Red pen

Red pen

by Russell Waldron -
Number of replies: 10
Reuters reports:
Teachers using red pen to mark students' work could be harming their psyche as the color is too aggressive, according to education strategies drafted by an Australian state government. The "Good Mental Health Rocks" kit, which was distributed this month to about 30 schools in Queensland state, offers strategies such as "don't mark in red pen (which can be seen as aggressive) - use a different color."

Yes, it's real. The fact sheet does really say that, along with a number of other provocative sound-bites classroom strategies.

Strangely, the sheet offers no strategies oriented to distance students, students at risk due to absence, online courses: all groups with particular reasons for concern.

So I am curious: what evidence has been gathered about the mental health of online learners? What have you noticed about Moodle-users' wellbeing?
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In reply to Russell Waldron

Re: Red pen

by Samuli Karevaara -
The "ban the red" sounds to me like too protective an idea that could backfire. Maybe it's not the color but the fact that it represents errors in your work. Wouldn't the students quickly learn that "the blue is the new red, fear the blue!"... Maybe giving bad grades or marking obvious errors with anything should be considered harmful.

Disclaimer: I'm perfectly willing to accept that red *is* harmful to the psyche. The linked fact sheet with it's colorful photos of jumping teens, however, didn't seem to hold the credibility that I'm looking for from a psychological study plus I'm way too lazy to go through all of the linked websites.

Edit: Sorry for taking making a reply to the cynical direction, instead to the direction that you mentioned in the end.

I heard about a study that mentioned that "too much online" can hinder the development of the real life social skills, mostly due to the missing body language. The congnitive skills of the brain are enormous, but one theory is that those cognitive skills evolved because of the need to work in social groups, to "manipulate others", in real life situations.
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In reply to Samuli Karevaara

Re: Red pen

by Russell Waldron -
Missing body language - A 1997 presentation on that point by Judith Donath was illustrated with this strip from Eisner, W. 1990, Comics and Sequential Art. Tamarac, Fl.:
eisner.gif

Perhaps the relevant study was Mazalin & Moore 2004 or Chia, Smith & Tam 1999? A more discriminating discussion of impact on cognitive development (IMHO) was put forward in Johnson 2006


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In reply to Russell Waldron

Re: Red pen

by Zbysiu Rodak -
there may be a particular mindset developing in Australia.
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In reply to Zbysiu Rodak

Re: Red pen

by Russell Waldron -
You mean the blue pencil supplanting than the red pen?
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In reply to Russell Waldron

Re: Red pen

by James Irwin -
I'm a student at a secondary school myself, and when I get marked work back I don't find the red ink aggressive at all. It makes the marks and corrections stand out from my own writing, so I can learn from my mistakes and improve the next time.
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