There’s something wrong with the way we’re grading that isn’t being talked about nearly enough.

On today’s show, Dr. Linda Nilson shares about a whole new way of thinking about assessing students’ work and making grades mean more.

Podcast Notes

Dr. Linda B. Nilson

Director of the Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation at Clemson University

Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors
The Graphic Syllabus and the Outcomes Map: Communicating Your Course
Creating Self-Regulated Learners: Strategies to Strengthen Students’ Self-Awareness and Learning Skills
Specifications Grading: Restoring rigor, motivating students, and saving faculty time

Specifications grading

Advocating a new way of grading from University of Pittsburgh University Times

The problem with “traditional” grading

Academic and Occupational Performance: A Quantitative Synthesis (Samson, Graue, Weinstein & Walberg)

.155 correlation meta analysis done by Sampson
2.4% of the variance in career success

2006 study by the American Institutes for Research
Fewer than 1/2 of four year college graduates
Fewer than 3/4 of two year college graduates
Demonstrate literary proficiency

Explanation of specifications grading

Bundles
Virtual tokens

Robert Talbert blog
Casting out nines

How specifications grading came to be

Benefits

Concerns

Recommendations

Bonni: PollEverywhere (new features)

Linda: Cultivate your courage by trying out things you’re afraid of…

Specifications Grading

Teaching in Higher Ed