Adventures in Teaching!

This past school year I have worked to make my teaching better. I've been increasingly frustrated by a lack of rigor and an increasing number of students who do not know how to take ownership of their learning. As a new teacher 10 years ago I was thankful to have students who just listened passively and didn't ask questions. Now I want and need them to think and be engaged. I'm no longer satisfied with students "earning" a passing grade. I want students to learn, I want them to retain knowledge and even change the way that they think about the world. It's a tall order but I don't think that it's a pipe dream. So, what am I doing to make this happen?

First, I did some experiments with a flipped class. In a flipped class students do lecture/content delivery online and then actually engage the material during class. I first flipped my statistics class. I found and created a bunch of tutorial videos and some online readings an then when students come to class we work on practice problems, work on analyzing data using the computer programs, do fun activities. Overall it went well and I enjoyed the flipped structure. I'm looking forward to doing it again this fall now that I have all of the content created.

The second thing that I've been working on is something called Specs Grading. Specifications grading or Specs is a way of grading that is intended to increase rigor and decrease work load. I read through a book by Dr. Linda Nilson and listened to this podcast where she describes the system: Linda Nilson - Specs Grading. After I read through her book and listened to her speak and then got a copy of a sociology syllabus that uses specs grading from a Facebook group I knew that I was ready. I'm going to be jumping in beginning Monday in my intro to sociology course.

Here is the description that I give in my syllabus:

"Evaluation

Adult-learning theory will be used to evaluate your performance in this class. Adult-learning theory tells us that adults learn better in a safe, flexible, and challenging environment. In order to provide an optimal environment for learning you will have a choice about which grade you will pursue in this course depending on your personal learning objectives.

Each grade is associated with a set of required assignments that you must complete in order to earn that grade. All assignments except quizzes will be graded as satisfactory or unsatisfactory. I will provide clear assignment specifications with examples of satisfactory work. Only assignments completed by the deadline will count toward your final grade. Research has shown that this kind of grading system provides a safe, flexible, and more rigorous learning environment than traditional points based systems.

Grade Criteria

Following are lists of assignments and criteria required to earn a specific grade in this class. You can find the specifications for each assignment posted on Canvas. Please note that failure to satisfactorily complete any of the requirements for a particular assignment will result in a grade of “unsatisfactory” on that assignment.

A grade of A indicates complete mastery of the four learning objectives. In order to obtain complete mastery on these objectives and earn an A you will need to:

1. 1.     Have no more than 1 unexcused absence during the 3 week summer session.
2. 2.     Earn an average of 80% on all online quizzes (open book, open note, timed quizzes). You may drop 1 quiz score from the average if needed.
3. 3.     Complete 8 out of 10 of the sociology in the news assignments. You may complete additional assignments should you make an unsatisfactory grade on 1 or 2 of them.
4. 4.     Complete 8 out of 10 journal entries. You may complete additional assignments should you make an unsatisfactory grade on 1 or 2 of them.
5. 5.     Complete the movie reflection
6. 6.     Complete a mini literature review on a sociological topic that uses 3 academic, peer-reviewed, journal articles.

A grade of B indicates above average mastery of the four learning objectives. In order to obtain above average mastery on these objectives and earn a B you will need to:

1. 1.     Have no more than 1 unexcused absence during the 3 week summer session.
2. 2.     Earn an average of 80% on all online quizzes (open book, open note, timed quizzes). You may drop 1 quiz score from the average if needed.
3. 3.     Complete 7 out of 10 of the sociology in the news assignments. You may complete additional assignments should you make an unsatisfactory grade on 1 or 2 of them.
4. 4.     Complete 7 out of 10 journal entries. You may complete additional assignments should you make an unsatisfactory grade on 1 or 2 of them.
5. 5.     Complete the movie reflection

A grade of C indicates average mastery of the four learning objectives. In order to obtain average mastery on these objectives and earn a C you will need to:

1. 1.     Have no more than 2 unexcused absences during the 3 week summer session.
2. 2.     Earn an average of 70% on all online quizzes (open book, open note, timed quizzes). You may drop 1 quiz score from the average if needed.
3. 3.     Complete 5 out of 10 of the sociology in the news assignments. You may complete additional assignments should you make an unsatisfactory grade on 1 or 2 of them.
4. 4.     Complete 5 out of 10 journal entries. You may complete additional assignments should you make an unsatisfactory grade on 1 or 2 of them.

A grade of D indicates below average mastery of the four learning objectives. In order to obtain below average mastery on these objectives and earn a D you will need to:

• 1.     Have no more than 3 unexcused absences during the 3 week summer session.
• 2.     Earn an average of 70% on all online quizzes (open book, open note, timed quizzes). You may drop 1 quiz score from the average if needed.
• 3.     Complete 2 out of 10 of the sociology in the news assignments. You may complete additional assignments should you make an unsatisfactory grade on 1 or 2 of them.
• 4.     Complete 2 out of 10 journal entries. You may complete additional assignments should you make an unsatisfactory grade on 1 or 2 of them.

A grade of F indicates that you did not meet any of the learning objectives for the course. Failure to meet the requirements for a D will earn an F in the course."

I'll update on the progress of the course once the three weeks are over.