The moment is right for critical reflection on what has been assumed to be a core part of schooling. In Ungrading, fifteen educators write about their diverse experiences going gradeless. Some contributors are new to the practice and some have been engaging in it for decades. Some are in humanities and social sciences, some in STEM fields. Some are in higher education, but some are the K&;12 pioneers who led the way. Based on rigorous and replicated research, this is the first book to show why and how faculty who wish to focus on learning, rather than sorting or judging, might proceed. It includes honest reflection on what makes ungrading challenging, and testimonials about what makes it transformative.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Aaron Blackwelder
Susan D. Blum
Arthur Chiaravalli
Gary Chu
Cathy N. Davidson
Laura Gibbs
Christina Katopodis
Joy Kirr
Alfie Kohn
Christopher Riesbeck
Starr Sackstein
Marcus Schultz-Bergin
Clarissa Sorensen-Unruh
Jesse Stommel
John Warner
Foreword |
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xiii | |
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Preface |
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xxi | |
Introduction: Why Ungrade? Why Grade? |
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1 | (24) |
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PART I Foundations and Models |
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25 | (17) |
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2 What Going Gradeless Taught Me about Doing the "Actual Work" |
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42 | (11) |
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3 Just One Change (Just Kidding): Ungrading and Its Necessary Accompaniments |
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53 | (21) |
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4 Shifting the Grading Mindset |
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74 | (8) |
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5 Grades Stifle Student Learning. Can We Learn to Teach without Grades? |
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82 | (9) |
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6 Let's Talk about Grading |
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91 | (14) |
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7 Contract Grading and Peer Review |
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105 | (18) |
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8 Critique-Driven Learning and Assessment |
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123 | (17) |
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9 A STEM Ungrading Case Study: A Reflection on First-Time Implementation in Organic Chemistry II |
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140 | (21) |
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10 The Point-less Classroom: A Math Teacher's Ironic Choice in Not Calculating Grades |
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161 | (12) |
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11 Grade Anarchy in the Philosophy Classroom |
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173 | (15) |
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12 Conference Musings and the G-Word |
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188 | (16) |
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13 Wile E. Coyote, the Hero of Ungrading |
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204 | (15) |
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Conclusion: Not Simple but Essential |
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219 | (10) |
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Acknowledgments |
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229 | (4) |
Contributors |
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233 | (4) |
Index |
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237 | |
Susan D. Blum is professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. Her work on education builds on her academic specialties of linguistic, psychological, cultural, and educational anthropology. She is the author of My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture and ""I Love Learning; I Hate School"": An Anthropology of College, among other works.