories: Feature
