Grading
How Grading Works
Grades are a reflection of your learning progress. There are no hidden points in this class. You do the work, give it your full effort, and complete the assignment to expectations (including on time), you will get a good grade and earn the points.
I welcome your questions and am happy to help you think through your ideas. Sometimes just a five minute conversation via Zoom or the phone is all you need. If you feel challenged by the course content then lean into this challenge but if you find yourself frustrated then it is definitely time to ask for help. I am an email away!
Grading Philosophy
Grading can be challenging in a course that examines critical social justice because the course content and discussions can call into question students’ long-held beliefs about identity and privilege, as well as bring up complexities and contradictions that challenge what we might take for granted.
Furthermore, we live in a cultural environment that places grades above understanding; “doing work/working hard” above thinking deeply; complicity of “niceness” above forthrightness; and, compliance above complexity. Grades often reflect all of the former and little of the latter and therefore students can get an “A” in a class without ever grappling with contradicting or competing frameworks of beliefs. This class is designed to focus on the latter: thinking deeply, tolerating ambiguity, forthrightness, complexity --- and, sometimes discomfort as ideas begin to clash and experiences are questioned and examined.
As your instructor, I will formatively assess each week as I listen to, and look for your growth and comprehension. These weekly reflections are important evidence that allow you to track your learning and understanding as well. Look for formative feedback in the Comments section on Canvas or right on your entry (Canvas allows for both ways of commenting).
I will also assess your comprehension in our synchronous class discussions, which is why it is important for you to read the chapters and other assigned readings and to come prepared with notes on your readings; doing so will provide you with ideas to share and to challenge, thereby enriching discussion. I will use various protocols and smaller groups and pair/shares to enable those who are uncomfortable with large groups to speak out.
Written work is another way of demonstrating comprehension. There will be many opportunities for you to represent your understanding in writing: The weekly reflection papers (see below); end of term final integration; and, entry/exit tickets. Writing involves two aspects: One, the content itself that should be organized, well written and focused on the goals of the assignment; and two, the form, such as spelling and grammar.
The aim here is for you to experience a course that will remain with you long after it has ended because of the insight, knowledge and understanding you have gained as well as your effort to comprehend and grapple with the content. As you will see, this makes for a very different educational experience than merely aiming for an “A.”
Gradebook Feedback
I use the comments function in gradebook to provide extra support and feedback on course assignments. I will do my best to grade assignments and offer feedback within a week of their submission (provided assignments are submitted in a timely manner).
Course Assessments
Noticing Exclusions Essay
For this assignment, first find a peer-reviewed resource that expands upon the construct of ‘positionality.” From a critical social justice perspective, when we speak about the varied social groups such as gender, sexuality, socio-economic class, cultural-ethnic group, disability, religious identity association-- we refer to social group positions and histories.
Sensoy & DiAngelo argue that “these group memberships shape us profoundly, if not more so, than any unique characteristic we possess.” (p. 46)
In this essay, you will think deeply about your positionality at it relates to your educational experiences.
Many sociologists say that in part how we come to know ourselves is by knowing who we are not. Many sociologists say that in part how we come to know ourselves is by knowing who we are not. Sociologist Charles Cooley described this process as the “looking glass self” to capture the idea that it is what others reflect back to us that teaches us who we are— that is, our ideas about ourselves are based on how we see ourselves (people like us) in relation to others (people not like us). What kind of people did you learn were different from you? In which ways were they different? How were you taught about this difference? If you were told that everyone was the same, did the implicit messages of your environment match this explicit message? For example, what key groups (such as the elderly, people with disabilities, people of different social classes than your own, people from different religious groups, people from different racial groups) were you segregated from? As you reflect on this question, consider implicit (unspoken) messages as well as explicit (direct) messages (Sensoy & DiAngelo, p. 48).
Educational Improvement Organizations Blog Post
Each student will choose a group of students on whose behalf to explore available non-profit educational improvement services and organizations in the Puget Sound region. You will research your chosen population, organizations available to offer educational support, and the impact of such support. You will then author a blog post. You will then peer review fellow student posts and will get peer feedback on your post too. You will edit your blog post and post the final version that will then be published on the class blog site.
Video Annotations
You will be watching 4 videos as a part of course assigned readings. This assignment offers you an opportunity to “talk with one another” asynchronously. You will view the videos in a screen and add comments/questions/annotations as you watch these videos. We will do a practice session in class.
Participation (e.g., in-class workshops, class discussions, small group discussions, responses to entry/exit questions, peer feedback, meetings with professor)
This will be a collaborative, student-centered course; therefore, the value of each meeting will be determined by the ideas, questions, energy and insights you share with the group. Regular, constructive contribution to discussions and class activities will be vital to earning a high score on your participation grade, which I score this way:
Pass -- You courteously and productively contribute to all of the class discussions and sessions, and you listen attentively. Your comments are insightful and draw from the material we've been studying. You record your contributions in the collaboration document (the google doc you share with me and Elen), and through homework assignments. You record your responses to all the class entry/exit questions on your collaboration document. Your responses indicate careful thought to the specific entry/exit prompts.
Fail -- Your participation is weak. Yo are contributing to less than half of the class discussions and sessions, with little to no indication of paying attention. You sporadically record your contribution to the collaboration document (the one that you share with me and Elen) and have minimal engagement with peers as evidenced from your contribution to the collaboration document. Your comments are sometimes insightful but oftentimes not relevant to the class material.
Google Collaborative Doc
You will create a Google doc that you share with me and Elen. Please edit the settings on this doc so that we can view and comment on your document. On this Google doc, you will record your responses to entry/exit questions for each class session.
Weekly Reflections (Due dates:)
Over the course of the quarter, you will be required to complete five 300-500 word reflections. These reflections are due, uploaded to the appropriate Canvas assignment spot, by midnight on certain Fridays (listed above and in the Course Calendar). They should be completed after you’ve done the readings for the entire week Students will discuss 3-5 things from the course content, readings, audio-video content, and class discussions. Respond to the week’s learning - what you thought about it, what it raised for you, connections you made – in a way that shows you engaged with the course this week. - Two of the things you discuss must come from the readings, the others can come from course content of your choosing (videos, discussions, activities).
Final Integration Paper
The final integration paper provides you with an opportunity to reflect upon and integrate all of the readings and in-class activities you completed this quarter. Second, the paper provides you an opportunity to think about ways that the themes addressed have affected your own thinking. Third, the paper will encourage you to imagine ways your own professional practice to promote a just and equitable future.
Evaluated work points distribution
Assessment/Activity (Points)
Getting to know you survey (1 point)
Noticing Exclusions Essay (15 points)
Educational Improvement Organizations Blog Post (10 points)
Peer Review of Educational Improvement Blog Post (6 points)
Video Annotations (4X4) (16 points)
Weekly Reflections (5X3) (15 points)
Final Integration Paper (25 points)
Class Participation (11 points)
Google Collaborative Doc (1 point)
Total: 100 points
Grading Scale (Undergraduate)
The final grade will be based on the percentage of possible points earned in the class using the conversion table below:
This scale is in accordance with the standard UW grading system. If you are interested in learning more about the grading scale, you can find it on this page.
Please note that grades below 0.7 are recorded as a 0.0 by the Registrar and the student will not receive credit for the course. A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 is required for graduation.
