Ungrading Book Chapters Discussion √ §

Grades are so central to education today that it can be difficult to imagine teaching and learning experiences without them. Conventional wisdom at UMBC whispers that students will not complete work unless it is clearly tied to points. What happens when educators move away from grading’s extrinsic rewards and work to cultivate intrinsic motivation and love for learning? What if you had other ways to give students feedback, motivate them, and still meet the registrar’s grade deadline?

Explore these ideas with your colleagues in a continuing discussion of Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) by Susan Blum, 2020. Our second discussion focuses on:

• Riesbeck’s “Critique-Driven Learning and Assessment” (Chapter 8, pp 123-139),
• Schulz-Bergin’s “Grade Anarchy in the Philosophy Classroom” (Chapter 11, pp. 173-187), and
• Blum’s “Not Simple But Essential” (Conclusion, pp. 219-228).

To maximize learning from each other, both sessions are open to all faculty, but we are inviting faculty to choose sessions based on discipline if they wish:

• February 15: focus on arts, humanities, and social science classes
• February 16: focus on STEM classes

Participants may access the ebook online at any time through the AOK library in advance of the session using the following step-by-step instructions:

1. Log into myUMBC
2. Go to the AOK Library Website
3. In the AOK OneSearch box, type the book title and press Search
4. Locate the ebook, and click on the link to Online Access under the descriptive information

Please click “Going Virtually” below to reserve your seat for this session, and we will send you a Google calendar invitation with a WebEx link one hour before the session. If you register less than an hour before the session, you will receive the WebEx link when you register. Please email fdc@umbc.edu if you have any questions. If you have registered and find that you can no longer attend, please kindly release your spot so that others may attend.