Are you interested in reshaping the way you assess student learning? Our faculty learning community on ungrading and alternative assessments offers an exciting opportunity to dive into innovative assessment practices that prioritize and foster student growth, intrinsic motivation, and self-directed learning. Through this community, we’ll explore strategies that move beyond traditional grades, focusing instead on meaningful feedback, goal-directed practice, and methods that support diverse learning processes.
In this community, you’ll join colleagues to examine ungrading approaches, such as contract grading, portfolio assessments, and specifications grading. You’ll gain insights into how these methods can reduce student anxiety around grades, foster deeper engagement, and empower students to take ownership of their learning journeys. Together, we’ll discuss the theoretical foundations behind ungrading, including how these approaches align with principles of equity and inclusivity, as well as practical ways to implement them in your course.
Participating in this learning community means you’ll also benefit from a supportive network of peers who are navigating similar challenges and successes. Each session will include time for reflection, exchange of ideas, and developing actionable plans to incorporate alternative assessments in your teaching. Join us as we rethink assessment practices to enhance student motivation, engagement, and authentic learning.
Participants in this learning community will explore the following questions:
- How can ungrading approaches foster a more inclusive,equitable learning environment for all students?
- What are effective strategies for providing meaningful, formative feedback that supports student growth without relying on traditional grades?
- In what ways can we balance institutional grading requirements with alternative assessment practices?
- How do ungrading and alternative assessments impact student motivation, engagement, and self-efficacy?
- What challenges might arise when implementing ungrading, and how can we address them collaboratively within our teaching community?
Throughout the semester, faculty will develop learning activities, assignments, and revised course plans to implement in the Fall of 2025. Regular meetings will include readings, discussions, collaborative working sessions, and hands-on workshops. The faculty learning community will decide as a group how best to use the expertise they gain in order to support the Temple faculty community at large.
Facilitator: Jeff Rients, Associate Director of Teaching and Learning Innovation
Faculty commit to:
Attend meetings online via Zoom Mondays from 9:00 - 10:30 am on the following dates: February 10, February 24, March 10, March 24, April 7, April 21, and one meeting in Fall ‘25 TBD.
- Complete any assigned readings, activities, and assignments between meetings.
- Develop and implement a new assessment plan for at least one course in the Fall of 2025.
- With the cohort, share the expertise gained in the faculty learning community with a larger faculty audience. This may include giving a presentation, providing resource materials on the topic, publishing the findings of the work, or other methods agreed upon.
Benefits:
- Enhance understanding of the role of assessment in course design and execution.
- Develop new assessment methods and materials that enhance student learning.
- Network with an interdisciplinary group of colleagues.
- Receive a $500 stipend paid at the completion of the program.
To Apply:
Please respond to each of the following questions in no more than 300 words per question.
- Give an example of a learning activity or pedagogical strategy you regularly use with students.
- Describe your current thoughts about the challenges posed by assessment in general and/or how it currently plays out in your classes.
- Have you or a colleague you know tried one or more non-traditional assessment methods in the past? If so, describe the assessment and how it worked out.
- Overall, what do you hope to gain as a result of your participation in this faculty learning community?
Save your application as a Word document or PDF file, and then click here to submit your application online. The deadline for submissions is January 22, 2025.
Questions? Email Jeff Rients at [click-for-email].
