Some thoughts on grading:
1. Grading is a challenge in Collo because, unlike other classes, there isn't really any content to test you on or to master. Additionally, there are few "deliverables." There are some--e.g., the program of study--but others are somewhat artificial and that tends to not work out well.
2. On the one hand, I want to trust you to do what you should be doing. On other hand, there has to be some kind of accountability.
3. I still like this idea, but I don't really know if it would work in Collo.
4. One thing it would allow for is dividing things up so that grades are dispersed throughout the semester. This, I think, is one of the biggest problems with Collo grading. When the majority of the grade is based on things due at the end of the term, many wait until the end of the term to do anything. That's a problem. We need the grades to encourage doing Collo related things throughout the semester.
5. Basing the grade on time spent also reinforces that what's important is what you're *doing,* not the thing you're producing that actually gets a grade. I like that.
6. I also like the flexibility. Within some parameters, you could spend your time how you want. If you get involved in a project that takes a lot of time, that would offset the time you have to spend doing other things for Collo. If you teach a class (more on peer teaching to come), the time you spend preparing would count.
7. Even if this works in principle, I'm still not sure how to make it work in practice. In particular, I'm not sure how to satisfy (2).
8. Also, how many hours should you spend on Collo? Per week? Per semester? This would be good to know anyway, however the grading works out.
9. I'm open to any and all ideas here. I don't like grading to be mysterious and I don't want it to be meaningless. Outside of that, I'm open to trying almost anything.
I think the hourly thing would work nicely, especially for those who are attending other courses during the semester. I honestly feel like 2 hours a week (including class time for those who attend) would be a reasonable amount.
ReplyDeleteThe only way I can ever see this working is by using the sort of "honor code." I think working with a sort of form (not a word document that is buggy when I'm trying to edit it, but an actual form) that records the amount of time spent and a brief description (Maybe a sentence/15 minutes) of what was actually accomplished during these times. I know my job uses a similar sort of accountability form that generally works very well to call out those who are bullshitting their way through their tasks. Perhaps a weekly dropbox requirement for this form would work?
Do you have a sample of that kind of form?
ReplyDeleteI am really excited about the changes to Collo. It seems like the class will focus more on education/enrichment and less on enforcement. However, I am worried that going to a time- based grading scale could work against this idea.
ReplyDeleteI don't see a way that grading by time spent could have any form of accountability without involving a tedious amount of paperwork. Answerability seems hard to attain with this system. Besides the fact that people could lie about doing things, people could "run out the clock" and make a simple task take hours in order to complete an assignment.
I can't think of any system that would solve this accountability problem without making the accountability system more important (and time-consuming) than the classwork itself. I don't know if it is possible to develop a timesheet that would detect dishonesty and not require a herculean effort to complete. However, if the parameters in #6 were better defined (maybe a “menu-approach”), this might not be as big of an issue. I want Collo to be more about what students spend their time doing, but I fear that hourly grading could lead to the entire class becoming an “artificial deliverable”.
I think that's a legitimate worry. I don't want filling out a form to be more important than what you're actually doing for the class. I'm not sure how much I want to focus on designing something that catches liars/cheaters/etc, though. People will find a way to scam any system. I think/hope/have faith that the majority of you won't do that, so I'd rather have a system that works for the majority and doesn't cater to the few who might try to game the system.
DeleteThis is definitely a work in progress. Not sure if it will work or not.
Even still though, if there are tasks to be accomplished throughout the semester, something would have to be turned in every so often, so filling out a form shouldn't be any more difficult than doing the assignments that are already required for the course.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think our current system is anywhere near as tedious or open to fraud as the ~200 entry timesheet that was proposed in the first comment.
DeleteWhere did that number come from? I promise you I have as little interest in reading a 200 entry form as you have in filling one out. I would envision something much simpler.
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