Ungrading

Ungrading

My approach to evaluating your work in this course is also known as “Ungrading,” because it seeks to deemphasize letter grades and instead foreground learning.  In traditional grading systems, the emphasis tends to fall on the final product—what you have mastered at the endpoint of  learning.   In this course the emphasis is instead on your learning process.  Toward that end, I will be looking for you to demonstrate your learning through

  • Engaged participation
  • Working on the reading assignments
  • Working on your writing
  • Thoughtfully reflecting on your learning

Let me explain what I mean by those things.

Engaged participation goes beyond attending class and making comments once in awhile.  Rather, it begins with being present in ways that demonstrate your learning and in turn invite others to learn from you.  This kind of engagement includes (but is not limited to) things like

  • Regular participation in class discussions.
  • Listening respectfully during class with your full attention, and responding thoughtfully to your classmates’ comments.
  • Learning your classmates’ names and pronouns.
  • Asking questions.
  • Providing constructive feedback on your classmates’ writing.
  • Commenting on your classmates’ blog posts, and responding to their comments on your posts.
  • Demonstrating a willingness to consider new ideas and ways of thinking.
  • Meeting deadlines.
  • Following up with me whenever you have questions or want to talk further about course matters.

Working on the reading includes (but is not limited to) things like

  • Annotating as you read (marking up the reading so you can easily find places you want to return to later).
  • Having your annotations and notes in front of you during class.
  • Sharing your ideas about the reading in class—especially about those parts of the reading that you find challenging.
  • Turning to examples from the reading during class.
  • Voluntarily reading aloud during class.
  • Rereading.

Working on your writing begins with taking yourself seriously as a writer, and includes (but is not limited to) things like:

  • Devoting a regular time (e.g. every day, every other day, every week day, etc.) for writing.
  • Getting comfortable sharing your writing before it’s finished.
  • Getting comfortable with the sound of your writing voice (reading drafts aloud and working on sentences and paragraphs to make them sound more like who you want to be in a given writing situation).
  • Finding readers you trust who will provide helpful feedback on your writing.
  • Responding thoughtfully to constructive feedback on your writing.
  • Learning to be patient with your writing, because good ideas need time to develop.
  • Tossing out the 2 pages you wrote yesterday that no longer seem like a good idea.
  • Saving in a separate file the 2 pages you wrote yesterday, because they might turn out to be useful, but you can’t see how just yet.

And  reflecting on your learning this semester will involve periodically stopping to think and write about what you’ve been doing in the course and how you’ve been doing it.

On the About page of this website, I outlined the learning goals for this course.  Everyone’s progress toward those goals is going to be a little different and much of the work that you do in this course is going to be in-progress.  For those reasons, I will not put letter grades on individual assignments.   Instead, we’ll use a pass/not-yet system.  Earning a “pass” means that you have met all requirements for a given assignment.  (Each assignment handout will include its own specific criteria.)  Earning a “not yet” means that you have not yet met the minimum requirements and I’d like you to try again.  At that point, we’ll meet and talk about how to approach your revision.  But you can continue working until on an assignment until the final week of the semester so long as you have more you want to do.

At midterm and again at the end of term, I’ll ask you to assemble a portfolio of your work, and schedule a conference with me discuss your grade, based on the following criteria.

To earn a B in this course, you need to

  • Earn a pass on the 4 required blog posts and 2 major writing projects (including all required drafts and revisions).
  • Earn a pass on your midterm and final portfolios and accompanying writer’s memos.
  • Demonstrate engaged participation (explained here) on a daily basis.
  • Attend 4 required conferences with me (2 writing conferences and 2 grading conferences).
  • Meet 4 times with our WA to discuss your writing.
  • Submit all assignments and projects on time (within the terms of the flexible deadline policy described here).
  • Have missed no more than 3 classes.

To earn a B+, in addition to meeting the above criteria, you will also need to write and revise one additional blog post, for a total of 5.  A draft of the additional post must be submitted by 11/23, and the revision by November 30.

To earn an A, in addition to meeting the B criteria, you will also need to

  • Write and revise 2 additional blog posts (for a total of 6), OR complete an additional revision of the midterm essay (beyond the required revision at midterm). Blog post drafts must be submitted by 11/23, and revisions by November 30.   If you’re going to do an additional revision of the midterm essay, schedule a meeting with me by Nov 2 to discuss your plans.  Revisions are due with the final portfolio.
  • Have missed no more than 1 class.

Earning lower grades (B- through F) will happen most quickly through excessive absences, turning in late assignments, missing assignments, and general lack of engagement.