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Alternative Grading and Student Motivation (part 2)

Resources, schedule, Zoom: thegradingconference.com �Slack community: tinyurl.com/join-alt-grading

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The Grading Conference is funded this year by

National Science Foundation, DUE #2304776

Today: Getting started with?

Now Parallel session

5A - Workshop: Grading with portfolios

5B - Grading system PR

5C - Alternative Grading and student motivation (part 2)

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4:00 - 4:15 Coffee break (offline)

4:15 - 5:15 Parallel sessions

5:15 - 5:30 Tea break (offline)

5:30 - ? Wrap-up and optional social events

Alternative Grading and Student Motivation - Presenter

Dan Guberman

Dan Guberman is the Assistant Director for Inclusive Pedagogy at Purdue University’s Center for Instructional Excellence. In addition to his work with alternative grading, he recently received an NSF grant to support his Student Pedagogy Advocates program, where undergraduate students partner with instructors to support their teaching goals.

Daniel Guberman

dguberma@purdue.edu

The Grading Conference

June 9, 2023

Self-Determination Theory and Alternative Grading

The Plan

Dan Guberman

dguberma@purdue.edu

1. What is motivation anyway?
2. How do we contribute to environments that fosters positive motivation?
3. What does the data show?

Center for Instructional Excellence

Rethinking Motivation: Quantity vs Quality

Dan Guberman

dguberma@purdue.edu

Center for Instructional Excellence

The Motivation Spectrum

Dan Guberman

dguberma@purdue.edu

Center for Instructional Excellence

Basic Psychological Needs

Autonomy

Feelings of volition and choice; endorsement of behavior, ownership of the learning process. The power of a strong rationale.

Competence

Content mastery and structure to facilitate a process of competence development

Relatedness

Meaningful connections with people (instructors, students)

Dan Guberman

dguberma@purdue.edu

Center for Instructional Excellence

A Pause for Reflection

• How does this view of motivation resonate with your experiences?
• What is your response to these three basic psychological needs?
• What intersections do you perceive with your teaching (and specifically grading) practices?
• What questions do you have, what is unclear, what would you like to learn more about?

Dan Guberman

dguberma@purdue.edu

Center for Instructional Excellence

Scales I use derived from SDT

Note that many have been adapted by my amazing colleagues at Purdue

• Perceived Learning Climate
• Situational Motivation Scale
• Basic Psychological Needs
• https://shorturl.at/clvY6

Dan Guberman

dguberma@purdue.edu

Center for Instructional Excellence

Perceived Learning Climate

Dan Guberman

dguberma@purdue.edu

Center for Instructional Excellence

Self-Determination Inventory (comparison IMPACT classes)

Higher intrinsic regulation (individual is self-motivated and self- determined, and driven by interest), integration (fully taken in the reason for action), and identification (understanding or feeling the need to perform)

Lower Introjection (a form of motivation resulting from the feeling pressured to perform in order to gain appreciation from individuals of importance), Extrinsic Regulation (doing something not for its inherent enjoyment, but for a separable outcome), and Amotivation (lack or absence of volitional drive to engage in any activity)

Dan Guberman

dguberma@purdue.edu

Center for Instructional Excellence

Basic Psychological Needs (comparison IMPACT classes)

Higher Autonomy (engaging in a behavior because it is perceived to be consistent with intrinsic goals or outcomes), Competence (the drive to interact effectively with the environment and develop personal skill and capability in solving problems), and Relatedness to Instructor (relatedness is supported when others are involved and show interest in the person's activities)

Dan Guberman

dguberma@purdue.edu

Center for Instructional Excellence

Student Comments

• I liked the structure. It helped to keep me interested as I wanted to dedicate time into a project rather than get it done poorly during a busy portion of the semester for the sake of a concrete deadline.
• I used the learning reflections to discover where I needed to improve in my presentation, but mainly in my discussion skills. I think that the feedback was a large motivator for me to put more effort into the assignments given
• The learning reflections were a great tool to keep myself honest, given the more laid-back grading for this course. There aren’t point totals that reflect my performance, so I had to challenge myself more and be honest with myself. I’m definitely not perfect, but I think I made lots of progress throughout the semester – not only in crafting my own projects, but in the ways that I interacted with others

Student Comments

• It really helped me feel in charge of my grade more than I normally do in different classes.
• Although the grading structure in this course is unusual, I really enjoy it. I like the feedback that I get in how I am doing overall in the course from the presentation feedback. I also enjoy that there's not like a strict set of criteria that we have to meet. I feel that achieving a good grade in the course comes down to putting in the effort to learn and get what we want out of the course, rather than checking all the boxes on a rubric.
• I love this grading structure there feels like less pressure on grades and more focus on learning.

What’s next?

Now until 4:15 Coffee break (offline)

Next Parallel sessions

4:15 - 5:15 6A - Tools for Alternative Grading (part 1)

6B - Emergent Framework for Alternative Grading choices

6C - Designing your Grading Architecture