Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead)
Edited by Susan D. Blum
With a foreword by Alfie Kohn
From the publisher:
The moment is right for critical reflection on what has been assumed to be a core part of schooling. In Ungrading, fifteen educators write about their diverse experiences going gradeless. Some contributors are new to the practice and some have been engaging in it for decades. Some are in humanities and social sciences, some in STEM fields. Some are in higher education, but some are the K–12 pioneers who led the way. Based on rigorous and replicated research, this is the first book to show why and how faculty who wish to focus on learning, rather than sorting or judging, might proceed. It includes honest reflection on what makes ungrading challenging, and testimonials about what makes it transformative.
From Dave and Marty
There has been much discussion recently about alternative approaches to grading, including LTC reading groups for the books Specifications Grading and Grading for Equity. Whereas these former books emphasize specific ideas on structural approaches to grading, the book Ungrading has gotten a lot of attention recently by suggesting that grading itself should be heavily de-emphasized and replaced with alternative forms of growth-oriented feedback. In this book group, we’ll be thinking through how the ideas presented in the book might play out in our classes, and how they might help in our attempts to learn how to grade equitably. Does “Ungrading for Equity” make sense? We’ll find out. (Participants are most welcome to join this group regardless of whether or not they have read either of the other two books mentioned above.)
Book group meetings:
Wednesdays, April 20 and May 4
4:00-5:30pm — Leighton 236
Facilitators:
Dave Musicant, Professor of Computer Science and Marty Baylor, Associate Professor of Physics
Registration
Thank you for your interest in the Ungrading book discussion group. This group is full.