Breaking out of the conventional assessment system

The universal question asked by every learner, from primary school to the end of a doctorate, is: "Does this count towards the final grade?"

Since the 18th century, the classical assessment system has taught students to work hard and hope that all their efforts will lead to a good grade. This works well for some, but what about others? What happens when, despite all good will, a subject still ends in failure? A vicious circle is set in motion, leading to demotivation.

That's why Marie-Camille Coudert stopped using the extrinsic motivation system several years ago. She prefers to focus on intrinsic motivation, which really pushes learners at all levels to excel. To achieve this, she uses constructive assessment.

So, at the beginning of the year, students choose a grade they want to achieve in each subject. Obviously, we encourage at least a passing grade. Thereafter, each series of determined actions will lead to obtaining a brick corresponding to one point (out of 20). The first few will therefore be very easy to achieve, but it will get tougher for the final grades.

This approach represents a complete paradigm shift. Here, students are not penalized for mistakes. If they make too many, they won't get the "brick" on the spot, but they can pick themselves up again at any time. In short, they really know what is expected of them for each level, can work accordingly and see their progress over the course of the year.

A technique that works even with the most unmotivated, since the effort they put in is well and truly rewarded. To understand this approach even more concretely, teachers can also watch this video of their colleague explaining it.

Running time: 13min52