Thread by @dr_r_johnson

So I'm taking some coding courses to expand my skills and passions and it's making me think a lot about how we approach grades in traditional classrooms. As I learn this new skill myself, my instructors are super supportive and allow me to resubmit as I learn. /1

I'm building a skill that takes time and practice to learn and I'm not penalized for mistakes that I make early on in my learning journey. I can go back and fix those mistakes as I learn. /2

As a science educator in the K-12 space, I've seen a lot of examples of expectations put onto students that they can master a skill after only practicing it once. And they are evaluated on it and that grade is incorporated into their average for the course. /3

This is not sitting well with me. I've done a lot of learning about #ungrading and #gradeless approaches this year, as well as the inequities of our traditional grading systems that I can't continue to sit quiet as I see these inequities continue to unfold in classrooms. /4

Grades are not motivating for students. In fact, one bad grade can destroy any potential intrinsic motivation for a student in a class. A single bad grade can make students become disengaged and avoid taking any further risks in their learning. /5

If our goal for our students is learning and developing skills, we need to focus MORE on good, descriptive feedback for growth and LESS on grades. It only makes sense. We also need to REPLACE "grades" in our gradebooks as students develop these skills. /6

As we think about #destreaming in #OntEd for SNC1W next year, we need to think about what skills are important for our science students to develop and how we can scaffold that skill development through continued practice and improvement of those skills. /7

Content and knowledge is one thing... yes, our science students do need to show mastery of our content but that is only one small piece of the puzzle. Being able to take that knowledge and apply it to the science that surrounds us in our daily lives is far more important. /8

Content can be used as a VEHICLE to learn and develop the skills that we value in science - generating good questions, investigating and interpreting data, problem-solving, divergent thinking, and making sound scientific claims based on evidence. /9

AND... not all students will obtain these skills at the same pace. Grades should be a reflection of learning and mastery, not of whether a student can keep up with the "average" pace of learning. /10

So yes... this is what is on my mind this morning. Creating learning environments that are fair, equitable, skills-driven, and focused on learning and progress is really the only way forward. /11

If you're interested in learning more, starting with @modernclassproj is what I'd recommend, for a learning model based on blended instruction, self-paced structures, and mastery-based grading for content. /12

From there, reading about #grading practices, #ungrading and #gradeless structures - Grading for Equity (Joe Feldman), Ungrading (@SusanDebraBlum), and Going Gradeless (@DavidFrangiosa) are a few that have influenced my thinking. /13

Final thought: it's time to stop averaging grades. It's an inaccurate way to represent the learning and progress of our students. Just because it's the way we've always done things, doesn't mean that we should keep doing it. /14