{"id":9709,"date":"2023-02-01T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/?p=9709"},"modified":"2023-11-14T12:23:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T20:23:35","slug":"ungrading-what-is-it-how-would-you-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/2023\/02\/01\/ungrading-what-is-it-how-would-you-do-it\/","title":{"rendered":"UnGrading: What is it? How would you DO it?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed wp-block-embed-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"UnGrading\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" src=\"https:\/\/viu.video.yuja.com\/V\/Video?v=794678&#038;node=3958368&#038;a=214657900&#038;autoplay=1\" frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>A few thoughts on grades by people who think deeply about teaching and learning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-d7d455e7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:600\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column has-border-color has-base-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"border-color:#ffa300;border-style:solid;border-width:3px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Grades are not a good incentive.<br>Grades are not good feedback.<br>Grades encourage competitiveness over collaboration.<br>Grades are not good markers of learning.<br>Grades don&#8217;t reflect the idiosyncratic, subjective, emotional character of learning.<br>Grades aren&#8217;t \u201cfair&#8221;.<\/p>\n<cite><em>Jesse Stommel (2021) Ungrading: An Introduction<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column has-border-color has-base-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"border-color:#ffa300;border-width:3px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Grades can dampen existing intrinsic motivation, give rise to extrinsic motivation, enhance fear of failure, reduce interest, decrease enjoyment in class work, increase anxiety, hamper performance on follow-up tasks, stimulate avoidance of challenging tasks, and heighten competitivenes<\/p>\n<cite><em>Shinske and Tanner (2014) Teaching More by Grading Less (or Differently)<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Whew! If grades are so bad for learning and we are here to help people learn, how <strong>do<\/strong> you measure and communicate student learning?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That is an excellent question! Welcome to the world of UnGrading, where students have more autonomy; faculty no longer spend dreary hours marking final assignments; stress is down and joy is up in the classroom; and the relationships between faculty and students and between teaching and learning are greatly enhanced. Sounds like a big promise doesn\u2019t it?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why are grades so \u201cbad\u201d?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Why-are-grades-so-bad.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"946\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Why-are-grades-so-bad-946x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9712\" style=\"width:380px;height:411px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Why-are-grades-so-bad-946x1024.png 946w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Why-are-grades-so-bad-277x300.png 277w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Why-are-grades-so-bad-768x832.png 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Why-are-grades-so-bad.png 1182w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 946px) 100vw, 946px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The research on grades shows that they impede learning because students often focus on the grade as the final destination instead of on the learning process itself.&nbsp; When they do this, their self-worth derives from a letter grade \u201cgiven by\u201d the teacher (<em>But I am straight A student! How can I be a C?<\/em>) while we want them to see that they are gaining skills and new knowledge by virtue of their own efforts to learn. This approach undermines their sense of autonomy: confidence in one\u2019s accomplishments grows when one\u2019s own efforts lead to new skills and new ways of seeing the world\u2014when you make learning your own. When learning is defined as someone else having the power to label you as an \u2018A student\u2019 or a \u2018C student\u2019, the motivation to learn is devoid of fun, enthusiasm or curiosity about what\u2019s next.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grades are also not transparent.&nbsp; What does \u201c95\u201d actually mean?&nbsp; What is an \u201cA-\u201c in terms of the quality of student work? Just giving a piece of work a letter grade does not communicate anything about how the student has performed or what they could do better. In spite of having an A -E \u2018grading scale\u2019, faculty still have to make great efforts to communicate the quality of work that they expect students to be able to produce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grades are seen as \u2018final\u2019 by students.&nbsp; Any feedback accompanying a grade, no matter how well-intentioned or well explained, will be disregarded by most students. This is because they are practical people: they know they have limited hours in each day so spending time studying instructions on how to improve a product that has already received a final grade is a waste of their time. Unfortunately, when students do not attend to feedback it creates a sense of frustration in faculty who have spent a great deal of time and effort making thoughtful comments on final work. When this happens, teaching and learning are not aligned in ways that create satisfaction in the classroom\u2014for students or for faculty.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">So how do we \u2018ungrade\u2019 without giving up our standards?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Happily, as in most teaching situations, there is more than one way to solve the problem.&nbsp; In each case ungrading your course requires&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Clarity around learning outcomes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A solid feedback plan that includes multiple sources of feedback (not just you!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ongoing communication with the students about their work and the expectations for quality<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A willingness to give students more autonomy in how the course unfolds&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>What we describe below is just a brief snapshot of your options, loosely adapted from Jesse Stommel\u2019s blog \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jessestommel.com\/how-to-ungrade\/\">How to ungrade<\/a>\u201d and including a few additional ideas.&nbsp; The list is not intended to be comprehensive. Implementing these options will look different in every course because they can be used singly or in combination with one another, and they will entirely depend on the teacher\u2019s expectations and learning outcomes for the course. So\u2014treat this list as just a start to a conversation around how to design your course around ungrading strategies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-base-background-color has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim\"><\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"468\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-9715\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Quality-1024x468.jpg\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Quality-1024x468.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Quality-300x137.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Quality-768x351.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Quality-1536x702.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Quality.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\"><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Grade Free Zones<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Grade Free \u2018Zones\u2019<strong> <\/strong>can be engineered in a variety of ways: you could give only formative feedback for the first third of the course so students can try things out, experiment with their ideas, receive feedback, learn what \u2018quality\u2019 means to you, and improve their initial efforts before it counts for a grade.&nbsp; Or you could mark only some assignments, leaving others entirely grade free. &nbsp; You could use peer assessments, self-assessments and your own perspective on students\u2019 work to devise a schedule of 2-3 \u2018interim progress grades\u2019 on the entire work of each student throughout the semester.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Peer Assessment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Peer-Assessment-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Peer-Assessment-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9718\" style=\"width:513px;height:342px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Peer-Assessment-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Peer-Assessment-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Peer-Assessment-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Peer-Assessment-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/Peer-Assessment-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Peer-Assessment is particularly useful in helping students understand the quality of work expected and how they stand in relation to their peers in reaching learning outcomes.&nbsp; Having groups of students review peers\u2019 work can help each student see what their peers do well and gives them valuable feedback that is outside the teacher-student-grades authority structure.&nbsp;<br><br>To avoid empty feedback (\u2018this is great!\u201d) a \u2018norming\u2019 exercise that asks students to explore what \u2018quality\u2019 means is essential. Give them 3 examples of a potential response to an assignment\u2014one mediocre, one quite good with some flaws, one somewhere in the between\u2014and have groups evaluate those products.&nbsp; They can answer questions such as <em>Which one is the \u2018best\u2019? Why? What is the one thing you would suggest to improve this work? <\/em>Once the whole class has had a conversation about the successes and flaws of each example, students are ready to give peers useful feedback. You can even ask students to build a simple 3 criterion rubric based on the class conversation that will guide their own work and their peer reviews. Or you can give peers a set of 3-5 questions to consider as they review their colleagues\u2019 work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Self Assessment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Self-assessment is a powerful way to help students understand where they stand vis \u00e0 vis your expectations of quality, and to empower them as autonomous, self-directed learners. Once students have explored what \u2018quality\u2019 means in your class (<em>see \u2018norming\u2019 in Peer Assessment above<\/em>) they can apply those standards to their own work and suggest the grade they should receive.&nbsp; Any such suggestion should be accompanied by evidence of learning they can point to within their work.&nbsp; When grading their work, you begin with their self-assessment and review their work with that assessment in mind.&nbsp; This saves you time in final marking because you are reading with a specific purpose: looking for the proof of the students\u2019 expressed sense of accomplishment rather than trying to give feedback on every aspect of their work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Formats particularly well-suited to Self-Assessment might include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Process Letters <\/strong>which ask students to describe their own learning and how it has evolved over the course of the semester, showing work they may not even have handed in to illustrate what they believe is important in what they learned.&nbsp; These can be text based, screencasts, videos, blogs with pictures of their work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Portfolios<\/strong> where students place (electronically or not) their semester\u2019s work.&nbsp; A portfolio could include only their final, best drafts, or it could be a \u2018working portfolio\u2019 where they show multiple drafts of a product to make the case about what they have learned.&nbsp; An advantage of an electronic portfolio is that it is portable and can be used in other contexts (job interviews, applications to graduate school\u2026) to show what they can do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Minimal Grading<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Minimal Grading<strong> <\/strong>can take a few different forms.&nbsp; You might create a grading scale with far fewer levels\u2014rather than a complicated scale with A, A-, B+, B, B-, etc. that cannot express your ideas of each level\u2019s quality.&nbsp; Instead, you use \u201cturned in\/not turned in\u201d; \u201cpass\/fail\u201d; or \u201cstrong\/satisfactory\/needs improvement&#8221; as your criteria for student submissions.&nbsp; This approach makes student work much easier to mark and it\u2019s easier to give feedback with fewer distinctions to keep in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/End-of-Minimal-Marking-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/End-of-Minimal-Marking-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9719\" style=\"width:519px;height:346px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/End-of-Minimal-Marking-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/End-of-Minimal-Marking-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/End-of-Minimal-Marking-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/End-of-Minimal-Marking-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/files\/2023\/01\/End-of-Minimal-Marking-2048x1367.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Another flavour of minimal marking is to aim at only one criterion of an assignment to the exclusion of other criteria while the student is learning a specific skill. This works particularly well for larger assignments with \u2018phases\u2019 of development of skills. For example, a beginning writer needs to find a substantive topic, organize an essay well and show command of grammar and spelling.&nbsp; But students cannot attend to feedback on all those things at once: they need feedback on each skill separately. Good writing is good thinking: students cannot attend to mechanics of writing when their ideas are still muddled. Only when they have made a substantive claim about a topic and have achieved good organization is there room to receive feedback on grammar. So this kind of feedback must take into account each student\u2019s existing skills and those they still need to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, STOP giving detailed feedback on final assignments. It\u2019s not worth spending your time that way if students do not read the feedback.&nbsp; The student who wishes more feedback will benefit from a visit to your office for a focused conversation about their work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Authentic Assessment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Authentic Assessment focuses on assignments that fulfill the learning outcomes of our courses while offering intrinsic value to students that excites their enthusiasm for learning.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One way to test your assignments for their authenticity is to ask yourself the questions: <em>what does this assignment ask students to do that they couldn\u2019t do before taking the course? What will show that they\u2019ve changed how they think and act? <\/em>&nbsp;These questions require you to imagine your students inhabiting their future with your course under their belt: they help you focus on what you know are the real skills, attitudes and knowledge that students will need to be successful beyond the end of your course. Focusing on what students will be able to do with the core concepts of the course helps students see why the assignment is relevant to them beyond just receiving a grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elements that can encourage students to find intrinsic value in an assignment include a connection to their personal interests&nbsp; and the feeling that they have autonomy to make a meaningful choice in how they demonstrate their skills and knowledge.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Relevance and autonomy can also be built through assignments that result in public, durable, or renewable products (not just for the teacher\u2019s eyes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-content-justification-right is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-cd41bc97 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\">\n<p><strong>Student Choice:<\/strong> you can offer students an array of possible topics and formats in which to present their learning at the end of the course. Students can pick topics and formats of interest to them. If the learning outcomes of the course are clear, it will not matter if they submit a video, a research paper, a sculpture, a collage or an original piece of music as the final assignment, as long as they accompany their final product with a description of how it reaches the learning outcomes of the course.&nbsp; Or students can be given time to find their own topic to explore and submit.&nbsp; If you choose this option, it will be important to have them make a proposal and to have several \u2018check ins\u2019 throughout the semester to see how they are coming along.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Public, durable or renewable products <\/strong>require an audience beyond the confines of the classroom.&nbsp; When work is presented to a wider audience (experts in the field, community members, the university community, the wider world\u2026) students see themselves as contributing to a field of knowledge as \u2018new experts\u2019 and feel the pressure to present strong products that will gain recognition beyond the grade a teacher might place on the work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, implementing any of these ideas will require a rethinking of assignments and a new look at the organization and alignment of your course.&nbsp; All of these strategies aim at deconstructing the traditional power structure of the classroom; emphasizing student autonomy; and focusing on the process of learning more than on grades.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As always, our blogs are just introductions to our teaching topics.&nbsp; You likely have your own questions about the process of ungrading, the philosophy behind doing it, or the practical usefulness of making these changes that we have not addressed. Contact us at learnsupport@viu.ca if you want a one-on-one conversation about how you might adapt any of these ideas for your own teaching.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Want to Learn More? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Check out these additional resources: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jesse Stommel, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jessestommel.com\/ungrading-an-introduction\/\">Ungrading: An Introduction<\/a> [Blog Post]&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jesse Stommel, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jessestommel.com\/how-to-ungrade\/\">How to Ungrade<\/a> [Blog Post]&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Amy Hasinoff, <a href=\"https:\/\/hybridpedagogy.org\/do-you-trust-your-students\/\">Do You Trust Your Students?<\/a> [Blog Post ]&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4041495\/pdf\/159.pdf\">Teaching and Learning Teaching More by Grading Less (or Differently)<\/a> Shinske and Tanner [Research Article, 10 pages]<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) 2020 Susan D Blum (Editor) [Book] \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Available to sign out from <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ciel.viu.ca\/pages\/ciel-library\" target=\"_blank\">the CIEL Library<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=h1XBcZiNHu0\">Ungrading: When and How I Don\u2019t Grade<\/a> [Video: 23:54]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-border-color has-secondary-color has-base-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-7f7af609077f795a3577c707e9db020a is-layout-flow wp-container-core-group-is-layout-cd1892f8 wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"border-color:#d0006f;border-width:3px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fc0e5e56 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading alignwide has-text-color\" style=\"color:#d0006f\">Join a Conversation with Colleagues<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4b827052 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>If you would like to learn more about Ungrading, we invite you to sign up for a round table conversation facilitated by CIEL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><strong>UnGrading\u2014What is it and how would you DO it?<\/strong>: A Conversation with Colleagues<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1:30 &#8211; 3:00 pm, Friday, February 10, 2023<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-50 has-custom-font-size is-style-fill has-large-font-size\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-base-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/inviu.viu.ca\/training\/view.cfm?MenuID=10&amp;ID=2545&amp;CategoryID=23&amp;SessionID=3673&amp;section=register\" style=\"border-radius:0%;background-color:#d0006f;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Sign up through InVIU<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>And, as always, we encourage you to <a href=\"https:\/\/ciel.viu.ca\/pages\/consultations\">contact us<\/a> for a conversation about this or any other teaching and learning topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A few thoughts on grades by people who think deeply about teaching and learning: Grades are not a good incentive.Grades are not good feedback.Grades encourage competitiveness over collaboration.Grades are not good markers of learning.Grades don&#8217;t reflect the idiosyncratic, subjective, emotional character of learning.Grades aren&#8217;t \u201cfair&#8221;. Grades can dampen existing intrinsic motivation, give rise to extrinsic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":9738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conversations-with-colleagues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/252"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9709"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10469,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9709\/revisions\/10469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.viu.ca\/ciel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}