How to Stop Point-Chasing & Start Learning

🎯 Are you tired of students chasing points instead of actually learning? This groundbreaking conversation with Sarah M. Zerwin reveals why traditional grading systems are failing our students and how to create classrooms where real learning thrives.

In this eye-opening episode of Schoolutions, discover how one master educator transformed her classroom by eliminating the "points for compliance" system that's been damaging student motivation and engagement for decades. 

🔥 What You'll Learn:
• Why traditional grading systems reward compliance over learning
• The historical origins of our broken educational measurement system
• How to shift from evaluation to meaningful feedback that inspires students
• Practical strategies for managing the gradebook without destroying student motivation
• The coaching metaphor that will revolutionize your teaching approach
• How to navigate district requirements while prioritizing student engagement

Sarah's approach addresses classroom management, student discipline, and low engagement by focusing on intrinsic student motivation rather than external rewards. Her methods support culturally responsive teaching, equity in education, and creating inclusive classrooms where every student can thrive.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction to Sarah M. Zerwin
2:19 The Problem with Point-Chasing Behaviors  
5:11 Historical Origins of Traditional Grading
8:14 Compliance vs. Proficiency in Education
10:47 Navigating District Obstacles to Change
13:12 The Myth of Standards-Based Grading
15:16 The Coach-Athlete Teaching Metaphor
18:14 What's Actually Required vs. Phantom Policy
20:48 Reimagining Assignments Without Reinventing Everything
24:59 How to Use Your Gradebook Differently
31:56 Redefining Feedback as Description, Not Evaluation
35:46 Sharing the Feedback Load with Students
39:29 Spreading Pointless Grading Across Content Areas
42:15 Final Thoughts on Process Over Product

Episode Mentions:

• Sarah’s Website Resource Page: Point-less Grading in General, Language Arts, Science, and Math; Teaching Writing; Teaching Reading; Workshop
• Alfie Kohn - The Case Against Grades
• Phantom Policy 
• Learning Goals (AP Lit / 9th-12th Grades)
• Grading Explanations (LA 12 / AP Lit)  
• For Students and Caregivers: 
  • Regarding Grades
  • Key to What You’ll See in the Gradebook
• Infinite Campus Gradebook
• Developing Grading and Reporting Systems for Student Learning
• Point-Less: An English Teacher’s Guide to More Meaningful Grading (2020)

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.