Episodes
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121 – Taking the Next Step in Collaborative Grading: A Deep Dive into Student Partnership in a Biology Class
In this episode of The Grading Podcast, Sharona Krinsky and Robert “Boz” Bosley dive into what it means to co-create grading practices with students—especially in STEM disciplines where structure and sequence often seem incompatible with collaboration. Sharona shares her plans to implement a collaborative grading model in her upcoming Precalculus course at Cal State LA,…
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120 – Learning Takes Time: Dr. Wendy Smith on Teacher Preparation, Ungrading, and Rethinking Deadlines
In this episode of The Grading Podcast, Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley sit down with Dr. Wendy Smith, Director of the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Computer Education at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Wendy shares how her journey into alternative grading began long before the term even existed—rooted in her own struggles as a math…
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119 – When Flexibility Isn’t Enough: Alternative Grading and Neurodivergent Students – A Conversation with Emily Pitts Donahoe and Sarah Silverman
n this episode, Sharona and Boz sit down with returning guest Emily Pitts Donahoe (University of Mississippi) and first-time guest Sarah Silverman (Goodwin University) to explore the complex intersection of neurodiversity and alternative grading. Drawing on their collaborative three-part Substack series, Emily and Sarah unpack how different grading structures—ungrading, specifications grading, labor-based grading, and collaborative…
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118 – Designing Evidence-Based Change: Inside the Alt Grading Institute with Michael Palmer
In this episode of The Grading Podcast, Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley welcome Dr. Michael Palmer, the Barbara Fried Director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Teaching Excellence and recipient of the Bob Pierleoni Spirit of POD Award. Together, they dive deep into the origins of the new Alternative Grading Institute being offered by…
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117 – Excuses, excuses: 10 Reasons People Give for NOT Implementing Alternative Grading and How To Reply to Them
In this episode, Boz and Sharona dig into the instant reactions that educators often have when they first hear about alternative grading. Inspired by Dr. David Clark’s recent Grading for Growth blog post titled “Kneejerk Reactions,” Boz and Sharona unpack the most common reflexive objections to grading reform and explore practical, compassionate ways to respond.…
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116 – Growing Student Autonomy and Agency (Without Driving Yourself Crazy!)
What happens when we give students meaningful choices in their learning? In this episode, Sharona and Boz dive deep into the role of student choice, autonomy, and agency in both K–12 and higher education classrooms. They start with a simple question: if nearly every school and district mission statement includes “lifelong learners,” how do our…
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115 – Don’t Do This Alone! The Importance of Community for Creating Sustainable Change
In this episode, Sharona and Boz dive into the essential role of community in grading reform. They reflect on their own journeys—Boz beginning with a supportive colleague and PLCs in K-12, and Sharona starting out largely on her own in higher ed—and how those experiences shaped their perspectives. Together, they explore why building communities of…
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114 – Grading What Matters: Leveraging Extrinsic Motivation to Grow Students in Multiple Dimensions
In this week’s episode, Sharona and Boz sit down with Marc Aronson, Dean of Academics at Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, CT. This fascinating conversations begins with grading what matters but goes into innovation ways of approaching honors classes, using authentic assessments in the form of final demonstrations of learning, and finding ways to use the…
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113 – Experience First, Formalize Later: How switching to standards-based grading schoolwide enabled drastic change in the classroom, with Jen Smielewski
In this episode, Sharona and Boz sit down with Jen Smielewski, a math teacher at Avondale High School. Jen works with Doug Wilson, the principal at Avondale High School who was a guest on episode 101 about visionary leadership. In this episode, Jen shares the “experience first, formalize later” methodology that the entire math department…
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112 – Squaring the Circle: Excellence vs Expertise with Jeff Anderson
In this episode, Sharona and Boz welcome Jeff Anderson back to the pod to talk about power, excellence, expertise, and how to work within grading structures that we are no longer comfortable with. This fascinating conversation touches on everything from analyzing the existing power structures within education and how our individual grading policies uphold or…