We’ve taken one off week each month of the summer, usually for a national holiday. This week we’re observing the holiday known as “it’s the middle of August and school starts soon!”

If you’re also thinking about your next set of classes, here are some posts that might be helpful:

Preparing for Grading for Growth: Are you jumping into alternative grading? Here is Robert’s ongoing series on how to plan an alternatively graded class.

• Step 1: What to do before you do alternative grading

• Step 2: Dividing the course into modules and identifying objectives

• Step 3: Identifying the focus of your course, and the grading system(s) that will fit it best

• Step 4: Deciding on marks (on assignments) and grades (for the whole course)

How will things change? If you’re already deep into planning, don’t forget that the experience will be different for you as well as for students. Here’s some advice about what to expect when you change your grading system.

What is all of this? Finally, if you’d new to the idea of alternative grading, or would like a refresher on the basics, check out the four pillars of alternative grading that underlie everything else we write about.

See you next week!