Thread: Reflection on my experience "ungrading" this quarter has convinced me that grading in the traditional sense is a terrible idea. Anyone who has done ungrading before already knows this. But for those who haven't, here's what happened. /1 #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter

Students this quarter, even under pandemic circumstances, were MORE prepared, MORE engaged, and MORE willing to try out "draft ideas" with their peers.

They took absolute ownership of the class.

They were constantly making room for one another as members of a community. /2

Each student set their own learning goals for themselves. I had no idea what they were, but today when I met 1:1 with each student, they shared these goals and my goodness was that a humbling and inspiring experience. /3

Knowing they wouldn't be penalized, they were willing to take risks. They were SO brave in trying to learn new skills that were incredibly HARD for them. These were not all things I anticipated. They were skills such as: /4

-Contributing meaningfully in ways that moved the discussion in new directions

-Speaking 1x each class if they were shy. Conversely for talkers, speaking less & in more meaningful ways.

-working to get out of "think traps"--the common narratives we tell ourselves. /5

-learning to find & understand an author's argument.

-learning to facilitate meaningful discussion

-fostering community in the classroom, meeting their obligations to the class as a member of the community /6

-spacing out work instead of cramming so they could really think about and engage with the ideas in the readings

-starting assignments early so they could do multiple drafts & get peers to review

-staying on top of readings (many said this was the 1st term they ever did) /7

-challenge their existing ideas, learning to be comfortable with not knowing the answer to complicated problems

-improving depth of reading reflection papers

-being open to their own inexperience without judgment

-expand ability to ask uncomfortable questions /8

-increased confidence in sharing thoughts in an academic setting.

-improving communication skills in reading and writing

-centering personal growth.

-learning to elevate perspectives that are often ignored /9

In my previous teaching experiences, some of these things would have been learning objectives, but the sheer range of goals was so impressive. Best yet, when they evaluated whether they'd met their own goals, every one of them felt really proud of what they'd accomplished. /10

Better yet, they knew it was safe to fail, so they were bolder and as a result we all learned things we never expected to. In a pandemic, no less /11

In the end, their self-assessments were sometimes harsh, so it was an excellent exercise in self-understanding, giving oneself credit. They all rocked it, & at least for this class, feel a true sense of accomplishment. /12

Honestly, I can't fathom returning to regular grading again. No grade incentives asking students to meet my own arbitrary bar were as motivating as students being able to hold themselves accountable for their own learning, & centering skills they wanted to build. /13

Finally, I have an entirely new perspective on what university learning looks like, and for this I am so very grateful for my students' bravery in engaging in this experiment with me. Highly recommended to others! /fin