This week, we take you to the zoo and witness many exotic grading practices from majestic Retakee-takees to the elephant in the room - Minimum Grading. Chloe can handle the flooding basement; Amanda has an episode to record!

Amanda and Ben come back to the drawing board of grading practices. In the previous episode we dissected several traditional grading practices and talked about the ways in which they help and harm students. This week, the dynamic duo bring some alternatives to the table, specifically focusing on four practices they have implemented in our classrooms: Retakes, Ungraded Homework, Flexible Deadlines, and Minimum Grading. Amanda and Ben share how they have implemented these practices in their classrooms, how things went, and how the improved on things from there.

If you want to hear more about any of these practices, we will probably come back to them in the future with a deeper dive into both the literature and impact. Let us know which one you want us to look at first or share your own questions or thoughts about these practices at coffeebreakclassroom@gmail.com.

Shortly after final exams and running a two-day institute on grading practices, Ben and Amanda scoop their brains back into their head buckets and talk traditional grading practices – who do they help and who do they harm? Practices include (1) grading participation, effort, and attendance, (2) late penalties, (3) extra credit, (4) graded homework, and (5) the zero for missing assignments. Grading practices are a mess and rife with judgements about student behavior. As faculty, we need to let down our walls and start talking to each other to reflect on what we do, start being intentional, and start being transparent with students.Did Amanda mention Grading Practice Speed Dating? Spoilers! Was that more or less surprising than when Ben talked about removing late penalties and ending up with 500+ late assignments at the end of the semester? This work is not new and there is a plethora of literature out there, both in terms of research and books on practice. This episode is brought to you by all of that. If you are looking for a place to start, consider one of the following:

1. Grading for Equity by Joe Feldman, 2019 (also the source of the catching 8 of 10 fish example)2. Grading for Growth by David Clark and Robert Talbert, 20233. Ungrading: Why rating students undermines learning (and what to do instead) by Susan Blum, 2020And come back next week for ways to clean up the grade book with stories of what worked and what didn’t. Let’s turn “grading practice” into “grading figured it out.”

“I don’t care if I am bad at it,” Ben shouts from the rooftops. At this point in their lives Ben and Amanda have got used to being failures. They accept that being a failure is part of the process! They also know that the moment you make it through is just too good of an opportunity to pass up.In this episode we unpack the power of a growth mindset. What is it? How does it help instructors reframe their interactions with students? How does it help students succeed and persevere in the face of challenge? From the language you use to opportunities for reflection to the structure of your course, Ben and Amanda look at what things that you can do in your classroom to help foster a growth mindset for students.