Grammar OlympicsLow-Tech Engagement Secrets

Professor of English

Amy Baskin

Grammar

Developmental Education

50% of all undergraduates and

70% of community college students take at least one remedial course in reading, writing or math.

Typically, only 10% of college students who begin in developmental courses will graduate with an associate’s degree within five years.

The price tag for remedial education in the United States

is $2.5 billion every year.

Every year, 1.7 million people enter college not ready for college.

The average annual cost to run Grammar Olympics is:

A. $1,125

B. $3,500

C. $5,000

D. $7,500

The average annual cost to run Grammar Olympics is:

A. $1,125

Why does Grammar Olympics work?

Yes or No

Are the students engaged?

Are they in flow?

Are they experiencing positive emotions?

Are they experiencing joy in learning?

Are they willing to try again if they make a mistake?

Is play important in their lives?

Yes or No

Are the students at Grammar Olympics distracted learners?

Are they resistant to learning?

Are they showing a sense of anxiety?

Are they stymied by fear of failure?

Are they reluctant to help one another?

Did they lose interest before finishing?

Yes or No

Are the Grammar Olympiads motivated?

Are they willing to experiment?

Are they part of a community?

Are they getting feedback and using it?

Are they having fun?

Are they tenacious?

Did they earn their gold medals?

Why does grammar matter?

Why does grammar matter?

What is at stake?

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

-William Butler Yeats

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.

-William Butler Yeats

Congratulations!