I keep wanting to have this talk during class time, and it keeps slipping away. So let’s start the conversation here and continue when we are together.
I’d like to know what your thought are on a fair way to evaluate the work you do in this course. I’d like us to come up with a system that rewards effort and growth without feeling punitive and awful. I think we can do this, at least in small ways.
Take a few minutes to poke around this website about “ungrading,” a new movement in evaluating student work. It’s okay if you don’t agree with any of it! I just think it is useful background to this discussion: https://www.jessestommel.com/ungrading-an-faq/ Feel free to google “ungrading” for more ideas.
Some parts of the course I have to grade the way the department wants me to grade. The final exam, for instance, is graded using this rubric, usually by me and separately by another professor. Take a look at the rubric:
NEWGradingRubric
Something I like about that rubric is that technical writing skills — spelling, grammar, that kind of thing — is evaluated separately from other writing skills, like argumentation (that’s basically the “thesis” column) and organization. There are some writers who are excellent at that kind of thing but still developing when it comes to things like subject/verb agreement, and I like that this rubric recognizes that.
Something I dislike about this rubric is that a thesis must be “clearly articulated” in order for me to recognize that it is “thought-provoking.” I like to be able to recognize ambition even when it could use greater clarity — which happens a lot.
In past semesters, I have used that rubric for all the major papers, on the grounds that it’s important for students to get used to what it rewards in order to have the best chance to do well on the final, but I don’t really like how much that feels like “teaching to the test.” In addition, it’s definitely not a good rubric for things like blog comments! So here is what I would like you to think about and address in your comments on this post:
- What do you notice about that rubric? What do you like or dislike?
- Do you think we should use this rubric for all major papers? For any of them?
- How DO you think it is fair to evaluate things like blog comments? Full credit for doing them on time? Some kind of extra credit for really good ones? What do you think makes a really good course participant? What should we reward and value?
- Are you interested in a system where you (individually or as a group) determine the goals for a particular project and submit your own assessments (which I can follow or tweak)?
- If you have had previous experiences with other non-traditional kinds of grading, share them! Or if you have had experiences with courses whose evaluation systems really worked for you, talk about that! Let’s build something good here.
