Episodes
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55 – Alternative Grading as a Healing Process Part 1 of 2: Exploring the Harmful Wordviews that Undergird the Letter Grading System, an Interview with Dr. Jeff Anderson
In this, our first two-part episode on The Grading Podcast, Sharona and Bosley speak with Dr. Jeff Anderson, a community college math professor who has been thinking and writing about alternative assessment practices since at least March 2021. This interview was so interesting and nuanced we just couldn’t fit it into a single hour! Join…
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54 – Reflections on the 2024 Grading Conference with Ashleigh Fox and Drew Lewis
Now that we are a few weeks out from the 2024 Grading Conference, Sharona sits down with two of the organizers (and repeat guests on the pod) Dr. Ashleigh Fox and Dr. Drew Lewis. Hear about some of the highlights of the conference for each of them, as well as what they hope to achieve…
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53 – Reflections on One Year of The Grading Podcast: Lessons Learned and Goals for the Upcoming Year
In this episode Sharona and Bosley reflect on one year of The Grading Podcast. From memorable moments and guests to Links Please note – any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support! Grading Podcast Episodes mentioned in this episode…
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52 – Progress Tracking: Communicating with Students to Encourage Learning and Promote Buy-In
A common pushback that practitioners of alternative grading get is that students “don’t know how they are doing”. In this episode, Sharona and Bosley take a hard look at progress tracking and communicating progress to students. We include a variety of examples of progress trackers provided by several different alternative graders and talk about the…
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51 – Reflecting on Standards-Based Grading with Joe Zeccola and Ashleigh Fox
In this episode, Joe Zeccola and Dr. Ashleigh Fox join Sharona and Bosley as we look at a critique of standards-based grading written from someone in the trenches, already working in alternative grading. We discuss many of the main points of the article as a way of self-reflecting on our practices as we explore this…
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50 – How we quadrupled our pass rate: Lessons learned from Redesigning Precalculus, An Interview with Dr. Latrice Bowman
In this episode, Sharona and Bosley speak with Dr. Latrice Bowman, a mathematics faculty member from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Latrice took the MAA OPEN intensive training on redesigning a course to use alternative grading and is back to talk about her first two times running the redesigned course. She shares lessons learned and…
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49 – Teaching and Assessing Writing – Ungrading, AI and a LOT of Rethinking: an Interview with Emily Pitts Donahoe
In this episode, Sharona and Bosley talk with Dr. Emily Pitts Donahoe about teaching writing in a world where ungrading is the system and AI exists. Emily is the Associate Director of Instruction Support at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning as well as a lecturer in writing and rhetoric at the University…
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48 – Implementation Challenges and Opportunities: A Conversation with Becky Peppler and Don Smith on Working with K-12 School Districts to implement Alternative Grading
In this episode we talk with Becky Peppler and Don Smith from First Educational Resources, an organization dedicated to providing K-12 school districts in North America with affordable options for professional learning to support social emotional learning, instructional coaching, professional learning communities, and grading reform efforts. We discuss their experiences with supporting grading reform efforts…
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47 – Taking Alternative Grading With You: An Interview with Dr. Rachel Weir
In this episode we talk with Dr. Rachel Weir. Dr. Weir is a Professor of Mathematics at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. She has been the Director of Faculty Development at Allegheny College for the past few years and is currently (as of when this episode was recorded) the new interim Associate Provost at Allegheny…
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46 – Extinguishing the Fires within Assessment and Grading Reform: Welcoming Back Dr. Matt Townsley
On this episode we welcome back the “sportscaster” of Alternative Grading, Dr. Matt Townsley, to talk about his new book Extinguishing the Fires within Assessment and Grading Reform. As Alternative Grading practices grow and take shape throughout the United States, efforts to resist these reforms are also growing. This incredible new book offers practical guidance…