Are you new to teaching? Do you need fresh ideas for grading? Would a sample rubric or grading technique be of help?
Grading can be a tedious and daunting task, and one of the goals of the Center for Teaching and Learning is to provide faculty with practical ways to approach grading that measure course objectives, contribute to student learning, and make efficient use of faculty time.
Grading for the virtual classroom can be daunting. Best practices suggest that grading virtually and grading hard-copy assignments will contain the same important qualities. What are those qualities, and how do you use technology in ways that produce those qualities?
Online Grading Tools:
- Speedgrader
- Honorlock: Proctoring on Demand
- Honorlock Walkthrough: Video for Instructors
- Turnitin.com – The tutorials on this link are hosted on the Office of Instructional Technology’s website.
- Article: “Fourteen Simple Strategies to Reduce Cheating on Online Examinations,” Faculty Focus, May 2020.
Giving Feedback Online:
Audio feedback and audio feedback with transcription
Specifications Grading
Specifications Grading
Specifications Grading can shift your grading paradigm and “show you how to make grading easier, more logical, and more consonant with research on learning and motivation.”*
Linda Nilson, Clemson University
Presentation to PLNU Faculty on July 8, 2020
Linda Nilson, Clemson University
Presentation to PLNU Faculty on May 16, 2017
Specifications Grading promotes:
- High Academic Standards
- Higher-Order Cognitive Development and Creativity
- Reduction of Student Stress and Increased
- Motivation to Learn
- Student Ownership for Their Grades
- Faculty Time Saver and Simple Administration
- Clear Expectations and Simple Feedback Process
*Barbara E. Walvoord, Professor Emerita, University of Notre Dame
Linda Nilson @ PLNU
Who is Linda Nilson?
Linda Nilson is an author and presenter with over 25 years of experience as a faculty member and faculty developer at UCLA, UC Riverside, Vanderbilt, and most recently Clemson University. She is also an author and presenter on topics such as teaching effectiveness, assessment, and scholarly productivity. Her publications include:
- Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors (Jossey-Bass 2016), 4th Edition
- Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time (Stylus, 2015)
- Creating Self-Regulated Learners: Strategies to Strengthen Students’ Self-Awareness and Learning Skills (Stylus, 2013)
- The Graphic Syllabus and the Outcomes Map: Communicating Your Course (Jossey-Bass, 2007)
What other resources are there?
- Article: “Yes, Virginia, there’s a better way to grade,” Inside Higher Ed., by Linda Nilson, January 19, 2016
- Book: Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilson
- Video: Specifications Grading Presentation to PLNU Faculty by Linda Nilson, 2016
Are there handouts or examples?
- Chunking Assignments from Business – Rob Gailey
- Course Bundling from Graduate Nursing 622 – Monique Sawyer
- Educational Article Assignment as Credit / No Credit – Conni Campbell
- Intentional Lesson Planning Assignment as Credit / No Credit from School of Education – Conni Campbell
- Journal Article Analysis from Biology 323 – Walter Cho
- Reading Graphic Organizer and Rubric from History 110 – Gayle Sollfrank
- Grading and Outcomes Section of a Hypothetical Syllabus Where the Course Uses Specifications Grading – Conni Campbell
- Illustration of Grading on Both More and Higher Hurdles – Connie Campbell
- Hypothetical Illustration of Grading…. Using Bloom’s Hierarchy of Cognitive Operations – Conni Campbell