DIY Report Cards – Powerful tool for students’ to reflect on their learning

I read about the DIY report card idea in Daniel Pink’s book ‘Drive‘ and found the idea very interesting. This idea has been like a seed in my head for many months now and has taken roots.

I am designing the distance learning program of a very unique, one-of-a-kind program that empowers youth with limited means and subpar education, develop an attitude and essential skills that will allow them to succeed in life. Before the pandemic, the NGO had the capacity to impact the lives of 32,000+ students. Post pandemic, with the distance learning program coming online, the capacity has grown to 40,000+ students. At the time of writing this blog, 7,500+ students are enrolled in the distance learning program (about a similar number have completed the program and graduated).

Why does it make sense for the students to create their own DIY report card? Is this a good idea given the learning program has been designed by experts who create a curriculum and lesson plans based on learning objectives? The learning journey of the student is evaluated through periodic assessments and grades are based on a rubric prepared specifically to evaluate and benchmark how much the student has learned. When viewed from this perspective, it does not seem that students have the capacity to objectively prepare a report card of their own accomplishments.

Looking from the perspective of students, having them evaluate their own learning can be very empowering and a means to help them understand themselves – their strengths and weaknesses, interests, abilities, etc. – in a very focussed way. They also have an opportunity to reflect on the skills developed and consequently their growth as individuals.

From the perspective of the NGO I am helping develop the distance learning program, a DIY report card makes intrinsic sense. Allow me to explain my thoughts – the program is free and students join it on their own accord. They invest one year of their lives, taking in what the NGO has to offer, and if they believe the program does not offer value, they simply dropout. The nation/state does not mandate that students attend this program, while parents are not very clued onto what is being taught. Parents’ exposure to the program is mainly through the transformation they see in their kids, during the course of the program.

As the decision to be part of the program is the students’, they are intrinsically motivated to participate and learn. The power is with the students, they are therefore judging the program constantly, making the decision to invest one hour of their lives, six days of the week, for 365+ days. I would say these are compelling reasons for students’ to be empowered to assess the value of the program and its contribution to their lives. A reflective exercise, strategically built into the program at key moments, would allow them to identify aspects of their own development while understanding the link between the investment (time and effort) they make and the benefits they accrued (growth, skill development). The ability to connect the dots, by making inferences on how much our actions impact who we are, is very powerful.

But how would a DIY report card work? What should be the design considerations?

These are interesting questions and I am still developing my thoughts. The purpose of a report card is to document the learning journey of the learner. When we put the learner at the center of the process, there are perhaps two considerations that stand out.

The report card should be prepared from the perspective of the learner. Traditional report cards are prepared by the teacher. Students are ascribed marks / grades and are benchmarked against a standard rubric / key and against his / her peers. However, each student is unique and each has a unique context and objectives in life. It therefore comes to reason that a reflective report card should be about the context, objectives and priorities of the learner.

We have all heard the parable of the animal school which is a great satire on the absence of differentiation, disadvantaging and demoralising many a student. If students were allowed to have a say in their own learning, the outcomes of our education systems would be very different from what they currently are. Similarly, if students have the opportunity to prepare their own report card, their assessment of their performance would be very different from those of their teacher. This would be because a report card prepared by the learner would be a reflection of his/her own interests and aspirations; own context and background and most significantly, his/her strengths and weaknesses.

The report card should be about growth and application, not so much about learned concepts. Concepts leaned but not imbued are worthless. Therefore, the learner should reflect on how the learning journey has impacted him / her, as a person. Perhaps, the learner should be required to provide anecdotal evidence for assertions made about their growth. These anecdotal evidences should demonstrate real life application of learned concepts and provide a glimpse of the effort make towards achieving this growth.

Report cards prepared by students will be unique, not allowing comparisons between students. The entire exercise would be very empowering and rewarding for those who engage in this exercise. The above reflects’ my initial thoughts which are still being developed and refined. I propose to write follow-up blogs as I continue to develop my understanding of this concept.