To me, the distinction between alternative and traditional grading is not black-and-white. Instead, I think we can mix and match procedures, using ideas from both approaches.
For instance, I like to treat homework problem sets as formative assessments, with lots of chances to get feedback and resubmit work. But precisely because of that I don't weight this work heavily in the final grade; after all, it's supposed to be formative, not summative. As a result, course grades are heavily weighted towards two exams, which make up 80% of the grade. So it's a combination of lots of formative practice along with two high-stakes exams.
As always, thanks for a stimulating post. Something for you and your readers to consider:
I recently coauthored a paper describing a taxonomy that is capable of characterizing pedagogical innovation (Palmer, M. S., & Giering, J. A. (2023). Characterizing pedagogical innovation in higher education. Innovative Higher Education, 49, 453-473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-023-09681-6).
In addition to defining pedagogical innovation, we describe a set of possible outcomes, risks, barriers, and costs of an innovation. In short, it's probably not enough to say whether alternative grading is innovative. We need to consider in what ways it is innovative based on contextual factors.
I'd love to you see a "Part 2" where you explore alternative grading as a pedagogical innovation through this lens. :-)
From "That Hideous Strength" by C.S. Lewis: "Odd thing it is—the word ‘experiment’ is unpopular, but not the word ‘experimental.’ You mustn’t experiment on children; but offer the dear little kiddies free education in an experimental school attached to the N.I.C.E. and it’s all correct!”
I appreciate your points in this article (esp. the shock-absorbing hammer). But it probably speaks more to the educator than the student. I've found one of our big challenges in alternative grading in making students feel like they are not part of an experiment.
(And y'all do a great job of emphasizing student buy-in elsewhere in the blog)
To me, the distinction between alternative and traditional grading is not black-and-white. Instead, I think we can mix and match procedures, using ideas from both approaches.
For instance, I like to treat homework problem sets as formative assessments, with lots of chances to get feedback and resubmit work. But precisely because of that I don't weight this work heavily in the final grade; after all, it's supposed to be formative, not summative. As a result, course grades are heavily weighted towards two exams, which make up 80% of the grade. So it's a combination of lots of formative practice along with two high-stakes exams.
As always, thanks for a stimulating post. Something for you and your readers to consider:
I recently coauthored a paper describing a taxonomy that is capable of characterizing pedagogical innovation (Palmer, M. S., & Giering, J. A. (2023). Characterizing pedagogical innovation in higher education. Innovative Higher Education, 49, 453-473. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-023-09681-6).
In addition to defining pedagogical innovation, we describe a set of possible outcomes, risks, barriers, and costs of an innovation. In short, it's probably not enough to say whether alternative grading is innovative. We need to consider in what ways it is innovative based on contextual factors.
I'd love to you see a "Part 2" where you explore alternative grading as a pedagogical innovation through this lens. :-)
From "That Hideous Strength" by C.S. Lewis: "Odd thing it is—the word ‘experiment’ is unpopular, but not the word ‘experimental.’ You mustn’t experiment on children; but offer the dear little kiddies free education in an experimental school attached to the N.I.C.E. and it’s all correct!”
I appreciate your points in this article (esp. the shock-absorbing hammer). But it probably speaks more to the educator than the student. I've found one of our big challenges in alternative grading in making students feel like they are not part of an experiment.
(And y'all do a great job of emphasizing student buy-in elsewhere in the blog)