Grading and Revision

I believe that grades should represent student learning of course material. I recognize and celebrate the following:

1. Students come to this class from different backgrounds and with different levels of experience and comfort with the ocean.

2. Students take this class for a variety of reasons: to satisfy a GE lab requirement, to explore a potential major in biology or marine biology, or for personal enrichment and continued learning.

3. Students learn at different rates and have different learning preferences.

4. Students learn best in a welcoming and non-competitive classroom environment.

My goal this semester is to build a community in which all students can learn about marine biology, whatever prior experience they have. I also want to give you some control over your workload and grade outcome for this class. With those goals in mind, I have removed numerical grades from the most numerous assignments for the class—lab reports, reading assignments, and reflections. For each of these assignments I will provide a rubric that outlines my expectations and the criteria I will use to evaluate it. I suggest reading the rubric before you begin the assignment, so you have a target to aim for. I will read these assignments and give you feedback on how well you meet the criteria outlined in the rubric.

You will also have the opportunity to define what "success" means to you, and to determine which grade you want to achieve. At the beginning of the semester I will describe the number of various assignments that will be required for the letter grades of A, B, and C. You will consider your motive(s) for taking the class and the amount of time you realistically have to work on this class, then choose the grade you wish to work for. You do not need to justify your choice to me. When you successfully complete the number of assignments required for that grade, that's the grade that will appear on your transcript.

In this course you will submit a variety of assignments, which I will evaluate and return to you with feedback. Some assignments can be revised and resubmitted for a higher evaluation (see below). 

I know that it can be difficult to maintain momentum during a 16-week semester and that you may have things other than school that demand your time. The good news is that you don't have to be perfect every week! To give you the opportunity to choose ahead of time which grade to work for, I have implemented contract grading for this course. The grading contracts for the letter grades A, B, and C, are based on five types of assignments: 13 lab assignments, 24 reading assignments, 12 quizzes, 15 reflections, and 1 final exam. Other assignments—such as discussions, set of poster session assignments, and the 2 projects—are not included in the grade contract and are required no matter which letter grade you choose. Quizzes and the final exam count as "complete" if your score is above 70%.

For each of the letter grades, you must complete at least the following numbers of assignments in the contract:

• For an A: 11 lab assignments, 20 reading assignments, 11 quizzes, 14 reflections, and a score of at least 70% on the final exam

• For a B: 10 lab assignments, 16 reading assignments, 9 quizzes, 12 reflections, and a score of at least 70% on the final exam

• For a C: 9 lab assignments, 12 reading assignments, 7 quizzes, 10 reflections, and a score of at least 70% on the final exam

Contract grading may be a new concept to you, and I expect that you will have questions. That's okay, and please do ask your questions. This is new to me, too! I hope that giving you this option to choose your grade helps you manage your time effectively this semester.