Thank you for the post. I completely agree and sympathize with the predicament the education system has put us all in. Students are encouraged to find a “way to get the grade” rather than learn. Professors are encouraged to “grade and assess” rather than teach. I do not know how to avoid sounding pompous when a student asks what is on the exam… my response is usually to some degree “the course.” Sarcasm aside, I make a strong attempt to show them how the material is connected together and how they are being “graded or assessed” based on their ability to engage with and build on the material, not just memorize it. I really respect and appreciate your comment about how a professor internalizes a grade failure – as a potential failure of their communication. Its become painfully obvious how little we know about how well the grade reflects a student’s knowledge, simply because they are not homogenous in how they interpellate or engage with a course. All in all, both students and professors are in a tough spot.

Thanks for the post and I agree with you that this is certainly a creative idea. I think that an option for us untenured people would not necessarily be the all-in-one project with several steps, but rather a collection of assignments that exist separately but build on each other towards some deeper level of understanding.

Obviously I do not have the perfect methodology for this – each discipline has different demands – but the potential is certainly there. I am somewhat worried that a student who does not do well in the beginning may feel discouraged and “left behind” to some degree, but hopefully those moments could serve as warning signs for us to jump in and course-correct so that they see more potential in their later projects.

I guess my approach would be more about getting student to see how what they did and learned in their last assignment is needed for the next one, building a pedagogical trajectory in the process. This may encourage them to either be more self-critical of their mistakes or receive them more openly and with a vigor to rectify them – this is potentially dangerous.

The advantage, as you mentioned, is being in a position where one can even attempt new patterns of teaching comfortably. The demands of academia are often accompanied with scowls from those at the top.

Thanks for sharing. I believe that you have the same concern that many of us have: how do we balance a more sustainable method of helping them improve and giving them feedback while also managing our workload and student expectations? I think it is important to consider whether “we” (societally speaking) have every truly given them the opportunity to care about anything other than grades.

For instance, we are starting to learn that if we put the grade at the top of the page or anywhere particularly visible, they will likely go directly there and avoid the comments we may write. I am not sure if I have a more suitable alternative in regards to grade displacement. Ideally, many of us (but not all) would prefer to eliminate the grading system altogether, but for now are looking for more creative ways of resisting from within.

As of now, I do my best to make class “performance” predicated off of material understanding rather than retention to the best of my ability. I try to guide them early on into noting that there are few, if any, ways to “just make the grade” and hopefully redirect their attention, even though I certainly don’t subscribe to any expectation that they will change so suddenly. I do think the comments and deep feedback matter, whether they desire it or not. It certainly matters to us if anything else. The trick is knowing whether it is manageable and compatible with administrative expectations.

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