Course info

Are you feeling burned out from carving out time for grading student work, providing meaningful feedback, and collecting data for assessment? Specifications Grading maybe your answer. This spring we invite all members of our education community here at AppState regardless of discipline or rank, as well as those who train or advise those who teach to join us as we explore Linda B. Nilson's "Specification Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time."

In her own words, Linda describes specification grading as a strategy for faculty for "developing and grading assignments that reduce time and stress, shift responsibility to students to earn grades rather than 'receive' them, reduce antagonism between the evaluator and the evaluated, and increase student receptivity to meaningful feedback, thus facilitating the learning process." The book features a number of course examples that faculty have adapted to specifications grading and walks the reader through the transition process.

The book club will meet four times throughout the semester and each meeting will take a look at the assigned chapter readings, providing ample time for discussion on how this grading method could be applied to our courses.

Book: Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time by Linda B. Nilson (a copy will be provided to all registered participants)