Posted: June 2nd, 2015

Grade Problem Solving Activity

Grade Problem Solving Activity

Assume this is a regular class taught in a classroom on MWF at 11: 15 a.m. You have received a final average of 68.6%, a D, in this class, ENGL 1010. Because you are only 1.4 percentage points away from a C,  you are both disappointed and angry at the teacher about the grade. You must have a “C” or better so that the course will transfer to the four-year college you plan to attend. The grades that carried the most weight in the class were the major required essays, and you are convinced that the teacher did not agree with opinions you expressed in one of those essays and showed her disagreement by giving you a 50/100 percent on that essay. You made one D (65%), two C’s (75% and 72%) and one B (82%) on the other major essays. However, you decided not to take advantage of the option to revise one of your essays for a better grade simply because you were too busy in your other classes to do the revision and, though you had not actually calculated your grade, thought that you would certainly make at least a C in the class. Furthermore, you earned mainly B’s on all of the quizzes and other work you did in the class.

You missed three classes during the term. You missed one of those classes in order to study for a test in another class. You were absent  for the second time  to go to traffic court. You were absent the third time because you had stayed up until well past midnight doing homework for an anatomy and physiology class, and you were just too tired to attend this English class and, therefore, left campus after the A&P class ended. On two of the days you were absent, some daily in-class work was completed, taken up, and graded. This work was completed in small groups of three or four of your classmates working together to produce the final graded product. Because you were absent, you missed these  two 20-point assignments.

Finally, even though you work 30 hours a week, are taking 16 hours of classes, and have numerous obligations to family and friends, you have put a great deal of effort into doing the best you can under your personal circumstances. You have also talked to two or three other students who feel the teacher did not always grade fairly or make reasonable allowances for missed in-class group work.

DEFINE: In Discussion Forum Problem Solving Activity 3, post a fully developed definition of the problem of your problem. Comment on distinctions other students make that you did not (at least one comment).

DESIGN:  In aaddition, write at least a paragraph about the resources available to students on campus who want to challenge a final grade. In your paragraph, consider which of these resources will work the best for you.

DO:  Using the resources you and other students have brought up in the DESIGN Discussion, write a letter. Choose from the following two audiences:

the appropriate person on the VSCC campus who might help  you  challenge a grade in ENGL 1010. (Part of the problem is figuring out who that person is.)
a fellow student who will be taking ENGL 1010 next term to help him/her avoid a similar situation
Make sure the letter is addressed properly so I will know which of the two audiences you have chosen.