The Grading Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, Sharona and Bosley interview one of their former students. Dr. Mary Reeves took the MAA OPEN Math intensive training on "Redesigning Your Course for Mastery Grading" in the summer of 2023. Subsequently, she redesigned two of the math content courses for future Elementary and Middle School Math teachers. Join us to hear about Mary's experiences working with, and impacting, future teachers.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Random Thoughts on Teaching Future Elementary Teachers, by Dr. Mary Reeves
• 60 – The Role of Depth of Knowledge (DOK) in Aligning Assessments to Learning Outcomes: An Interview with Erik Francis

[00:00:00] Mary Reeves: I was like, in 35 years I've never seen a student knock it completely out of the park on the very first try the way Isabella just did. And I'm not saying the rest of you didn't do a good job, you did, but this is amazing. And I want you to appreciate how incredible I think this is after doing this for years and years. Afterwards I told her, I'm like, this is going to be an assignment. I'm going to go ahead and put Mastery in your guidebook. You do not have to do it. Because you did it so beautifully the first time. Focus on something else. You've already accomplished everything that I wanted you to accomplish. After class she stayed for a few minutes and told me that was the first time she'd ever been singled out in a math class for something positive. And I'm not going to say that we both cried, but that's entirely possible.

[00:00:57] Boz: Welcome to the Grading Podcast, where we'll take a critical lens to the methods of assessing students learning, from traditional grading to alternative methods of grading. We'll look at how grades impact our classrooms and our students success. I'm Robert Bosley, a high school math teacher, instructional coach, intervention specialist, and instructional designer in the Los Angeles Unified School District and with Cal State LA.

[00:01:23] Sharona: And I'm Sharona Krinsky, a math instructor at Cal State Los Angeles, faculty coach and instructional designer. Whether you work in Higher ed or K 12, whatever your discipline is, whether you are a teacher, a coach or an administrator, this podcast is for you. Each week you will get the practical detailed information you need to be able to actually implement effective grading practices in your class and at your institution.

[00:01:51] Boz: Hello and welcome back to the podcast. I'm Robert Bosley, one of your two co hosts and with me as always Sharona Krinsky. How are you doing today, Sharona?

[00:02:00] Sharona: I am doing well. I have a theme for this semester for myself. This is the theme of Exam generation semester, because with the new job I have, I'm writing a lot of exams and it's really making me aware of how much I've enjoyed my alternative grading over the last number of years. Because I haven't had to write exams in probably six years. And now that I have to do it as part of my new job, it's proving to be a little challenging.

[00:02:32] Boz: Well, but give a little bit more detail about that. Cause you're not just writing exams to give. What's going on with your new role that you're having to do that?

[00:02:43] Sharona: So in my new role, I have nine different courses that I coordinate of those nine, seven of them are in a...

In this episode we explore several questions sent in by listener's of the pod. From Interim Grades, creating learning objectives for high school science courses and how to track effort to why we even put this podcast and our work in alt grading out into the world, join us as we delve into the things that YOU are most interested in learning more about.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Next Generation Science Standards
• A Parent's Guide to Grading and Reporting: Being Clear About What Matters, Chad Lang and Matt Townsley
• Episode 32 - Interview with Dr. TJ Hitchman - Active Learning and Alt Grading (and the need for structure when the internal motivation is not there)
• Episode 31 - The Role of "Effort" or "Work" in an Alternatively Graded Course
• Specifications Grading, Linda Nilsen
• Episode 33 - An Interview with Dr. Thomas Guskey

Resources

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading (Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!):

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen

In this episode Sharona and Bosley reflect on one year of The Grading Podcast. From memorable moments and guests to

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

Grading Podcast Episodes mentioned in this episode (in the order they are mentioned):

• 6 – The Anatomy of a Learning Outcome: An Interview with Joe Zeccola
• 13 – Interim Grades: What do we do when we have to report “grades” in the middle of a term? With Joe Zeccola
• 39 – Systemic Change – A Look at how Los Angeles Unified School District developed their new grading policy, based on Equitable Grading practices. With Joe Zeccola
• 33 – An Interview with Dr. Thomas Guskey: A Journey through the History of Grading Reform Efforts
• 4 – Grading for Growth: An Interview with Robert Talbert
• 38 – Twenty+ Small Steps to Get Started with Alt Grading (Inspired by the recent blog post at Grading for Growth)
• 18 – The Sportscaster of Alternative Grading: An Interview with Matt Townsley
• 46 – Extinguishing the Fires within Assessment and Grading Reform: Welcoming Back Dr. Matt Townsley
• 42 – Metacognition, Power Structures in the Classroom, what is reasonable to expect of students? An Interview with Dr. Theresa Gaines.
• 36 – Teaching More by Grading Less (or Differently) – an Interview with Jeff Schinske, 10 years later
• 32 – Active Learning and Alternative Grading: When Intentional Pedagogy and Intentional Assessment Truly Align
• 31 -The Role of “Effort” or “Work” in an Alternative Grading Architecture and the Relationship with Due Dates

A common pushback that practitioners of alternative grading get is that students "don't know how they are doing". In this episode, Sharona and Bosley take a hard look at progress tracking and communicating progress to students. We include a variety of examples of progress trackers provided by several different alternative graders and talk about the ways in which progress tracking is important, regardless of the grading system in use.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

Progress Trackers

• Tracking Mastery Worksheet Math 1090
• Example of MTH 210 Grade Record sheet W23
• Example of 85-310 grades checklist - spring 2024, by Abigail Noyce
• EGI Grade Check_Zeccola AP Lang, by Joe Zeccola and Robert Bosley
• Example CS 120 Learner progress tracker, by Dave Largent
• Sample Grade Sheet - by Abby Noble

Other Resources Mentioned in the Episode

• TED Talk: The Beauty of Data Visualization, David McCandless
• Getting Started Part 5: How to Determine When a Student has Completed a Learning Outcome and How to Roll it All Up Into a Final Grade
• Episode 48 – Implementation Challenges and Opportunities: A Conversation with Becky Peppler and Don Smith on Working with K-12 School Districts to implement Alternative Grading
• How to make and use grade trackers, Grading for Growth Blog, by David Clark

Resources

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference

In this episode, Joe Zeccola and Dr. Ashleigh Fox join Sharona and Bosley as we look at a critique of standards-based grading written from someone in the trenches, already working in alternative grading. We discuss many of the main points of the article as a way of self-reflecting on our practices as we explore this world of alternative grading.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• We Need to Talk About Standards-Based Grading, Grow Beyond Grades Blog
• Effects of no feedback, task-related comments, and grades on intrinsic motivation and performance. Butler, R. and Nisan, M. 1986, Journal of Educational Psychology

Previous Episodes for Joe Zeccola:

• Episode 6 - The Anatomy of a Learning Outcome
• Episode 13 - Interim Grades
• Episode 39 - Systemic Change

Previous Episodes for Ashleigh Fox

• Episode 15 - Alternative Grading as a Classroom Practice and a Dissertation Topic

Resources

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading (Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!):

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark

In this episode, Sharona and Bosley speak with Dr. Latrice Bowman, a mathematics faculty member from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Latrice took the MAA OPEN intensive training on redesigning a course to use alternative grading and is back to talk about her first two times running the redesigned course. She shares lessons learned and changes made. We talk about reducing the number of learning outcomes, progress tracking, students conferences and so much more. Oh - and the result? A quadrupling of the pass rate from pre-calculus through first semester calculus.This is another great example of the process of course redesign.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• MAA OPEN Math Project

Resources

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading (Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!):

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel
• Grading for Equity, by Joe Feldman

The Grading Podcast publishes every week on Tuesday at 4 AM Pacific time, so be sure to subscribe and get notified of each new episode. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website,

In this episode, Sharona and Bosley talk with Dr. Emily Pitts Donahoe about teaching writing in a world where ungrading is the system and AI exists. Emily is the Associate Director of Instruction Support at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning as well as a lecturer in writing and rhetoric at the University of Mississippi. She is also one of the organizers of the 2024 Grading Conference. This conversation explores some of the research on grades and motivation, and then continues our exploration into the new thinking that many of us in the alt grading world are doing as we consider the impact of generative AI models on our courses. What is the purpose of teaching writing if an AI can do most of the things we need writing for? (Or can it?)

From helping our students find purpose in our classes to rethinking the types of writing and assignments we give, join us as we continue the conversation about authentic assessments, grades, and the impact of AI.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Grades Can Hinder Learning: What Should Professors Use Instead, Becky Supiano
• Effects of No Feedback, Task-Related Comments, and Grades on Intrinsic Motivation and Performance, Ruth Butler and Mordecai Nisan (PDF download)
• Unmaking the Grade, a blog by Emily Pitts Donahoe
• A start/stop/continue for the Ungrading Community, Grading for Growth Blog
• Visible Learning: The Sequel, John Hattie
• Prompt Engineering Specialization, course on prompt engineering from Vanderbuilt University delivered via Coursera

Resources

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading (Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!):

In this episode we talk with Becky Peppler and Don Smith from First Educational Resources, an organization dedicated to providing K-12 school districts in North America with affordable options for professional learning to support social emotional learning, instructional coaching, professional learning communities, and grading reform efforts. We discuss their experiences with supporting grading reform efforts in thousands of districts across North America, the challenges, the opportunities, and where we go from here. We also talk about the STAGR center and conference. STAGR stands for "Standards, Targets, Assessment, Grading, and Reporting". The STAGR conference, a 1-day virtual event held twice a year, provides a platform for K-12 educators to come together to understand the landscape of grading reform, identify strategies that reduce complexity and enhance understanding of reform efforts, and work to implement effective changes to grading systems.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• The STAGR Conference
• Extinguishing the Fires within Assessment and Grading Reform, Garth Larson, Becky Peppler, Don Smith, and Matt Townsley
• Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessment and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom, Rick Wormeli
• Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work (An Actionable Guide to Implementing the PLC Process and Effective Teaching Methods), Richard DuFour
• College Bridge
• Repair Kit for Grading: (3rd Edition) 15 Fixes for Broken Grades with Discussion and Repair Guide, Ken O'Connor and Rick Wormeli

Resources

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading (Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!):

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark

In this episode we talk with Dr. Rachel Weir. Dr. Weir is a Professor of Mathematics at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. She has been the Director of Faculty Development at Allegheny College for the past few years and is currently (as of when this episode was recorded) the new interim Associate Provost at Allegheny College. We talk with Rachel about her journey into alternative grading, how that has impacted her work as the Director of Faculty Development and how she is thinking about the impact of alternative grading from the perspective of her new job as Interim Associate Provost.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Allegheny College in Meadville, PA
• MAA Mathfest (Mathematical Association of America)
• The Academy of Inquiry Based Learning
• Ungrading, by Susan D. Blum
• Acutec Precision Aerospace
• Living Proof: Stories of Resilience Along the Mathematical Journey

Resources

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading (Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!):

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

On this episode we welcome back the "sportscaster" of Alternative Grading, Dr. Matt Townsley, to talk about his new book Extinguishing the Fires within Assessment and Grading Reform. As Alternative Grading practices grow and take shape throughout the United States, efforts to resist these reforms are also growing. This incredible new book offers practical guidance to navigating the complexities of transitioning to alternative grading architectures and how to address the seemingly inevitable pushback that many of us are now experiencing. Based on the lived experiences of the authors, this book is a MUST READ for anyone concerned about advocating for grading reform.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Extinguishing the Fires Within Assessment and Grading Reform, Garth Larson, Becky Peppler, Don Smith, Matt Townsley.

Resources

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading (Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!):

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel
• Grading for Equity, by Joe Feldman

The Grading Podcast publishes every week on Tuesday at 4 AM Pacific time, so be sure to subscribe and get notified of each new episode. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's...