The Grading Podcast

This week we welcome Joe Zeccola back to the podcast. In this episode, Sharona, Boz and Joe look at how we give feedback, how students use it, and how we make both the giving of feedback and the student use of feedback easier, more useful, and more in line with our goals for our students.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Instructional Feedback: The Power, the Promise, the Practice 1st Edition, by Dr. Thomas Guskey
• Grading With Integrity: A Research-Based Approach Grounded in Honesty, Transparency, Accuracy, and Equity, by Dr. Thomas Guskey

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Music

Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

In this week's episode, Sharona and Boz sit down with Caroline Cormier and Françoise Arseneault-Hubert to discuss the movement towards alt grading in Quebec. Beginning with a description of the CEGEP system (pronounced say-ghep) that serves as a bridge between K-11 education and university/technical tracks we then explore how Caroline and Françoise have built a multi-institutional, multi-discipline community of practice. With over 40 regular participants, this CoP meets regularly to share experiences with alt grading, give best practices, and supporting each other.

Then we dive into some of the intricacies of final grades in the CEGEP system, including nerding out on EVEN MORE MATH that is overlaid onto the final grades at the CEGEPs. You won't want to miss this!

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Workshops and a community of practice in Quebec for knowledge transfer, from the Grading for Growth Blog
• Join the Community of Practice (French speaking but others welcome)
• What is a CÈGEP?

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Music

Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This week Sharona and Boz share some ideas, tools and methods for making assessment writing easier including AI, CheckIt (programmable assessment generation) and intentional alignment of content and assessments.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• CheckIt
• ChatGPT
• Gemini (Google AI)

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Music

Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Description

In this episode, Sharona and Bosley tackle the conversation about "Grade Inflation". A commonly used term that is rarely defined, we look at what the "problem" is with grade "inflation", how we would define grade "inflation" (as well as grade "deflation") and how to address it when it is leveled as a potential problem with alternative grading.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Why grade inflation is spreading from high school to college — and how it hurts learning
• As They Revamp Grading, Districts Try to Improve Consistency, Prevent Inflation
• Why not get rid of grades? When the goal is an A, real learning gets lost. (Gift Article)
• Solving the Grade-Inflation Problem
• Problems caused by grade inflation
• How Grading Reform Changed Our School

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Music

Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Description

In this episode we welcome back to the pod Dr. Robert Talbert. A mathematics professor at Grand Valley State University, author of books on Flipped Learning and Grading for Growth, Robert joins us to discuss his struggles with the increasing use of AI tools in his alternatively graded classes and how he is revising his courses to adjust. We discuss the threats and opportunities AI poses for an alternatively graded class and consider some thoughts about the future of education in an age of AI.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• How AI is Changing My Grading Approach, by Talbert, R. on the Grading for Growth Blog
• How AI Will Divide the Best from the Rest, The Economist (paywall - sorry)

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Music

Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Description

In this episode, Sharona and Bosley look at some new(ish) literature about traditional grades in a more professional setting - Pharmacy Education. If the ultimate goal of many degree programs is to get a professional degree or license, what is being done with grading at that level and how might we leverage those choices earlier in the educational system. We explore in different ways the deficiencies with traditional grading as well as the beliefs instructors have that support the use of traditional grading.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Deficiencies of Traditional Grading Systems and Recommendations for the Future, by Cain, J., Medina, M., Romanelli, F., and Persky, A.
• When is a Number Not A Number?, by Talbert, R., from the Grading for Growth Blog
• Learning for Mastery, by Bloom, B.

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Music

Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

In this week's episode we welcome Dr. Patrick Morriss back to the pod to discuss how instructor beliefs, about our students, our subject areas, ourselves, impact our classrooms and drive the educational outcomes of our students.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• https://checkit.clontz.org/
• Episode 78 – Looking more at Proficiency Scales – Doing “Bee” Work: An Interview with Patrick Morriss
• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein
• Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership, by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
• Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond
• Rehumanizing Mathematics for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Students, by Rochelle Gutierrez
• Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching, by Elena Aguilar
• Visible Learning: The Sequel: A Synthesis of Over 2,100 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement, by John Hattie
• Mathfest, by the MAA

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Music

Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Description

In this episode, Sharona and Bosley talk with Dr. Corin Bowen, an Engineering Education researcher and assistant professor in the Civil Engineering department at California State University Los Angeles. We talk about student motivation and engagement, the opportunities that standards-based grading has provided Dr. Bowen's students, and what it was link to come in to a course that had already been redesigned to use standards-based grading as a new instructor. Join us as we talk grading structures, critical pedagogy, the power of undergraduate instructional student assistants and so much else.

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Music

Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Join us as we explore small ways to open a conversation about grading with other people, without them necessarily realizing that its a conversation about grading. In this episode, Sharona and Bosley talk about 7 ways you can crack the door open on grading. Everything from using the four pillars to finding common ground and discussing why we teach. If we listen carefully, there are more ways than we realize to turn small moments of opportunity into larger conversations.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Taking the Grading Conversation Public
• When We Talk About Grading We Are Talking About People
• Ungrading, AI, and Feedback as Scholarly Work
• The End of Grades: An Afterward to Undoing the Grade

Seven Opportunities to Open Up the Conversation About Grading

1. Pick a Pillar
2. Talk About Purpose
3. Find Common Principles
4. Discuss What Will NOT Change
5. Think About Systems
6. Talk About People
7. Ask Why We Teach

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Music

Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

We're finally seeing some results from all the work that this community has been putting in! In this episode, Sharona and Bosley dive in to newly published research about the impact of "second-chance quizzes" on students' perceptions of self-determination. We also dive in to the impact of retakes on student success in Precalculus.

Additionally, registration, volunteer opportunities, and abstract submissions are all available for the 2025 Grading Conference!

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

• Undergraduate STEM Students’Perceptions of Grading Practices Revealthat Quiz Retakes Positively ImpactDrivers of Self-determination by Tripp, B. et al
• Not All Limits are the Same from the Grading for Growth Blog
• Episode 41 - Second Chance Grading: How Small, Gentle Approach to Changing Grading Led to Research Into Alt Grading
• Episode 9 - Reassessment Carnivals: An Interview with Kate Owens
• Episode 70 - A Reassessments Deep Dive with Beck Peppler
• Intentional Academia by Robert Talbert
• Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

• The Grading for Growth Blog
• The Grading Conference
• The Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

• Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
• Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
• Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram - @thegradingpod. To leave us a comment, please go to our website: www.thegradingpod.com and leave a comment on this episode's page.

If you would like to be considered to be a guest on this show, please reach out using the Contact Us form on our website, www.thegradingpod.com.

All content of this podcast and website are solely the opinions of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily represent the views of California State University Los Angeles or the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Music

Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.