In summer 2020, I attended a Grading Alternatives webinar put on by the Teaching Innovation Center (TIC) . Josh Caulkins (previous Assistant Director) and Sarah Prosory (Instructional Designer) shared a number of intriguing ideas that, for better or for worse, I decided to try to implement in my spring “boutique” course Parasites and Their Relatives. The big one is specifications grading. This idea has been featured in this Inside Higher Ed article, this Robert Talbert, Ph.D . article, and more fully in the book Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time  by Linda B. Nilson. (No, I did not read the book.) The essential philosophy is to make grades more like badges, like indications of a completed contract, and less like value judgments. All assessments are considered either “complete” or “incomplete” according to a detailed rubric. The final letter grade is based on a predefined basket of completes, with the number and/or level of asse...

Do you feel frustrated when assignments are submitted that are lacking important criteria? Do you have several people grading and want to maintain consistency and fairness? Are you wishing to provide more feedback to students, to help them improve their skills? Answers to these questions can be targeted by building effective analytic rubrics.  In a recent webinar, I shared how to build effective analytic rubrics, including what they are and why you should use them. Understanding the what, why, and how will help you to determine where to start when creating effective rubrics for your course. Let's begin! What is a rubric? A rubric is “...a document that articulates the expectations for an assignment by listing the criteria or what counts, and describing levels of quality from excellent to poor" ( Reddy and Andrade, 2010 ). Typically comprised of rows and columns, where the rows are used to define the various criteria being used to assess an assignment. And the columns are used ...

This week's TeachT@lk webinar focused on a common issue at ASU, our large classes. Often faculty have 100+ students, and are overwhelmed at the end of the semester with grading. Our objective with this webinar was to share some different ideas about assessment that might make it a bit easier. I was joined by Lynda Mae from Psychology and Jason Neenos from the University Technology Office. We started with some tips to use online exams, even for face-to-face classes, that build on Bloom's taxonomy, and some sample questions. We also shared ideas about protecting integrity by randomizing questions, limiting times, browser lockdown and passwords. One interesting tip for multiple choice exams is that research shows that 30 seconds per item prevents cheating and does not tend to lower  performance. Of course, instructors may need to modify that number depending on the type of question. We also discussed an often controversial topic of group exams. We focused on a few differe...

In Tuesday's webinar, we focused on using feedback as a teaching device. Yuna Buhrman, from the ASU College of Health Solutions, shared a survey that she did on student and faculty perceptions of feedback. This survey contained many insightful comments and tips for faculty to take back to their own classrooms. We worked to better define feedback and the difference between formal and informal feedback, as well as "how" and "when" to use them. We also shared the 3 components of good feedback: Making it relevant by connecting it to the objectives and goals of the student Making it specific by providing examples of how to improve, or validating what was done well. Making it timely by using auto feedback for quick responses, combined with opportunities for individual feedback within a few days.  The webinar ended with tips for using peer feedback, and some of the typical challenges and possible solutions. Below are the resources that were shared with part...

The end is almost here! And it's the Final Countdown! We all know it's coming quickly. The end of the semester, and the pile of grading immediately afterwards is daunting and overwhelming. In our webinar this month, Jason Neenos and Paul Stoll talked through a number of great tips to keep in mind when finishing up your grades for ASU. They covered tips for pushing content from Blackboard, importing files, and manually entering grades. They answered questions about how to drop the lowest grade for students, and shared some terrific resources at https://students.asu.edu/facultycenter. Below are the resources that were shared during the webinar: Video recording of Webinar Slides from Webinar (PDF) Here are a couple of other resources that might be helpful as you approach the end of the semester: Things to think about at the end of the semester handout   End of semester evaluations article Blackboard article: Sending your grades from Bb to ASU Roster  

In our second summer TeachT@lk webinar on  Assessment Techniques - Avoid Overload in Grading,  Peter van Leusen, PhD  and  Amy Pate  presented strategies for balancing effective and efficient feedback. As a group, we discussed benefits, challenges, and tools for several strategies including student created rubrics, peer feedback, and checklists. Many shared first-hand experiences and examples included using model responses and pre-tests. Below are some of the resources mentioned during the webinar, along with the slides and recording. Webinar Recording   (60 minutes) Webinar Slides Bonk, C. J., & Zank, K. (2008). Empowering online learning: 100+ activities for reading, reflecting, displaying, and doing . Jossey-Bass. Faculty Focus - Effective feedback strategies for the online classroom Faculty Focus – Be efficient, not busy: Time Management Strategies for online teaching To Register for future TeachT@lk Webinars:   http:/...