Instructors should intentionally assign tasks rather than reverting to giving failing grades: Opinion

In response to a recent article published in Inside Higher Ed, Benjamin Rifkin writes that instructors should respect their students as unique individuals and consider the world that they will be working within. Rifkin argues that instructors should be intentional about assigning authentic tasks to their students rather responding to poor performance by defaulting to a failing grade. The author writes that instructors can decrease the number of Fs they give by considering the amount of work they assign, assigning authentic tasks that focus on skills used in the workforce, and considering changing their classroom evaluation methods to be more authentic. “Ultimately, it’s my responsibility as their professor to assign work that aligns with my learning goals for them and to create structures in my course that motivate the students to do the work because it’s transparently meaningful to them,” writes Rifkin.