Grading

Ok, brothers and sisters, here is where stuff gets real.

If you do all of the assignments in the course, you will pass, and you will get your microcredentials/badges. In this course, you will make weekly posts on Medium (I will take you through this step-by-step) and will respond to your classmates' posts as well. "Doing all of the assignments" includes your own careful reading and writing in Medium, responding to others' posts thoughtfully, participating in our discussions when we meet on Zoom, and revising your Medium posts if you feel that this is helpful. The written work and verbal participation in this course will qualify you for the microcredential in "Ethical Decisionmaking." Responding to your colleagues via comments, direction, your own ideas, etc., is important for building a sense of community and care in our group, but is also the criteria for getting your microcredential in "Focus on Solutions."

I am entering this course with trust in you. I trust that you will do your best without an iron fist on the sidelines in the form of me, your instructor. I trust that you sincerely want to connect with other people in the course, that you want to work on your writing, and that you want to wrestle with the concepts in ethics.

Because of the trust that I have in my students, I don't like grades. A grade or "final mark" in a course standardizes learning such that students are measured or evaluated in a judgmental way. I struggle with this because I don't think that I should judge you. I am here to help you learn, to help you think, and to help you reflect. Sure, I have a Ph.D., and I've been teaching for decades, but I still don't think that I can or should judge you.

Because we've been socialized to believe that instructors are supposed to "judge" or evaluate students' learning, and make students jump through hoops, many students think of grades and marks as a reward and/or punishment. In this case, grades and marking invoke fear. I believe that fear in education is toxic. I prefer to think that we all engage in the learning process together. I strive to create a safe and fun place in class, so why would working toward a judgmental grade "fit" with this kind of teaching environment and philosophy?

I believe that grades, if allocated, should be based on a student’s reading, thinking, speaking, listening, interaction, writing, growth/progress, curiosity, feelings and attitudes about the course, and so on. Grades should reflect how much a person has changed, grown, and genuinely learned. However, most of education requires that students follow a grid (otherwise known as a "rubric") to achieve the best mark possible. I have seen students lose their minds over the difference between and 80 and a 90 (which is basically nothing) -- they've cried, blamed, withdrawn from a course, etc. This is because students generally see grades as a judgment. When we are judged, we feel bad.

Grades are also problematic because you're supposed to get BETTER as the course progresses. What if you started the term struggling with Medium posts, your writing was difficult, but then later you totally "get" how to post on Medium, your grammar becomes that of a professional copywriter, and you are responding to your classmates with clarity and care? If I were to average your grades, your progress is minimized. To me, that's not cool.

I seek to create an environment of openness, vulnerability, respect, trust, and a willingness to engage each other in our attempts to embrace the learning process. The most important thing that you can get from this class is to experience, think, and hang out with others (your colleagues, classmates, and me).

To this end, you will help one another to reflect and engage. There is no judgement from me, and there will be no judgment from your peers. I will consider your work carefully and and offer very thorough comments, constructive direction, and advice. But I won't offer you a grade. This will be different from many courses that you have taken, where you'd get a grade but not much feedback besides perhaps where your work landed in the rubric.

Note: If you have something to say in an assignment that is extremely personal, you can't possibly share it on Medium, and wish to share it directly with me, this can be done via email if you like. Please discuss with me ahead of the weekly post that you'd like to circumvent.

I will provide to you information on all of the assignments for this course which includes submission dates and expectations. With this information, I want you to be motivated from WITHIN, not by fear. I want you to learn from your own desire, and not be threatened by getting a "bad grade."

At the end of term, I have to enter a grade into the university system that will go on your transcript. I will give you a document that outlines all of the assignments, and you will grade yourself. At end of term, you get the chance to think about what you learned in this experience. Did you consider a variety of concepts in this course? Did you "meet" new people? Did you post on Medium and use our Discord channel? Did you engage and participate with your peers? I will then ask you to tell me what grade you think you deserve in the course and why. In all my time of doing this practice, I have never had to change anyone's grade to be lower (I have sometimes increased grades, though!). I find that the trust I build with my students becomes mutual. I assume trust, and students rise to the occasion. Every time.