Ditch That Remediation

This is my review of one chapter: Ditch that Remediation.  

            In Miller and Keeler’s book, Ditch That Homework, there are a plethora of terrific ideas and concepts from each of these chapters. Some do leave me with a bit of a “duh” moment of revelation, however. The study that revealed that “GPA correlated with self-efficacy” (89) was one of those moments. Students working from a base of confidence are more likely to find academic success, thus revealing where our efforts as educators ought to be more focused. Guide students to feel more sure of themselves. From there, they can launch themselves up to achieve their goals and academic success. Easy, right?

            Authentic audience, someone, or many, who is receiving the information presented, but isn’t just checking it for errors. Real people, sort of. This was my goal for the video teaser portion of the lesson plan that I created. I wanted the students to feel that they had an authentic audience for their video, fictitious though it may be. So then, it makes sense that students who create “content that is intended to be shared with an authentic audience forces students to synthesize” (91) material in a different way that will promote retention. That is the goal, right? We want our students to retain the information that they learn to then be able to apply it in different areas of their lives. Transfer is the true test of building skills.

 

Citation

Miller, M. & Keeler, A. (2017). Ditch that Homework: Practical Strategies to Help Make Homework Obsolete. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.