A Word about Grading: A Letter to my Students
Hello my Folks!
Over the years, I’ve noticed that students can get reeeaaalllyyy hung up on and stressed out about grading. This course doesn’t work that way and I don’t want you to stress out about your grade (be sure to read ‘You are Not Your Grade: Grading and Its Discontents’ - also in the Tips & Encouragement folder in Blackboard). Why? If you’re preoccupied with your grade, you aren’t actually learning – which is our ultimate goal. This course won’t work like most other courses you’ve taken up to this point.
As you learned in the syllabus, this course is a student-centered learning course. In this course you are the center of your learning experience. You decide how much you will learn and what you will get out of the course. In this student-centered learning course, italso means thatmany of the responsibilities of learning and assessment lie with… you guessed it… you.
How does this work? I didn’t simply learn enough sociology to be able to share it with you, I have also learned how to construct and design a course so that my students will get the absolute most from it. I am certified in on-line teaching, course construction & design, pedagogy & andragogy, as well as in social media. In other words, I have learned how tobuild courses in such a way that my students are the focal point of their learning experiences and are truly learning.
As you have read in your syllabus, you will find that in this course;a.) Students have options about how they will earn their grades; b.) Students have everything they need to succeed at the outset (through instructions, rubrics, example assignments, formatting guidelines, and additional helpful hints and tips, and;c.) Students are provided consistent and timely feedback and assessment to improve their work on course requirements - through peer assessments, through blog assessments, and through designing your own faux exam questions.
Now, this doesn’t meanthat the course is somehow easier, or that you can somehow not do all the work, or just do the work half-baked or sloppily and still pass the course. Just as you found out that online courses are not easier than face-face courses, you’ll find this course just as rigorous and demanding as any other course – though in different ways.
In this course, I do something which I call “spot grading”. Throughout the course, I will pick and choose assignments/requirements to “spot grade”. When I do this, I assess how folks in the course have performed on the assignment as a whole. If, during my spot grading, I find that more than a few folks have missed the mark on a given assignment, I will offer the opportunity to resubmit it so that everyone can earn full credit on it.
NOTE: I will not contact you individually totell you if you need to resubmit an assignment (remember in this student centered learning course, you are also responsible for assessing your own work before you submit it). But, I will send out an announcement to the entire class that the assignment is up for resubmission. Why don’t I contact you individually? Because you’ve already been given the instructions & rubrics, helpful hints & tips, formats AND feedback & assessments from your peers to determine exactly how you should complete and assess any given assignment.
When an assignment is up for resubmission, you should simply review it, consider your self- or peer assessments, make any changes necessary and re-submit the assignment. Ideally, anyone who needed or wanted to resubmit the requirement for full credit will have done so and you will earn full credit!
So, as long as you are doing the work honestly you’re going to be just fine in this course! Let me re-state this to be clear: You won’t be able to do the work sloppily or last minute or half-baked and still pass the course. BUT as long as you are; a.) Completing the assignments according to the instructions & rubricsusing the tips and required formats and b.) Honestly assessing your peers as the assessments are designed, and c.) Implementing the feedback you receive for future assignments - you’re earning full credit on them.
However, if after resubmission, I find that an assignment is (still) seriously deficient, you will not earn full credit on it (and unfortunately, it means you will have gained my attention and I won’t be able to help but single your future work out for constant review). So, do yourself a favor, do your work honestly and to the best of your ability, implement your feedback on any resubmission and future assignments, and you will be great!As long as you’re doing that – you have no reason to stress about your grade!
It’s Gonna be Great!
Instructor Hanson-Evans