I liked the simplicity, but one problem was that the meaning of each grade wasn't super clear -- treating two 1-pointers as equivalent to one 2-pointer, despite their differences (e.g., location in Bloom's taxonomy), probably caused some ambiguity.
Next time, I'd like to have multiple thresholds for each letter grade (like Joshua Bowman's calculus class, linked in post), to make the grades more meaningful. An A would indicate competence at the highest levels of Bloom's taxonomy, etc.
Thanks! I think students were generally on board. A few told me that they liked that there wasn't any graded homework, and I'm certain that most (if not all) of the class appreciated the quiz replacement policy. The number of people who skipped any quiz was quite low.
At the end of the semester, one student did say that they thought graded homework would have helped their learning, and I'm definitely keeping that in mind moving forward.
In hindsight, what do think of your final grade thresholds? Would you keep the same thresholds next time?
I liked the simplicity, but one problem was that the meaning of each grade wasn't super clear -- treating two 1-pointers as equivalent to one 2-pointer, despite their differences (e.g., location in Bloom's taxonomy), probably caused some ambiguity.
Next time, I'd like to have multiple thresholds for each letter grade (like Joshua Bowman's calculus class, linked in post), to make the grades more meaningful. An A would indicate competence at the highest levels of Bloom's taxonomy, etc.
Thanks for sharing your process Kevin. You spelled it out very clearly here. Just curious about the reaction from students… were they on board?
Thanks! I think students were generally on board. A few told me that they liked that there wasn't any graded homework, and I'm certain that most (if not all) of the class appreciated the quiz replacement policy. The number of people who skipped any quiz was quite low.
At the end of the semester, one student did say that they thought graded homework would have helped their learning, and I'm definitely keeping that in mind moving forward.