Specification grading: an alternate means of assessing learning based on mastery and process
Wednesday, July 8, 1:00-2:00
Online
Presenter: Jamie Kleinman, Psychological Sciences and Lauren Schlesselman, CETL
As professors explore this new world of distance learning and look for ways to assess learning for the fall semester, they are searching for better ways to assess student work. This session will provide you with an alternative known as specification grading. Jamie Kleinman has been using specifications grading in her psychology courses for the past three years and will describe her experiences with this grading system, which helped her make a seamless transition to distance learning this spring semester. Specifications grading is a system designed to promote student motivation and mastery. All work is graded as pass or fail based on rubrics or ’specifications’ that are provided to students. Built into this system is a way for students to check their own work to determine if it meets the basic standard to pass and a feedback process for students to correct work that has not yet met the standard. Instead of focusing on getting grades, students focus on developing skills and engaging with the subject material in a way that promotes mastery through multiple levels of critique. While this system takes time to set up, once it has been established, grading is simplified for the instructor as they can use a checklist to make sure that student work meets the criteria to pass. Students are still assigned traditional grades by linking assignments together in bundles that correspond to grade levels. Jamie will bring course syllabi to explain how she uses this system and why it is an excellent way of approaching student work, today more than ever.
Register at - https://fins.uconn.edu/secure_inst/workshops/workshop_view.php?ser=1564
For more information, contact: Educational Technologies at edtech@uconn.edu