Episodes
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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…
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111 – Getting Unstuck from the Grade Wrap-Up: The Importance of Purpose Redux
In this episode, Sharona and Boz look at another common area where instructors get stuck when redesigning a course to use alternative grading – the fourth decision of the grading architecture: wrapping up into a final grade. From too many choices to the issues with complexity, Sharona and Boz breaks things down and provide concrete…
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110 – Developing Your Assessments Through the Lens of Competencies, with Camp from NEIA
In this episode, Sharona and Boz speak with Camp (Dr. John Camp), the head of teaching and Learning at NEIA, the New England Innovation Academy. NEIA is an Independent day and boarding school in Massachusetts. NEIA’s mission is to prepare the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams and shape. In this…
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109 – Live from MathFest 2025: Trends, thoughts, and directions
Sharona sits down with MathFest 2025 attendees Drew Lewis, Jennifer Moorehouse, Lipika Deka, Jennifer Narang, and Cory Wilson to discuss what we heard on the ground at this year’s conference. From people presenting their experiences to a variety of data and forward looking opportunities, Alt Grading is making the switch to mainstream! Links Please note…
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108 – The Importance of Purpose: Getting Unstuck in the Course Redesign Cycle
In this episode of The Grading Podcast, Sharona and Boz talk about some common reasons instructors get stuck during the process of redesigning a course. From looking again at the different parts of the course redesign cycle to exploring ways of breaking through roadblocks, join us as we take another look at the course redesign…