The podcast centered on changing systems.

David discussed how he had

success in the classroom but not necessarily changing the system that he was working

in. I enjoyed listening to him talk about involving all stakeholders in the change to get

better results. I feel like our students have a lot of valuable information that we could

use to change our education system but that it is a relatively untapped resource. He

also identified the method he was going to use to change the system he was attempting

to change. This is important as well as something that a lot of people struggle to do

when attempting to change a system.

David’s initial strategy to change the system was to target the bad students and

teachers and push them out. He realized that this didn’t change the system or have the

desired impact that he was trying to get. It’s very interesting to hear that because we

hear a lot of teachers complain about students and work on ways to get rid of them or

ask about a change in placement. That doesn’t change the system and it certainly

doesn’t help the student.

There were several parts to the podcast that I found new and surprising. I

enjoyed the part where David discussed involving the students in the process of the

change. This is something I attempt to do when discussing attendance with students. I

believe our students are an untapped resource with a lot of issues that our education

system currently faces. Too many times we recommend changes without discussing

and gathering input from all parties impacted by the change.

I also liked the part where David discusses moving from an extrinsic motivation to

an intrinsic motivation. This is something I strive for but have struggled to achieve with a

lot of the students that I work with. I think this is important for students to learn about
their intrinsic motivations and to take on the responsibility of their education. This is an

area that I would like to continue to learn about.

A surprising part of the podcast for me was when David discussed how grades

motivate or demotivate students. He discusses grades only being motivating to students

who achieve good grades. Grades can actually demotivate other students. This makes

sense to me but I had never thought about it in the way that David did. I work with

multiple students a day who could care less about their grades. I actually don’t get to

work with many students who care a lot about their grades. I am aware of this but

haven’t heard someone discuss it before.

Our current grading system in Ankeny is different than some of the examples that

David used in the podcast. We don’t grade on a bell curve and use standards based

grading. I do agree with his ideas on grades and how they motivate students though. I

don’t like the timelines that we use in education but I also struggle with removing

deadlines in the classroom. I think part of it is because I’m just not used to this current

grading system and I worry about its implications for students when they leave high

school. I think we need to work with colleges and job fields to figure out what a grade is

communicating. What do they want a grade to communicate?

I have heard and discussed changing systems in the past year and have often

heard the phrase by what method. I am continuing to learn about this because too often

the change doesn’t have an impact. We simply tweak the current system and don’t

identify the method we will use to change the system. I think part of this is because

people don’t like change and are afraid to rock the boat.
 David talks about asking if there is a reason why all of his students can’t achieve

at high levels. He then discusses changes to his system that at the time must have

seemed drastic. He even says that after posting grades his administrator came to him

and told him to run the numbers again because too many students had earned a high

grade. Why does a change in a system that delivers good results lead to questioning

about the accuracy of the report instead of inquiries of how did you do that? What would

it take for others to achieve those same results?