On Episode 588 of Teaching in Higher Ed, I welcome Emily Pitts Donahoe, Associate Director of Instructional Support at the University of Mississippi’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, as well as Lecturer in Writing and Rhetoric. Using an experimental podcast format for the show, Emily joins me to set up and reflect on a candid conversation I previously recorded with my daughter, Hannah, about her experiences with grades as a fifth grader. Together, we explore the complexities of grading systems, student emotions and identity related to assessment, and the potential of alternative grading frameworks drawn from Robert Talbert and David Clark’s “Grading for Growth.”

Resources from the episode:

• Unmaking the Grade, Emily Pitts Donahoe’s blog and reflective journal chronicling one educator's experiences with ungrading and other progressive teaching practices
• Grading for Growth: A Guide to Alternative Grading Practices That Promote Authentic Learning and Student Engagement in Higher Education, by Robert Talbert & David Clark
• Grading for Growth
• How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Teaching, By Joshua R. Eyler
• Failing Our Future: How Grades Harm Students and What We Can Do About It, by Joshua R. Eyler
• Harry Potter Wizards of Baking
• Sarah Rose Cavanagh
• Japanese restaurant at Irvine Spectrum all four of the Stachowiak family members like: Robata Wasa
• Wicked
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity, by Adam Becker
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Discussion questions:

1. How does Hannah’s perspective on grades as “marks of progress” align with or challenge your own views or experiences with grading in education?
2. Emily Pitts Donahoe discusses the four pillars of “grading for growth” (marks indicating progress, reattempts without penalty, clearly defined standards, and helpful feedback). Which of these pillars do you think is most challenging to implement in your own teaching, and why?
3. Hannah describes receiving “developing” grades and reflects on how this affects her self-perception as a writer. How can educators support students in maintaining a growth mindset, especially in subjects where abilities are more subjective (like writing)?
4. Hannah and her friend jokingly create the “EF” (emerging failure) grade. What does this anecdote reveal about how students interpret or cope with grading labels?
5. Emily and Bonni both note that feedback is more helpful when it’s specific and compassionate rather than just corrective. Can you share an example from your own experience (either as a student or teacher) when feedback was especially impactful, for better or worse?
6. Reattempts without penalty are highlighted as a key pillar in alternative grading. What are some practical ways to offer students multiple attempts without overwhelming educators with grading?

Next Week’s Episode

On the upcoming episode of Teaching in Higher Ed, Dom Conroy and Warren Kidd help us celebrate International Podcasting Day (and share a lot more about teaching, more broadly).

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Affiliate income disclosure: Books that are recommended on the podcast link to the Teaching in Higher Ed bookstore on Bookshop.org. All affiliate income gets donated to the LibroMobile Arts Cooperative (LMAC), established in 2016 by Sara Rafael Garcia.”

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