Petition Letter
To whom it may concern
I am writing to request a reassessment of my PSYC 251 final exam as I feel that I have been graded unfairly. The exam format was to pretend as though we were writing letters to family members, and to use concepts that we learned in class to help them in hypothetical scenarios. The instructions for the first essay were as follows: Your cousin, who used to work in an all-girls elementary school, has accepted a teaching position in a coed middle school (in which children are typically 12- to 14-years-old). She is worried about meeting the needs of both boys and girls in her classroom. Please write her a letter to share what you know about biological and social influences on the differences between boys' and girls' educational achievement (part 1) and on their social behavior (part 2). Finally, since your cousin hopes to foster a positive environment in her class, offer advice about how to best encourage prosocial behavior in the classroom (part 3). Your cousin has never taken any psychology courses in school, so you shouldn't use any technical jargon in your letter to her.
I am specifically referring to Part 3 of this essay, on which I received a grade of 0 on the grounds that I did not address the concept of prosocial behavior. However, I can clearly indicate the section of my essay where I directly talk about prosocial behavior. I will attach a copy of my exam with the section where I address the concept of prosocial behaviour highlighted. I will also attach a copy of the exam instructions.
In class we learned that prosocial behavior was any voluntary behavior that benefits others. It is opposed to antisocial behavior which is any hostile or aggressive behavior which harms or takes advantage of others including bullying. As an essay about the academic/social differences between boys and girls, I talked about gender related reasons for bullying and discrimination, and how that inhibits prosocial behaviour. In class, we learned that some adolescents undergo gender role intensification whilst in adolescence, which means that their expectations for their peers to conform to traditional gender roles may increase. This in turn increases the possibility for discrimination against gender nonconforming peers. Further, children spend the majority of their childhood in single gendered peer groups, where a certain culture emerges which determines behavioral expectations. For example, the culture in boy groups tends to be focused on assertion, competition and hiding vulnerability. Children in single gender peer groups who do not behave in the way that the culture dictates are more often at risk of bullying. Therefore, I recommend that the teacher promote prosocial behavior in the classroom by watching out for the bullying of children who demonstrate nontraditional gender expression. By reducing the possibility of discrimination the teacher will encourage prosocial behaviour.
On the rubric used to mark the essay, a 0 indicates that part 3 was not addressed. However, I can clearly show the exact section where part 3 was addressed on my exam. I did respond to the prompt by recommending ways by which a teacher could promote prosocial behavior in the classroom by reducing discrimination. While the quality of this section may be disputable, what is indisputable is that I did apply class knowledge about prosocial behavior and responded to the prompt. For these reasons, a grade of 0 for this section is not warranted.
Thanks in advance for your consideration and I look forward to hearing back
Ellie Thorlakson (20106413)
I am writing to request a reassessment of my PSYC 251 final exam as I feel that I have been graded unfairly. The exam format was to pretend as though we were writing letters to family members, and to use concepts that we learned in class to help them in hypothetical scenarios. The instructions for the first essay were as follows: Your cousin, who used to work in an all-girls elementary school, has accepted a teaching position in a coed middle school (in which children are typically 12- to 14-years-old). She is worried about meeting the needs of both boys and girls in her classroom. Please write her a letter to share what you know about biological and social influences on the differences between boys' and girls' educational achievement (part 1) and on their social behavior (part 2). Finally, since your cousin hopes to foster a positive environment in her class, offer advice about how to best encourage prosocial behavior in the classroom (part 3). Your cousin has never taken any psychology courses in school, so you shouldn't use any technical jargon in your letter to her.
I am specifically referring to Part 3 of this essay, on which I received a grade of 0 on the grounds that I did not address the concept of prosocial behavior. However, I can clearly indicate the section of my essay where I directly talk about prosocial behavior. I will attach a copy of my exam with the section where I address the concept of prosocial behaviour highlighted. I will also attach a copy of the exam instructions.
In class we learned that prosocial behavior was any voluntary behavior that benefits others. It is opposed to antisocial behavior which is any hostile or aggressive behavior which harms or takes advantage of others including bullying. As an essay about the academic/social differences between boys and girls, I talked about gender related reasons for bullying and discrimination, and how that inhibits prosocial behaviour. In class, we learned that some adolescents undergo gender role intensification whilst in adolescence, which means that their expectations for their peers to conform to traditional gender roles may increase. This in turn increases the possibility for discrimination against gender nonconforming peers. Further, children spend the majority of their childhood in single gendered peer groups, where a certain culture emerges which determines behavioral expectations. For example, the culture in boy groups tends to be focused on assertion, competition and hiding vulnerability. Children in single gender peer groups who do not behave in the way that the culture dictates are more often at risk of bullying. Therefore, I recommend that the teacher promote prosocial behavior in the classroom by watching out for the bullying of children who demonstrate nontraditional gender expression. By reducing the possibility of discrimination the teacher will encourage prosocial behaviour.
On the rubric used to mark the essay, a 0 indicates that part 3 was not addressed. However, I can clearly show the exact section where part 3 was addressed on my exam. I did respond to the prompt by recommending ways by which a teacher could promote prosocial behavior in the classroom by reducing discrimination. While the quality of this section may be disputable, what is indisputable is that I did apply class knowledge about prosocial behavior and responded to the prompt. For these reasons, a grade of 0 for this section is not warranted.
Thanks in advance for your consideration and I look forward to hearing back
Ellie Thorlakson (20106413)