I am seeing and hearing some cheating conversation going around with the end of the term and with ChatGPT making a bit of a splash and want to raise some questions for teachers and educators about cheating and asking critical questions about teaching rather than uncritically problematizing students and children when cheating occurs.
For full disclosure I have been largely going gradeless and #ungrading for 2 years, and have not given a test or quiz in nearly a decade, I have not caught a student cheating in at least that long.
So some questions ...
Why do students cheat? And what systems promote, encourage cheating?
What is the nature of assignments and tasks that are conducive to cheating? That are not conducive to cheating?
How does cheating reflect on the trust, community, and general state of a classroom?
Who is responsible for student cheating?
#edutooter @ungrading @edutooters
@ZingerLearns @ungrading @edutooters please say more about #Ungrading. I'm trying to balance student needs (requests) to know where they stand in my class against an old-school grading regime where they look online and see that my grade book is basically empty of anything other than "participation" and "effort" assessments, which feel equally icky to me.
To your point, ungrading requires more and frequent feedback on student work focused on learning rather than a grade. A trusting community, rich tasks, and feedback that reflects student progress and learning are critical. My gradebook mostly tracks submission and completion, where feedback tracks learning.
@Jessifer has a fantastic overview to ungrading.
@ZingerLearns @randy @ungrading @edutooters @Jessifer Two things to add: (1) Having students submit regular reflections on their own learning and giving feedback on those can be a powerful way for students to know where they stand without assigning grades (until the end). (2) Highly recommend "Ungrading
Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead)", Susan Blum ed. https://wvupressonline.com/ungrading
@lewriley @randy @ungrading @edutooters Ungrading is a fantastic book, and a great read in community with others interested in ungrading.
Adding 1 other piece here to your point on expectations and learning. I have been refining contract grading as of later, and here is the latest iteration of how it's introduced and structured for my students.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/123j7NSn1HBj41LouClMAlr0w1noDu5eIQOzBGQ1hC4Y/edit?usp=drivesdk
@ZingerLearns @lewriley @randy @ungrading @edutooters this is the first time I’ve come across Ungrading - very cool. Did you begin your career using a “standard” letter grading system before transitioning to Ungrading? If so, what was the transition like?
@brndnpink @lewriley @randy @ungrading @edutooters
I started using very traditional very oppressive grading as a high school teacher. Participation points, behavior focused rewards systems and all that stuff. I didn't transition away from that until I started working and focusing more on teacher education, and I did not go full bore #ungrading until the start of the pandemic and now only grade at the end of the term when I have to. Working on some papers around this, and in seeing some interest I'll share what our ungrading community came up with as key considerations for ungrading that you might find interesting.
It would be great to grow a community around @ungrading on here.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sumihx4qaEJY6laihenLFsYNltTyfxDjPtjVuUyEvW4/edit?usp=drivesdk
@ZingerLearns @brndnpink @lewriley @randy @ungrading @edutooters
Sincere question: how does this work for when students have to take a mandatory state test in a subject near the end of the year?
@KaiserScience @ZingerLearns @brndnpink @randy @ungrading @edutooters I teach physics to pre-health students preparing to take the MCAT and also to physics majors preparing to take the GRE subject test in physics. These high-stakes assessments are entirely external to my courses. This frees me up to focus entirely on facilitating learning. Learning how to learn physics trumps maximizing coverage in my courses. I have had zero pushback from students on this so far. #Ungrading
@lewriley @ZingerLearns @brndnpink @randy @ungrading
@edutooters
Lew writes "These high-stakes assessments are entirely external to my courses"
Whoah... just wow. I have never, ever been in a school that allows that. Good for you man. I do know that at the current time this kind of teaching would not be allowed or acceptable at most schools I know.
@KaiserScience @ZingerLearns @brndnpink @randy @ungrading @edutooters Yes. I am very fortunate to have the amount of freedom I do, and further that I work with colleagues in my department who have very similar sensibilities. I should also clarify that I do ask students to complete weekly lower-stakes assessments (sometimes quizzes, sometimes case studies). It's not an assessment-free zone. However, many of these assessments allow revision based on feedback.
@lewriley @KaiserScience @brndnpink @randy @ungrading @edutooters You touch on what I think is often not said loud enough about #ungrading, and that is, if it is built on trust and a common goal/vision there is virtually no pushback or ill will from students, which leads to a more productive learning community
@ZingerLearns @brndnpink @lewriley @randy @ungrading @edutooters
I followed a similar trajectory. I figured following the syllabus and turning assignments in on time was a student problem, not a me problem. After learning more about learner-centered and inclusive teaching, I developed a much more learning outcome-focused syllabus. I did not have the flexibility to move away from grades but I stopped testing and adopted a much more holistic assessment model.
@snickerfel @ZingerLearns @brndnpink @lewriley @randy @ungrading @edutooters there is a great #ungrading Substack as well. It’s called “Grading for Growth(https://open.substack.com/pub/gradingforgrowth?r=todh7&utm_medium=ios). What I appreciate about the publication is how wide-ranging the discussions are. Lots of places to start depending on your context.
@ZingerLearns @brndnpink @lewriley @ungrading @edutooters you are literally describing my process with my students in my own high school class. I only provide letter grades at the quarter and semester boundaries.
Any time a student asks me what their grade is, my first response is "what do you think your grade is?" and we have a conversation about their learning.
But I'm under constant pressure to have things in grade books.
@randy @brndnpink @lewriley @ungrading @edutooters yes, the rub is how to provide feedback between grading periods and have enough structure that students can link course activities and their outcomes as evidence for their learning as progress, where it becomes increasingly self-regulating and self-reflecting.
This is why scaffolds are critical and project type assignments are critical because they allow students to show growth, improvement, and learning
@ZingerLearns @brndnpink @lewriley @ungrading @edutooters indeed, my whole class is project-based, an easy thing when teaching a creative elective subject that involves using technology (ie digital media)
The part I'm most struggling with is what the scaffolds look like, how to write effective rubrics and how to get more student peer assessment/feedback integrated into the process at regular intervals.
@brndnpink @ZingerLearns @randy @ungrading @edutooters I moved to ungrading during the pandemic. Pursuing yet another cheating case and the adversarial nature of that dynamic was the last straw for me. I had been using traditional assessment methods since 1997. The work of Susan Blum, Jesse Stommel @Jessifer, and Josh Eyler @joshua_r_eyler reached me at the right moment for me to feel ready to make a massive change. It has gone suprprisingly smoothly and improved my teaching and quality of life.
@lewriley So glad to hear this!
@ZingerLearns @lewriley @ungrading @edutooters incredible resources, thanks for sharing!