{"id":7452,"date":"2023-10-30T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.everylearnereverywhere.org\/?p=7452"},"modified":"2023-10-30T09:43:46","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T14:43:46","slug":"getting-started-with-ungrading-practical-tips-for-college-instructors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everylearnereverywhere.org\/es\/blog\/getting-started-with-ungrading-practical-tips-for-college-instructors\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Started with Ungrading: Practical Tips for College Instructors"},"content":{"rendered":"

By the time they get to college, most students have spent their entire academic careers being evaluated by the letters on nearly every daily homework assignment leading up to their report cards. The practice of \u201cungrading\u201d questions the value of that near-constant grading and gives instructors another useful evaluation tool to help support learning.<\/p>\n

Definitions of ungrading vary, and the term can be misleading because where it is used, a final grade is usually established. Ungrading practices typically involve the formative assessments, daily practice activities, project-based learning, portfolio work, reflection activities, and other work that can inform a final grade. For all of those, ungrading de-emphasizes performance goals and instead emphasizes learning goals by providing students with detailed feedback. Ungrading can reduce student anxiety and improve learning outcomes, and also has the potential to help instructors better support minoritized students in the classroom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Robin Dunkin, Assistant Teaching Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Assistant Faculty Director for the Teaching and Learning Center at University of California, Santa Cruz<\/a>, notes that the term \u201cungrading\u201d can be expansive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about ungrading as a continuum much the same way I think about active learning as a continuum,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The practice can be as small as using a standards-based approach for a single assignment, or as large as redesigning an entire course to use specifications grading. Because of this broad definition, instructors who want to explore the benefits of ungrading have a lot of opportunity to experiment.<\/p>\n

Start with course goals<\/h2>\n

As an instructional designer, Aaron Zachmeier, Associate Director for Online Teaching and Learning at University of California, Santa Cruz, helps instructors select a grading approach that supports students in meeting course goals. He recommends starting with well-defined outcomes when choosing grading practices.<\/p>\n

For example, if the goal of a given assignment or activity is to help students build habits, the traditional approach of a letter grade after one attempt doesn\u2019t necessarily support it. In that case, Zachmeier recommends awarding credit for completion paired with a policy of giving students multiple opportunities to try the activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know learning goals are better than performance goals,\u201d says Zachmeier. \u201cThey lead to better outcomes, not just in terms of learning, but in terms of experience and emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Give students a choice<\/h2>\n

A traditional course format with a small number of high-stakes summative assessments doesn\u2019t provide much room for different ways students have of drawing on their strengths and personal goals. Ungrading practices offer more opportunities for students to connect learning to their own needs and practices.<\/p>\n

One example is the two-stage exam format, which Dunkin uses in her classroom. In the first stage, students get an opportunity to work on the exam by themselves. In the second stage, they may work in small groups.<\/p>\n