Conference: The Grading Conference Higher Education STEM Focus

California State L A University Auxiliary Services Inc., Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project serves the national interest by helping faculty learn and adopt grading practices that promote student learning, enhance student motivation, increase equity, and enable more students to succeed in STEM. The Grading Conference is an annual virtual conference that provides a much-needed resource for instructors interested in improving their assessments. The purpose of the conference is to support instructors as they strive to challenge traditional grading practices that have been shown to hinder student learning and student growth as scholars. As awareness of, and interest in, these practices grow, more and more faculty need a supportive community to learn how to implement these grading practices and do so in ways that enhance student learning and improve student outcomes. Research has shown that one of the most effective methods for implementing changes in faculty practice is to do so within the context of a supportive community. A virtual conference will be held that will include a set of speakers who will provide insights on alternative grading and address questions and comments from participants. The project team will recruit faculty participants in the STEM fields of mathematics, biology, physics, and chemistry from a diverse set of institutions. The Grading Conference will bring together new and experienced practitioners of a variety of grading techniques (such as standards-based, specifications-based, and "ungrading") as the flagship event of an ongoing community of practice. This online synchronous conference allows faculty from across the country to come together with the intent of disseminating best practices and current research around grading and its connection to improving student learning. Three goals guide the project. First is to support grading reform to enhance student learning, motivation, equity, and success. Second is to build infrastructure to provide continued professional learning around the role of grading in student success. Third, and finally is to create a professional learning community that will support practitioners as they work to change their grading policies. The conference will be conducted over two days with two featured speakers presenting each day. Additional sessions will include panels, research presentations, and practitioner-oriented presentations. Small group sessions will be used to promote networking of faculty in categories such as geographic region, STEM discipline, interests in specific types of assessments, and level of experience. All sessions will be recorded and made publicly available on the conference website along with handouts and slides. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.