Wow. I knew I was likely going to take a break from posts once the semester ended, but I did not intend for that break to be a month and a half long! Have you missed me? I hope so! I’m still processing how ungrading went this past semester and I’ll return to those postsContinue reading “Syllabus Policies Up for Grabs”
Author Archives: Rita
SLOs…Who are They For?
Earlier this week, David Buck asked an important question about SLOs on Twitter: I retweeted this question and responded with some thoughts of my own (see below). Here, I want to use my initial response as a jumping off point for more thoughts on SLOs. As I said in my initial thread, thinking about SLOsContinue reading “SLOs…Who are They For?”
Ungrading and Anti-Carcerality?
Every now and then, the confluence of events happening in my life seem to be working very hard to tell me I’m missing something. On Friday, I finished re-reading the chapter/articles for my graduate Theories of Criminal Behavior class for Monday, which will cover critical theories such as peacemaking, restorative justice, and abolition. Coming upContinue reading “Ungrading and Anti-Carcerality?”
Solidarity and Sadness
(An early post for the week as I have some things to say. I will return to the regular schedule next Sunday.) Tuesday night was going so well. I don’t know many other Asians in academia. I really only know a handful directly in my field. Asians and Asian Americans are growing within criminology/criminal justice,Continue reading “Solidarity and Sadness”
A Year of Pandemic Pedagogy
March 11, 2020 is a day many of us remember well. For me, it was about a week after our last in-person department meeting. At that meeting, there were already concerns about Coronavirus appearing on campus and how we should respond in terms of cleaning and what not. A lot changed in that week. ThroughoutContinue reading “A Year of Pandemic Pedagogy”
Progress Letters Attempt #1
As we’ve hit the middle of the Winter semester, we’ve also arrived at the first progress letters I asked my students to complete. As I mentioned in my last post, the midterm self-reflection was one of the assignments I added in the ungrading process. I was, admittedly, a bit skeptical as to how this wouldContinue reading “Progress Letters Attempt #1”
Attempting to Ungrade
My first attempt at ungrading was this semester (Winter 2021) in my MA Theories of Criminal Behavior class. To be honest, I didn’t plan for this class to be ungraded. My original syllabus was the standard one I have used for years, which includes points for each assignment and rubrics (which can often function asContinue reading “Attempting to Ungrade”
Why Ungrading?
Going gradeless, or ungrading, is something I’ve been vaguely aware of for years. I’m not quite sure when I first heard of it, but I know it was not until after graduate school. Regardless, I remember thinking it was an intriguing idea. As a new faculty member at a small liberal arts college (SLAC), however,Continue reading “Why Ungrading?”
Going on an Adventure
A few weeks ago, I asked my twitter folks if a blog about my journey with ungrading from a newbie perspective would be helpful or an exercise in vanity. Enough people responded that it would be helpful so, here we are! Welcome! In these pages, I’ll trace my process, my various attempts with assessments andContinue reading “Going on an Adventure”
Dr. Rita Shah 