It is admittedly super weird to have a syllabus section entitled "Stuff We Don't Do."  But, there's a really important thing that we DON'T do in this class that you DO do in your other classes, so it gets its own page.  

In PSY 3010, I don't grade. 

You read that right . . .I won't be grading any of your individual assignments in this class. 

Wait, WHAT!? 

Well, here's the deal . . . educational psychology research shows that grades get in the way of learning.  And since this is a class ABOUT educational psychology, it would be pretty hypocritical to do something that goes against the research.

And if I am serious about helping you to learn (and I really, really am—this is like my "calling," y'all) then I have to be serious about anything that gets in the way. So, although I won't be putting numbers or letters on your work, we will engage in a constant discussion about that work—what you're digging, what you're not, what you're rocking, what you need my help with. 

Students are often concerned that they won't be motivated in a class like this, but that almost never happens.  Because if I do my job right, you're gonna be pumped about this stuff.  You're gonna be fired up about righting the wrongs in the education system, so a letter or number on your work will feel unnecessary and kinda rude. Or, maybe you won't be that fired up, but maybe you'll appreciate that you can chill out a little in this class compared to your other ones. I mean, you still need to turn stuff in, but maybe it'll be nice to not be freaking out about points all the time? Maybe it'll be nice to put in the amount of effort that you want to put in instead of feeling like you're just jumping through someone else's hoops?

But how will this work?

I'll still be giving you feedback on everything you turn in.  Although it won't get letters or numbers, I'll let you know where I think you are on our learning objectives on every assignment. This will be more like "meets objectives or does not meet objectives," plus a lot of detailed remarks about your work, instead of "this is a B+ or this is an 87." Students have remarked that separating grades from feedback makes them feel like they are being mentored as opposed to doing what the teacher said because they are "supposed to."  This is a good thing.  

I'll also ask you to reflect on your progress a few times throughout the course in our Process Reflections, and we'll use that to figure out your grade at the end of the semester. I'll give very specific prompts regarding what to reflect on, including asking you to report on how much work you've done in the class (something we'll also keep track of through the "Activity Account" sections on AsULearn) as well as what YOU think you've mastered and what YOU think you still need to work on.  I'll also ask you to give yourself a grade for your body of work so far, and then I'll give you feedback on all of that, including whether I think the grade you've chosen for yourself is accurate.  This will happen 3 times during the semester, in addition to the constant stream of feedback you'll get on your assignments, so you'll always know "where you stand" in class.  

This also means that YOU decide what grade you get. I reserve the right to change it, but I trust you, and in most cases, I really don't think I'll have to.  In fact, most of the grade changes I've had to make were to give people higher than what they gave themselves).  And, no, not everyone gives themselves or gets an A. 😮

And if this sounds weird, no worries, we'll talk about it a whole bunch.  

In the meantime, if you are having BIG FEELINGS about this, here's some reading about ungrading (which is the general term for this approach to assessment—I personally call it collaborative grading):

• The Case Against Grades ( a mix of logic and research)

• Where Does Grading Coming From? (history of grades)

• Why Does Conventional Grading Feel So Unfair? (unintended consequences of grades)