The Andrew W.

Mellon Teaching and Learning Institute Grading: An Integrated Approach

Grading is embedded within the larger frame/context of how one conceptualizes (consciously or unconsciously) course content, student learning processes and participation, and assessment. It is useful to think of grading as a kind of formative assessment used throughout the semester to inform instruction as well as guide learners through the course. Ultimately, it becomes a summative assessment that measures what you and students have achieved together by the end of the course. The following outline is intended to help you think about grading in this contextualized and dynamic way. 1. Identify the learning goals of your class a. What do you want students to learn (content) and be able to do (skill development, capacity for inquiry in the course/field)? i. How will you make the content available to students (lecture, readings, discussions, field placements, labs, etc.,) and what is the relationship among these components? b. How do you want students to learn (process)? i. What opportunities to interact with the content of the course will you provide? c. How will you assess and evaluate what and how students learn? How will you learn about how their new learning is interacting with their prior knowledge and preparing them for further knowledge construction? i. What different kinds of opportunities will students have to show that they understand the content? ii. Will students have opportunities to do something with the content (e.g. application of content, creative extensions of content)? iii. Will students have opportunities to propose their own ways of demonstrating their learning (and thus show you how they are connecting it with their prior, ongoing, personal learning goals)? Establish clear expectations for the entire course a. Include requirements, assignments, how work assigned work is weighted, due dates, etc. in your syllabus b. Include clear statements of procedures and penalties for work submitted late or not at all? Establish and explain clear expectations and grading criteria for each assignment a. Decide what will count in which ways and why b. State criteria for evaluation clearly in the syllabus and/or in an assignment sheet distributed prior to the due date of the assignment c. Talk through assignments and expectations with students in class d. Consider developing grading rubrics that make explicit what constitutes a 4.0. a 3.7, etc. e. After you have read/graded a set of assignments, go over key points and discuss with students what they did well and need to work on with the group f. In particular, explain what needs to be revised/improved/corrected when work is handed back (and suggest opportunities for students to do this revision and improvement) Revisit and perhaps revise parts of the above if students seem to be struggling/failing

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Issues to Consider and Discuss during the Workshop: How you responded to questions above How to weight different course projects/assignments How to discern and work with the grading norms in your department Whether to acknowledge progress/growth in the final grade How much to count skill in writing and other presentational (output) modes vs. conceptual understanding, creativity, and effort. When students ask to talk about or question a grade