S16 Ungrading in the Higher Education Classroom: Three Faculty Approaches

Presenters

Erin Stutelberg, Secondary and Physical Education
Becky Anthony, Social Work
Sandy Pope, Secondary and Physical Education

Abstract

“Why do we grade? How does it feel to be graded? What do we want grading to do (or not do) in our courses (for students or teachers)? What would happen if we didn’t grade?” (Blum, 2020).

Grading in higher education is driven by various (and often, competing) instructor goals including providing feedback to students, motivating students, comparing students, and measuring learning. But much of the research on grading suggests that we aren’t achieving these goals with our current grading practices, and, in fact, grading may inhibit the kind of pedagogical practices that could create a more effective and engaging classroom learning environment (Schinske & Tanner, 2014). Getting different results from our classroom practice requires engaging differently with the parts of teaching and learning that are often most taken for granted. The “ungrading” approach includes any process that decenters the action of an instructor assigning a summary grade to student work. Ungrading requires instructors to reevaluate their pedagogies and redesign their courses, and the impact can be better, more inclusive/equitable outcomes for students and more rewarding experiences for instructors (Stommel, 2020). In this session, Sandy Pope, Becky Anthony, and Erin Stutelberg will describe their experiences using various “ungrading” approaches in their teaching at SU (mastery assessment, student contracts, holistic approaches, self-assessment, grade-free zones, etc.). They will also share resources and engage participants in conversation about grading – and how to reimagine it.

Session Recording