2021 Grading Conference Higher Ed Focus

Day 1: Friday June 11, 2021

Session 1: Featured Speaker - Josh Eyler
The Call is Coming from Inside the House: How Grades Can Undermine Learning and Jeopardize Our Students’ Wellbeing

Video Slides

Session 2A (Novice): What is Mastery Grading? Getting on the Same Page with Definitions

This talk is intended for faculty that are new(ish) to mastery grading, having never implemented it in a classroom setting. The presenters will be reviewing some important foundational principles of mastery based grading, and exploring some of the history of grading as it is currently used. Although primarily targeted at newer practitioners of MBG, all are welcome!

Presenters: Robert Bosley (Cal State LA) and Sharona Krinsky (Cal State LA)
Video Slides

Session 2B (Progressing): Key Elements of Mastery Grading

This talk is intended for faculty that have implement mastery grading in a classroom setting at least once. Diving a little deeper into the key elements of MBG, the presenters will look at what are the pieces that need to be considered as you works towards mastering MBG  Although primarily targeted at faculty with some classroom experience of MBG, all are welcome!

Presenters: David Clark (Grand Valley State University), Kate Owens (College of Charleston), and Robert Talbert (Grand Valley State University)

Slides

Session 3A (Novice): Mastery Grading in Action

This talk is intended for faculty that are new(ish) to mastery grading, having never implemented it in a classroom setting. This panel will be presenting a variety of examples of how they have implemented MBG in Math and Science courses, including what has worked and what HASN’T worked in their personal journeys.

Presenters: Robert Bosley, David Clark, Sharona Krinsky, Drew Lewis (University of South Alabama), and Gloria Ramos (Citrus College)

Video Slides

Session 3B (Progressing): Where are we now?

Designed primarily for practitioners that have implemented MBG, this session will be an opportunity for people to connect with each other and share in greater depth the struggles of implementation and tips for successful work. All are welcome!

Facilitators: Kate Owens and Robert Talbert

Session 4: Keynote Speaker - Linda Nilson
Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time

Handout

Video Slides – Intro

Session 5A: Panel: Getting Buy-In from Your Students

Facilitator: Sharona Krinsky

Panelists: Mathias Brieu (California State University Los Angeles), Jason Elsinger (Florida Southern College), Jessica Kelly (Christopher Newport University), Dave Raymond (California State University Los Angeles)

Video Slides

Session 5B: Panel: Getting Buy-In from Faculty or Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

Facilitator: Gloria Ramos

Panelists: Charity Lovitt, David Goldstein, Liz Janssen, and Sarita Shukla – University of Washington, Bothell.

Video Slides

Session 5C: Grading for Growth: A book about Mastery Grading

Facilitators: David Clark and Robert Talbert

Slides

Session 6: Wrap Up Day 1

Video Slides

Day 2: Saturday June 12, 2021

Day 2 Conference Intro

Video Slides

Session 7A (Novice): Build-A-Syllabus Workshop (the PRIMUS paper and outline for use during this session)

Building off their paper published in the special issue of PRIMUS on Mastery Grading, these authors are BACK for the second year with their fantastic Build-A-Syllabus Workshop. The presenters have crafted a thorough and clear path on how to build a Mastery Graded course. If you were not at last year’s conference and have not caught this presentation at MAA or the other places they have presented, this one is a MUST attend for those who have never implemented MBG in a classroom, or would like to see how the authors thought about their class redesigns.

Facilitator: David Clark

Presenters: Emily Cilli-Turner (University of La Verne), Justin Dunmyre (Frostburg State University), Tom Mahoney (Emporia State University), Chad Wiley (Emporia State University)

Video Slides

Session 7B (Progressing): Inclusive Pedagogy (slides for use during this session)

Like any aspect of course design, using mastery grading requires instructors to make numerous pedagogical and logistical decisions. This can be overwhelming, especially if a particular approach is new to you. In this workshop, participants will consider how using an equity lens to make these decisions can simplify the process and benefit both students and instructor. We will use a small group discussion approach to work through some common questions that arise when designing a mastery grading scheme and evaluate which approaches promote and which impede equity. This workshop is designed for participants who are ready to dive a little more deeply into the particular aspects of course redesign.

Facilitator: Kate Owens

Presenter: Katie Mattaini (Roger Williams University)

Resources:

Google Doc: http://bit.ly/MGC-IncPed

Padlet: http://bit.ly/MGC-IncPed-Padlet

Inclusive Pedagogy Resources: http://bit.ly/MGC-IncPed-Resources

SBG Introductory Biology Syllabus: http://bit.ly/BIO103FA20Syl

Video Slides

Session 8A: Poster Session: Come check out a wide variety of implementations of Mastery Grading through various fields.

Session 8B: Build Your Network (Eastern and Central Time Zones): Join a variety of breakout rooms to meet other conference participants and discuss concepts from the conference.

Session 8C: Build Your Network (Mountain and Pacific Time Zones): Join a variety of breakout rooms to meet other conference participants and discuss concepts from the conference.

Session 9A: Group Chats – Novice: Gather with other new(ish) mastery grading participants to discuss particular topics in mastery grading.

Session 9B: Group Chats – Progressing: Gather with other experienced(ish) mastery grading participants to discuss particular topics in mastery grading.

Session 10A: Do’s and Don’ts Panel Discussion – Lessons Learned followed by Reassessments Panel Discussion

In this Do’s and Don’ts panel discussion, panelists will share their lessons learned from implementing mastery grading.

Facilitator: David Clark

Panelists: Ellie Blair (Northern Arizona University), Mel Henriksen (Wentworth Institute of Technology), Thea Pepperl (Virginia Commonwealth University), Sasha Townsend (Tulsa Community College), Mami Wentworth (Wentworth Institution of Technology)

10A Do’s and Don’ts: Video Slides

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In this Reassessments panel discussion, panelists will share their experiences designing reassessments.

Facilitator: David Clark

Panelists: Matt Charnley (Rutgers University), Kim Frith (University of Wyoming), Gloria Ramos (Citrus College), Jacquelyn Rische (Marymount College)

10A Reassessments: Video Slides

Session 10B: Mastery Grading in Large Classes/Coordinated Programs

In this panel discussion, panelists will share their experiences working in large classes (>50 students) and coordinated programs.

Facilitator: Robert Bosley

Panelists: Hanna Bennett (University of Michigan), Debra Borkovitz (Boston University), Silvia Heubach (Cal State LA), Sharona Krinsky (Cal State LA)

Video Slides

Session 10C: Tech Talk

In this series of presentations, presenters will share a variety of cool tech related items that have helped them implement MBG in their classrooms.

Facilitator: Drew Lewis

Presenters: Bryan Clair (St. Louis University), Steven Clontz (University of South Alabama), Kristi Closser (California State University, Fresno), Jason Elsinger (Florida Southern University), Kyle Evans (Trinity University), Abby Noble (Middle Georgia State University)

Video Slides

Materials: Masters of DiscordUsing Python Code to Generate Progress ReportsUsing Google Sheets to Facilitate Mastery Grading

Session 10D: “I Did a Thing”

In this series of presentations, presenters will share a smorgasbord of all things MBG related. From course designs across the STEM disciplines to a study on anxiety, these talks will share the breadth and depth of our community experience.

Facilitator: Robert Talbert

Presenters:

Kim Frith (University of Wyoming)

Chrystal Lewis (University of South Alabama)

Stephen Oloo (Kalamazoo College) and Francesca Gandini (Kalamazoo College)

Nolan Fossum (University of San Diego)

Mel Henriksen (Wentworth Institute of Technology), Jakob Kotas (University of Portland), and Mami Wentworth (Wentworth Institute of Technology)

Video Slides

Session 11: Town Hall Q&A and Conference Wrap Up

Now that everyone has been to a variety of sessions and heard many different ideas, this is the opportunity to share what is still bouncing around unanswered. We will also recap what we have learned and look at next steps moving forward.

Panel: Robert Bosley, David Clark, Sharona Krinsky, Drew Lewis, Kate Owens, Gloria Ramos, Robert Talbert

Video Slides