Ungrading and Self-Assessment: Practical Ways to Empower Students

TL;DR

Dr. Jen Newton shares ungrading and self-assessment techniques to empower students in their learning journey.

Transcript

[Applause] all right I think we can get started welcome everybody uh good afternoon and welcome I hope you all have been enjoying the summit so far my name is Maya Tobias and I am the manager of Partnerships and strategic marketing at course hero I'm very excited to welcome you to this session it's called ungrading and self-assessment practical way... Read More

Key Insights

• 🧑‍🎓 Ungrading shifts the focus from traditional grading to qualitative assessment for deeper learning and student empowerment.
• 🤔 Self-assessment fosters confidence, critical thinking, and ownership of learning outcomes in college students.
• 💍 Engaging in conferences and providing opportunities for reflection enable effective resolution of grading discrepancies.
• 🈴 Ungrading challenges traditional grading methods, emphasizing learning outcomes over compliance and arbitrary letter grades.
• 💗 Reducing the number of graded assignments and promoting self-assessment encourages students to reflect, learn, and grow academically.
• 🤩 Trusting students, fostering a growth mindset, and promoting reflection are key components of the ungrading approach.
• 🧑‍🎓 Ungrading prepares students for real-life scenarios by emphasizing learning over static grades and providing opportunities for improvement.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does Dr. Newton handle students who may not be truthful in their self-assessment?

Dr. Newton engages in conferences with students to discuss discrepancies and review evidence of learning to reach a mutual agreement on grades.

Q: What is the significance of self-assessment for college students, considering they are insecure about external evaluations?

Self-assessment teaches students to reflect on their learning, promotes ownership of knowledge, and prepares them for future evaluations and real-world assessments.

Q: How does Dr. Newton address bias in ungrading, whether positive or negative?

Dr. Newton trusts her students, engages in conferences to discuss discrepancies, and relies on data such as attendance records to support grading decisions.

Q: How does the ungrading approach prepare students for life skills despite the ability to redo assessments?

Ungrading emphasizes learning over grading, fostering a growth mindset, reflection, and continuous improvement, aligning with real-life scenarios where second chances are common.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Dr. Jen Newton presents ungrading methods for teacher preparation courses emphasizing qualitative assessment over quantitative.

• Students engage in self-assessment to determine final grades based on reflections, evidence of learning, and course objectives.

• The approach focuses on empowering students to take ownership of their learning process and understand the content deeply.