TFW you see that a student submitted a learning reflection/request for retesting *during* your class. 🫠

Handed back my first exam of the semester in my standards-based class this week. After 6 years of alt grading, I have to remind myself how great it is to be having “help me understand topic X deeper” convos rather than “why did I lose points” convos with many students this week. 🥰

Although the volume of letters is a struggle (teaching premeds!), I am honored to be able to describe my wonderful students' strengths. The ones that ask by saying something like, "I know that you really got an opportunity to observe my skills in x, y, z" just make so much more sense to me.

Does this happen to anyone else? As a professor, I get SO many requests for letters of recommendation, and a surprising number of them read like, "I really like your class/teaching style/etc., and that's why I'm asking you." It just seems like an odd "justification."

Flyer with call for abstracts for the Grading Conference.

Last call! Grading Conference abstracts are due tomorrow! Info in link or you can scan the QR code in the flyer. www.centerforgradingreform.org/grading-conf...

Alternative Grading in Large Classes How to implement pedagogical values within logistical constraints

I co-authored a post with @katiemattaini.bsky.social and Eden Tanner on @empittsdonahoe.bsky.social blog about Alternative Grading in Large Classes: emilypittsdonahoe.substack.com/p/alternativ...

Alternative Grading in Large Classes How to implement pedagogical values within logistical constraints

Here is the blog post from @youtoobio.bsky.social, @katiemattaini.bsky.social, and Eden Tanner on @empittsdonahoe.bsky.social's blog.

A note about the Substack platform from the authors. We had several conversations about whether we wanted to write a post that was published on Substack, given Substack’s current stance on publishing pro-Nazi and racist content. We decided to write this guest post because we think alternative grading can help move the needle in a more just and equitable direction, but we nevertheless want to collectively express our discomfort with Substack for choosing to promote and platform Nazi rhetoric. Notably, one contributor to this post chose not to list their name as an author out of a moral objection to Substack’s pro-Nazi stance.

I generally don't share things from Substack no matter how great I think they are, but I appreciated this footnote on a blog post about alternative grading in large classes that addresses this. Too many folks just keep posting away without the slightest acknowledgement of what Substack stands for.

You forgot unbiased. 🤡

New snarky grading cross stitch inspo from @drew-lewis.com today:

100-point scale

Making up numbers based on ✨vibes✨

Finally!!

New title: Assistant Teaching Professor 👩🏻‍🏫

"Liking is not a feeling. It is a *set of practices* that leads to a feeling"

Really great and thought-provoking talk from Asou Inoue this morning. #TheGradingConference

...and @youtoobio.bsky.social presented results showing that using multiple grading schemes especially benefits students excluded based on their ethnicity or race in STEM courses. Also, this doesn't negatively affect their performance in subsequent courses in a series! #AltGrading

In yesterday's session "Special Topics: Equity" at #TheGradingConference, Robert Erdmann shared research showing equitable outcomes of dropped grade policies...

Three awesome talks in "Research: Student Perceptions" at #TheGradingConference.

Across different institutions and even types of #AltGrading, students GET IT. They see how alt grading aligns more with true learning, and their views of it only become more positive after experiencing it.

The idea of "tolerance for error" comes from the original Universal Design framework (not UDL) - the idea that a well-designed item or space should be easy to use and resistant to people using it incorrectly and causing any kind of issue.

Session "Special topics: Neurodiversity" at #TheGradingConference:

@sarahesilverman.bsky.social making the point that #AltGrading *can* provide a "tolerance for error" that is often needed when neurodivergent students are trying to communicate with neurotypical instructors or vice versa.

Learning the details of transcription is helpful, but what's WAY more helpful is learning what experiments were needed to get us here and how to analyze that data.

Really struck me, as I am a huge process-knitter and could mainly care less about what I'm actually making. 😅

Thinking about how to communicate this idea more overtly to students in my bio classes:

Semi-live skeeting #TheGradingConference 2025:

Asao Inoue Keynote: 🤯
What really resonated with me: He said he really wanted to get students thinking about the PROCESS of their writing over the PRODUCT of their writing.

Excited to hang out online with 900 of my closest friends at #TheGradingConference starting tomorrow!

@thegradingconference.com

Cross stitch with “Break fake rules” in block letters overlaid with lines depicting increasingly larger glass shatter patterns.

Just in time for the start of 2025’s #TheGradingConference tomorrow! (And yes, I stitched this during last year’s conference. 😂) #BreakFakeRules

Bahahahaha. Voluntold!

Bride and groom wedding photo

Happy 13th wedding anniversary and 20 years together to my ride or die! Longer together than apart 💕

My husband finally convinced me to get some Bose (I thought the $ was too self-indulgent) and so glad I did!!

As a political scientist who studies countries that managed to stop the slide into authoritarianism, I can assure you that ***refraining from provoking the authoritarian*** is not how it works.

Without further ado, I will now go tear out another chunk of hair.

Stitch Fiddle Stitch Fiddle is an online crochet, knitting and cross stitch pattern maker.

Pattern (my own work): www.stitchfiddle.com/c/sfjf1y-8qs...

Partially finished cross stitch of a dumpster fire. Over the photo are the words “Dumpster fire is shaping up nicely lolsob.”

I am just contemplating retreating ever deeper in the Enchanted Forest.