Speakers
Schedule
Pre-Conference Assignment
Past Conferences
Questions
Speakers
The first annual Grading Conference had no highlighted speakers, but did feature panels from the founding organizers:
David Clark, Grand Valley State University
Sharona Krinsky, California State University Los Angeles
Drew Lewis, University of South Alabama
Kate Owens, College of Charleston
Robert Talbert, Grand Valley State University
Schedule
Schedule
10:30 AM: Conference Opens
11:00 AM: Session 1: Introductions, What are grades anyhow? (Zoom video)
Large webinar with featured speakers including Drew Lewis (University of South Alabama) and Rachel Weir (Allegheny College)
12:00 PM: Coffee Break/Transition Time (offline)
Please enter your Table Talk link by 12:30 at the latest to minimize wait time
12:30 PM: Table Talks
Small group facilitated discussions on Mastery Grading.
1:30 PM: Coffee Break/Transition Time (offline)
2:00 PM: Session 2: Mastery Grading in Action and Panel Discussion (Zoom video)
Examples of objectives, questions, and student responses presented by:
Amanda Harsy (Lewis University)
Sharona Krinsky (California State University Los Angeles)
Gloria Ramos (Citrus College)
Robert Talbert (Grand Valley State University)
Panel discussion diving deeper into the different components of Mastery Grading including: Standards vs. Specifications, Assessments and Re-Assessments, Rubrics, Course Structure, Managing Instructor Workload and More. Including additional panelists:
Drew Lewis (University of South Alabama)
Rachel Weir (Allegheny College)
Kate Owens (College of Charleston)
4:00 PM: Coffee Break/Transition Time (offline)
4:30 PM: Session 3: Posters and More
3A: Cool Stuff: Focus on students (Zoom video)
A series of 5 minute presentations that highlight individual faculty ideas for supporting students with mastery grading.
3B: Cool Stuff: Technology to support mastery grading (Zoom video)
A series of 5 minute presentations that highlight individual faculty who have found ways to use technology to support their use of mastery grading.
3C: Poster Session
Posters are available to view on a Jamboard and presenters will be available via Zoom to discuss their posters.
6:00 PM: Happy Hour Hangout via Zoom
10:30 AM: Conference Opens
11:00 AM: Session 1: How Can We Get Started? (Zoom video)
Large webinar format on “Build A Syllabus” presented by Emily Cilli-Turner, Justin Dunmyre, Tom Mahoney, and Chad Wiley based on the pre-conference assignment.
12:00 PM: Coffee Break/Transition Time (offline)
Please enter your Table Talk link by 12:30 at the latest to minimize wait time
12:30 PM: Table Talks: Build-A-Syllabus
Utilizing the same table talk groups from Day 1, participants will choose a course and being discussing how to take it towards Mastery grading. Key questions include:
What learning objectives will be measured?
How will mastery be defined and measured?
How will student progress translate into a course grade?
How will flexibility be incorporated?
1:30 PM: Coffee Break/Transition Time (offline)
2:00 PM: Session 2: Panel Sessions
Facilitated Panel discussions on the topics listed.
Panelists:
Adelaide Akers (Emporia State University)
Jason Elsinger (Florida Southern College)
Amy Ksir (US Naval Academy)
Panelists:
Theron Hitchman (University of Northern Iowa)
Sommer Gentry (US Naval Academy)
Sharona Krinsky (California State University, Los Angeles)
3:00 PM: Coffee Break/Transition Time (offline)
3:30 PM: Session 3: Panel Sessions
Facilitated Panel discussions on the topics listed.
Panelists:
Rebecca Gasper (Creighton University)
Sharona Krinsky (California State University, Los Angeles)
Taylor Short (Grand Valley State University)
Panelists:
Joshua Bowman (Pepperdine University)
Amanda Mangum (Converse College)
Sasha Townsend (Tulsa Community College)
Panelists:
Bret Benesh (College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University)
Jessica OShaughnessy (Shenandoah University)
Chad Wiley (Emporia State University)
4:30 PM: Conference Wrap (Zoom video)
Come back together one last time as a group to recap what we have learned and look at the next steps moving forward.
Pre-Conference Assignment
Pre-Conference Assignment
Oh boy, homework! To help answer some common questions about mastery grading, and to help the organizers tailor the conference to your needs, we have put together this pre-conference assignment.
Please complete the items below by the end of the day on Wednesday June 3rd.
Even if you are an experienced mastery grader, we hope that you will find something new to learn here.
- Introduction to mastery grading: Read this introduction to the basics of mastery grading (3 pages).
- New to mastery grading? Pick one of these and read it (or read them all if you’re interested). They each give a gentle introduction to a different mastery grading style.
- Kate Owens: Beginner’s Guide to Standards Based Grading
- Austin Mohr: Mastery-Based Exams Are Self-Evidently Better than Traditional Exams
- Robert Talbert: Specifications Grading
- David Clark: Introduction to Mastery Grading
- Want to know more? Or, are you already experienced with mastery grading? Please pick one of these (this is optional):
- Read “Teaching More by Grading Less (or Differently)” by Schinske and Tanner.
- And/or, check out some articles from the recent PRIMUS special issue on Mastery Grading for further reading. MAA members have free access to these articles through their MAA account.
- Everyone: Think about your answers to these questions and bring them with you to the first conference session:
- Why do we grade? (What is the purpose of grades?)
- Do grades measure what we want them to?
- What messages (implicit and explicit) do we tell students about grades and the grading process?
- What would you like to change about your current grading process? Why do you want to change those parts?
- What is a class in which you would like to use mastery grading? (Part of the conference will involve beginning to plan a mastery grading system for this class.)
- Final assignment for everyone: Fill out this survey by Wednesday June 3 at the end of the day. We will use your responses to this to better focus the conference on your interests.
Past Conferences
This is the original Grading Conference, then known as the Mastery Grading Conference.
Questions