In part two of our episode series with Kevin Lin and Brett Wortzman from the University of Washington, we dig into the details of how they implement their alternative grading systems. Brett outlines their ESNU system that stands for exemplary, satisfactory, not yet and unaccessible, as well as the components of his grading system for his large CS1 course, and Kevin talks about his version from his CS2 and other data structures courses. We discuss trading off complexity for precision and how much differentiation in grades is actually feasible and necessary. We also talk about grading workload and balancing the convenience of autograding with the depth of feedback from manual grading. Kevin emphasizes how grading “bundles” can provide more clarity for students on what the expectations are for each grade. Finally, both Kevin and Brett emphasize considering constraints, priorities, and tradeoffs in choosing a grading system for your own class. If you haven’t yet, consider listening to the first episode of the series on why to consider alternative grading and the potential systems to choose from!

See the transcript on the website (https://csedpodcast.org/blog/season3_episode2/)

In a two-part episode series, we talk with Kevin Lin and Brett Wortzman from the University of Washington about alternative grading practices. In this episode, we focus on the purposes and goals of grading and discuss different types of grading systems. We dig into the philosophy of Kevin and Brett’s grading approach, how it can work in very large courses, and how to get buy-in from students on an unfamiliar system. Kevin mentions the importance of focusing on equity and defining what exactly that means, and Brett emphasizes that grading should align with the course’s learning outcomes. We close by thinking about what we can hope to gain by implementing a new grading system and who our choices impact. Be sure to listen to part two as well!

In a two-part episode series, we talk with Kevin Lin and Brett Wortzman from the University of Washington about alternative grading practices. In this episode, we focus on the purposes and goals of grading and discuss different types of grading systems. We dig into the philosophy of Kevin and Brett’s grading approach, how it can work in very large courses, and how to get buy-in from students on an unfamiliar system. Kevin mentions the importance of focusing on equity and defining what exactly that means, and Brett emphasizes that grading should align with the course’s learning outcomes. We close by thinking about what we can hope to gain by implementing a new grading system and who our choices impact. Be sure to listen to part two as well!

See the transcript on the website (https://csedpodcast.org/blog/season3_episode1/)

Hello, everyone! We are going to have a season 3! But we are going to try something new. Rather than six episodes released every few weeks, we are going on an irregular schedule. We’re picking a theme and running with it until we run out. This season’s theme is “What’s next?” where we focus on how we've rethought our teaching since covid-19.

We’ve got a few episodes lined up and the goal is to release an episode on average every other month. So make sure to subscribe, so you don't miss an episode!

See the transcript on the website (https://csedpodcast.org/blog/season3_teaser/)

For this season’s last episode, we talk with Jacqueline Smith, an Assistant Professor of the teaching stream in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. We talk about U of T’s large flipped CS1. We started with the class’s specifics, how it’s flipped, and their “prepare, rehearse, and perform” cycle. Then we discussed their decision to have a synchronous part of the class despite remote teaching. We spent the rest of the episode on her thoughts on how best to flip a class, which included reconsidering if video is the right medium, flipping doesn’t need to happen all at once, and colleague buy-in from all others that could teach the course is important.

See the transcript on the website (https://csedpodcast.org/blog/season2_episode6/)

In this episode, we talk to Leigh Ann DeLyser, co-founder and executive director of CSforAll. Our topic is the need to reform systems for sustainable equity. We discuss what it means and what CSforAll does. We also discussed the specific difficulties our host, Kristin Stephens-Martinez, has with her CS1 class and how it’s actually a systems problem.

See the transcript on the website (https://csedpodcast.org/blog/season2_episode5/)

Joining us today is Joe Feldman, author of Grading for Equity and the CEO of Crescendo Education Group. We discuss the historical overview of grading and why now is a good time to rethink our grading process to make it more equitable. We got concrete by discussing our host’s, Kristin Stephens-Martinez’s, syllabus for her class and changes she was considering after reading Grading for Equity. One significant point Joe made is that grades should only convey the student’s level of mastery, not their behavior. Finally, we closed the episode with him pointing out we should do small experiments, iterate, and over time transition our classes to be more equitable, as well as discussed ways to normalize the new practices in the classroom. If you are interested in learning more, there is not only the book but also an online class.

See the transcript on the website (https://csedpodcast.org/blog/season2_episode4/)

In this episode, we talk with Nicki Washington, a full Professor of the Practice at Duke University, about cultural competence. We discuss the definition of cultural competence. Its history, why we should care, and what it means in the context of computer science. We also talked about Nicki's new class on this topic and her 3C Fellows program. Finally, we close with a call to action. Many people and organizations have started learning, reading, and making commitments. What needs to happen next is to start executing plans and iterating on them quickly (agile method style). We need to hold people accountable because reading and planning aren't enough. Our discussion did not close with a too long; didn't listen segment, except simply "get uncomfortable and listen to the whole episode."

Nicki mentioned many resources during our discussion. We have done our best to link to them in the transcript.

See the transcript on the website (https://csedpodcast.org/blog/season2_episode3/)

Our guest today is Jared O’Leary, the Director of Education and Research at BootUp PD. Jared creates computer science curriculum and professional development and is also the creator of the CSK8 podcast. Our topic was what K–12 and higher education computer science education can learn from each other. We discussed Jared’s philosophy and curriculum design process, as well as why K–12 and higher education do not communicate as much as would be ideal. In Jared’s too long; didn’t listen summary, Jared discussed the importance of reading and learning from outside of the field and how we need to figure out better ways to communicate and learn from each other.

See the transcript on the website (https://csedpodcast.org/blog/season2_episode2/)

In this episode, we talk with Manuel Pérez-Quiñones, a Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Our topic is supporting students of color. We discussed why this support matters and the differences between professors versus students and equality versus equity. We also discussed how he changed his grading practices for his remote class. He even shared about changing his syllabus to specification grading, which he reflects on in his blog now that the semester is over. For his too long; didn’t listen summary, Manuel talked about how we need to acknowledge the history that got us here and what is happening right now and then consider the repercussions that appear in our classroom.

See the transcript on the website (https://csedpodcast.org/blog/season2_episode1/)