14 ways to find and build community
The importance of a community of support for alternative grading
Getting started with alternative grading can feel intimidating. There’s so much information out there, but it can still feel like you’re all on your own when it comes to designing your own class. Even an experienced alternative grader can feel isolated if there’s nobody else nearby who’s trying similar things.
Don’t go it alone. Having help and support as you plan and use alternative grading will make things easier, help you make better decisions, and catch mistakes early. Plus being part of a bigger community of alternative graders is enjoyable and beneficial, whether you’re just starting out or have been doing it for years.
Plus, being part of a bigger community can help you keep going when things get tough. In my experience, faculty who have support from others when first using alternative grading are much more likely to succeed and keep using it. This isn’t too surprising: Having a community can help you find resources that give you ideas and save you time, identify options and fixes for unexpected difficulties, and provide a sympathetic ear when that’s what you need.
Here are 14 ways to find, join, or build a community as you engage with alternative grading.
Find colleagues
The people who you work with most closely can also be the best to talk with about alternative grading. Your colleagues know your students, classes, and institution better than anyone else – draw on that common experience.
Talk with colleagues: Ask around your department, college, or institution: Do you know anybody who is already using alternative grading, or might be interested in joining you? Seek them out and join forces with them! Here are some ways to do this:
Ask for resources: Has somebody you know already used alternative grading in a course you’ll teach? Ask them to share materials and advice, and build on what they’ve already done.
Find a collaborator: Do you have a colleague who is going to be teaching another section of the same course as you in the future? Are they interested in alternative grading — or might you be able to get them interested? You can share the work of planning your alternative grading system, creating a list of standards or specifications, designing assessments, and more. Many hands can make light work.
Get an accountability buddy: If you find a colleague interested in using alternative grading, but not in the same class, you can still support each other through the process. Set up regular work times where you’ll each work on planning or designing a new system. You don’t need to even be in the same discipline – having somebody else present in the room helps you keep focused.
Look to your Center for Teaching and Learning. Your institution likely has a Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL, or CLT, TLC, and every other possible permutation). They can provide resources, support, and connections across your institution. Many already have faculty groups or resources available for alternative grading.
Look for (or create!) a book club: There are a lot of great books about alternative grading.1 Your CTL likely offers book clubs for any interested faculty. There might already be one on alternative grading, and if not, you could suggest one (in my experience, CTL directors are always looking for suggestions for their next book club). This is a great way to meet other faculty interested in alternative grading while simultaneously learning more about it.
Set up a faculty learning community: Your CTL can help you find other faculty who will be using alternative grading at the same time as you. That’s the perfect setup for a faculty learning community (FLC): An informal group of faculty interested in a common topic. Schedule a 30-60 minute weekly or monthly meeting with your FLC and use that time to check in on successes and struggles and share ideas as needed. You can also do this on a smaller scale with individual colleagues: A short, friendly discussion over coffee can generate a lot of ideas and encourage you to keep going.
Look for a discipline-based group: Alternative grading support groups are springing up within individual disciplines and subdisciplines. Many of these are cross-institution groups created informally by individuals looking for others to share syllabi, experiences, and advice. Ask around your professional networks or check in on social media and other online alternative grading groups (see below) to find them. A few examples for Biology and Physics are listed in the Center for Grading Reform’s resources page.
Go to a conference
The Grading Conference is a fantastic way to network and connect with others. This low-cost online conference will be on June 16-18 2026. The conference is known for its energetic community, including sessions specifically designed to connect people together. In addition to connecting with other participants, you can reach out to presenters and session organizers as well. Registration and abstract submissions will open early in 2026. The conference offers a pay-what-you-can option as well as an institutional registration rate, so your department or CTL might be willing to sponsor multiple attendees.2
Check with your professional organizations: Many teaching-focused professional organizations host conferences that are ideal settings for alternative grading-related sessions. These are an ideal place to start to build a community of practice. Here are a few examples from my own experience as a mathematician – look around for options in your field.
Your favorite teaching-oriented professional conference might already have contributed paper sessions on alternative grading, assessment, and similar topics, or workshops or mini-courses aimed at connecting faculty and building experience with alternative grading. These sessions are a great place to meet others interested in alternative grading, and to share your own experiences as well.
If you don’t see such a session, you could propose one for a future conference to see who joins it. This is exactly how many math alternative graders first met each other back in the mid-2010s: Several of us proposed a session, not knowing more than one or two people outside of ourselves who might be willing to talk. Three packed multi-hour paper sessions later, I’d made connections that led to things like a journal special issue, the Grading Conference, and multiple research projects.
Likewise, professional organizations often host regular online professional development sessions with low (or no) cost. My favorite professional organization, the Mathematical Association of America, has hosted sessions on alternative grading and many other topics.
Find us online
Back when I first started using alternative grading, there was usually only one alternative grader per institution (if that!). We had to find other ways to meet, and online spaces were one of the best ways to keep that going. This has only grown and expanded since then. Here are just a few of the online spaces where you can meet and chat with alternative graders:
The Alternative Grading Slack (link invites you to join) is a friendly forum for discussing all things alternative grading. It’s also used by the Grading Conference as a center of operations, help desk, and more.
The #Ungrading HUB is a Discord server for discussing all things “ungrading”. It’s wide-ranging, much like the Alternative Grading Slack above. Check it out!
Look on your favorite social media. Common hashtags include #alternativegrading, #altgrading, and #ungrading. There are many private or public groups with similar focuses.
Start building a community by sharing your experiences in a blog. That’s how this blog got started and there are many others: Emily Pitts Donahoe and Jayme Dyer are just two examples of people who have built communities through sharing their ideas in a longer form than social media allows.
Don’t go alone!
Finding a community, even a small one, is a hugely important step to support you in your use of alternative grading. Don’t be afraid to start small: Meeting one colleague for a 30 minute chat once per month – in person or online – can support both of you as you navigate alternative grading. In bigger communities, you’ll find even more resources, learn a huge range of ideas, and discover new approaches to alternative grading.
Note: After writing this entire post, I realized I was behind on the Grading Podcast and should have checked them sooner. Sure enough, they already have a fantastic episode about this very topic. For more discussion on the importance of community in supporting sustainable change, check out Episode 115 of the Grading Podcast: Don’t Do This Alone!
Of course we’re partial to Grading for Growth, and there are lots of other good choices out there with more coming.
Robert and I, along with Sharona Krinsky and Kate Owens, founded this conference back in 2020. You can hear lots more about that story on Episode 100 of the Grading Podcast. Nowadays, Robert, Kate, and I are on the board of the nonprofit that organizes the conference, and Sharona is its Executive Director.