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Let me introduce myself . . .

Originally from Germany (Pegnitz in Oberfranken)

In the German Studies department at Lawrence University since Fall 2023
Research interests: 19^th-century literature by women and disability in Higher Education

Petra Watzke (and Ivy)

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Introductions

Please share:

your name
where you teach
one mundane/everyday fact about yourself

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Activity: Community Agreement

Questions to consider

What do you need from others (peers, presenter) for this to be an inclusive and productive learning environment?
What do you need from others to succeed during collaborative/group work?
What do you need from others to succeed during discussion?
How will you contribute to make this workshop an inclusive and productive experience?

Answer the questions for yourself (5 min; taking notes is encouraged)
Discuss the questions at your table and come to an agreement. Write your agreement on a piece of paper. (5 min.)
A spokesperson for each group briefly presents their agreement
(With a secretary): brief discussion to determine community agreement for our workshop, write community agreement on board.

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Background: Why Alternative Grading Methods?

Experience of Ableism* beginning in graduate school

Ableism in Textbooks and Teaching Materials

Normative expectations about what students look like and what they can do.

Tokenization of Disability

"Laufen Sie!"

Total Physical

Response (TPR)

*A set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities. (Center for Disability Rights)

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The Basis of my Alternative Grading Methods is�Universal Design for Learning

increase access to learning for as many students as possible by offering multiple access points at key stages of the learning process.
minimize barriers for diverse students and learning styles by centering the design process on the needs of disabled learners
Goes beyond providing accommodations

Goals of my alternative grading methods

Focus on progress, not outcome

Lessen hierarchy in the classroom

Lessen performance/test anxieties

Encourage risk taking

Support intrinsic motivation and curiosity

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The Benefits of Alternative Grading Methods

Facts about grades:

Letter (or number) grades were not commonly used until the late 19th century?*
Grades can decrease motivation and the willingness to take risks.
Grades are always subjective.
Grades condition students to rely on extrinsic motivation (i.e., the grade).

Alternative Grading Methods can . . .

increase motivation by offering choice and tapping into students' interests
decrease anxiety about classroom performance and testing
strengthen classroom community by offering frequent opportunities to work together and exchange ideas
envision students as partners in the learning process

*Susan Blum, "Why Grade? Why Ungrade?" Ungrading, West Virginia UP, 2020, p.6-7.

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Alternative Grading Methods I use

Project-Based Learning
Contract Grading
Co-Grading

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Project-Based Learning

Projects replace exams to demonstrate comprehension and progress
Multi-step process with opportunities for revision
Mitigates testing anxiety
Activates students' intrinsic motivation
Students learn by actively constructing their own understanding of material
4 phases : project prompt, discovery/planning, development (which includes critique and revision), and presentation*

Example 1: Chapter Project "Esskultur" (GER 101)

Example 2: Create a wheelmap of the college (GER 418: German-Speaking Countries from the Margins). Related Course Topic: Behinderte Aktivisten in Deutschland.

*adapted from JohnLarmer, John Mergendoller, and Suzie Boss, Setting the Standard for Project-Based Learning, ASCD, 2015, p. 104f.

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Contract Grading

All requirements for specific grades are described in grading contract
Opportunity for input and revision of contract at beginning of term
Transparency and control over grade
Students can determine their workload based on the grade they want to achieve
Students as partners in the learning process

Example 1: Fairy Tales �Curse Contract (this was my first attempt at contract grading and is way too detailed.

Example 2: First-Year Seminar Grading Contract and Questionnaire and Self-Evaluation Worksheet

Overview: Contract Grading

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Ungrading

Students get feedback (self, peers, instructor) on all assignments instead of grades
Revision as important step of learning process
Individual meetings with instructor throughout term to determine goals and progress

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The 3 Meetings

Meeting 1: we get to know each other, discuss expectations anxieties, and individual goals
Meeting 2: (Mid-Term Meeting). General check-in. We discuss progress toward learning goals and concerns about the course (this is in addition to anonymous midterm feedback)
Meeting 3: Students submit course portfolio (example) at least 24 hours before meeting. In meeting we discuss overall progress in class, look back at portfolio (student-guided) and negotiate final grade, based on the records that the instructor and the student kept (portfolio instructions)

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Potential Concerns with Alternative Grading

Students do not take it seriously
Submitting work that does not meet the standard laid out in the syllabus will result in a bad grade, just like in any other class

"I did my best, therefore I deserve an A"
Did you complete all the work described in the syllabus?
Did you reach the goals that you set for yourself?

Keeping detailed records will prevent these issues

"It is too much work for instructors"
Valid concern. No less work than teaching any other class work is merely structured differently
All methods I presented can be adapted for different class sizes and instructor goals (more on next slide)

The three methods I presented offer an increasing amount of freedom and demand an increasing amount of responsibility
I use PBL in the Elementary German Sequence
I use contract grading in courses, where students are likely to only encounter me once
I use ungrading in the Advanced German sequence, where students take ca. 2-3 courses with me

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Resources

Resources:

Overview: Ungrading

Blum, S. D., & Kohn, A. (2020). Ungrading: Why rating students undermines learning (and what to do instead). West Virginia University Press.

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Smaller Steps

Community Agreement
Self-Evaluation Worksheets
Creative Projects in place of or as alternative to essay
Feedback from course instead (or in addition) to grades (I use it for presentations)
Collaborative/shared homework assignments (Hypothesis/Perusall or google docs/MS Word 365)
Course Portfolio
Course Reflection (in writing, as evaluation, or conversation)

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Station Learning 1: Reflection

Sit at a table with a new group and discuss the following question. Designate one person in your group as note taker.

Why are you interested in alternative grading methods?
What experience do you already have with alternative grading methods?
How do alternative grading methods fit in with your pedagogy goals?
How does your educational setting (students, classes, school, mandated curriculum) influence the opportunity to use alternative grading methods?

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Station Learning 2: Planning for alternative grading

Individually, consider which alternative grading methods (big or small steps) you could envision using in your own teaching.
For what class?
What would be the goals?
What would you change/adapt to fit your specific situation?

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Abschlussdiskussion

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Book Recommendations

Addy, Tracie, Derek Dube, Khadijah Mitchell, and Mallory SoRelle. What Inclusive Instructors Do. Routledge, 2023.

Blum, Susan, ed. Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead). Virginia UP, 2020.

Davidson, Cathy. The New College Classroom. Harvard UP, 2022.

Fritzgerald, Andratesha. Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning. CAST, 2020.

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