Episode Summary:
Does receiving a grade help students focus on becoming better writers or getting better grades? What is the concept of ungrading and how is it implemented? How can you stop students from making “superficial changes” to a writing text instead of digging deeper to improve their writing? What is portfolio assessment, and what are the advantages of it? These questions and more will be addressed as Babi Kruchin discusses her methods for inspiring students to improve their writing skills by truly understanding and internalizing the criteria necessary for better academic writing. Learn the difference between “assessment of learning” and “assessment for learning,” and how you can use this knowledge so that students can take ownership of their academic writing development and become “a community of readers and writers” who are also able to self-assess in order to develop. If you want to establish a “toolbox” to help your students grow in their writing abilities, this episode is for you!
RBERNing Questions for this Episode:
1- How exactly do you implement peer feedback in your writing course, and what are the direct benefits?
2- Can you explain how this could be implemented in a middle, high school, or elementary setting?
3- What have been some challenges you’ve faced with ungrading, and how have you overcome or dealt with them?
Bio:
Babi Kruchin is a Senior Lecturer in ESL at the American Language Program at Columbia University, where she teaches “Academic Writing to International Students,” academic skills for graduate students, and courses in the Intensive English Program. She has trained ESL teachers on both campus and online courses in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and often presents in TESOL conferences. Her interests lie in teacher education, teaching academic writing, and the effective use of technology in the classroom. Babi Kruchin received a Spring 2021 Provost Teaching and Learning Innovative Course Module Design grant for her project Improving International Students Writing Skills through Reviews and Teacher Feedback in an Academic Writing Course.
Resources:
Websites/Social Media
https://sps.columbia.edu/faculty/babi-kruchin
http://www.susanblum.com/books.html
Email: [email protected]
Books mentioned in this episode:
Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) (Teaching and Learning in Higher Education) First Edition, by Susan Blum
Other Media
Columbia’s Center for Teaching & Learning Panel in 2022:
Improving International Students’ Writing Skills through Peer Reviews & Teacher Feedback in an Academic Writing Course w/Elizabeth Walters

** Since the recording of this episode, Babi has worked with her colleagues at the American Language Program on the Writing Task Force, changing a high-stakes timed writing exam on unfamiliar topics to Portfolio Assessment, which she believes serves students better and helps them develop their writing skills instead of testing their ability to write under conditions such as timed-writing on unfamiliar topics. She says, "This way, our practices align with the type of writing they will be required to do in their academic and professional lives. This is moving in a positive direction!"

To find out more about Mid-State RBERN at OCM BOCES' services, listen to season 1 of the show with host Collette Farone-Goodwin, or to receive CTLE credit for listening to episodes, click here: https://midstaterbern.org/