{"id":746,"date":"2021-02-09T00:10:52","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T00:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/?p=746"},"modified":"2021-02-12T00:09:08","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T00:09:08","slug":"issue-2-21-how-to-improve-equity-and-grading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/2021\/02\/09\/issue-2-21-how-to-improve-equity-and-grading\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue 2.21: How to Improve Equity and Grading"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2020\/04\/Digital-Dialogues.-4.png\" alt=\"Digital Dialogues Introduction Banner\" class=\"wp-image-553\" width=\"820\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2020\/04\/Digital-Dialogues.-4.png 820w, https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2020\/04\/Digital-Dialogues.-4-300x114.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2020\/04\/Digital-Dialogues.-4-768x292.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>By Elizabeth Kleinfeld, Ph.D<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with everything we do, grading and writing are influenced by privilege and oppression. What? Yes, our systems of assessment that we have been told are objective or our ways of writing the \u201cright\u201d way need to be explored and questioned. Is assessment&nbsp;really objective&nbsp;and what makes my way of writing \u201cright\u201d? How do our practices disrupt or perpetuate racism, sexism, ableism, gender norms, and more?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Kleinfeld will partner with us to discuss these questions over 3 different weeks.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To give you a sense of Dr. Kleinfeld\u2019s practices, please read&nbsp;their teaching philosophy&nbsp;and research explorations&nbsp;below and explore&nbsp;their website for other inspiring pieces. I really like their&nbsp;blogs&nbsp;addressing \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/elizabethkleinfeld.com\/2020\/06\/01\/privilege-and-saying-no\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Privilege of Saying No<\/a>\u201d, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/elizabethkleinfeld.com\/2020\/05\/12\/on-having-to-say-no-over-and-over\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Saying No Over and Over<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/elizabethkleinfeld.com\/2020\/05\/06\/what-place-does-grading-rigor-have-during-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What place does grading rigor have during COVID-19?<\/a>\u201d.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/elizabethkleinfeld.com\/students\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Statement of Teaching Philosophy<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sorry, no neat, tidy statement here, as this is a work in progress.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Considering taking a class with me? Here are some commitments that drive my pedagogy:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>I come to teaching as a feminist. This means I\u2019m interested in dismantling hierarchies that position students as \u201cless than\u201d in the classroom. Students and I work together as colleagues to make meaning, and I depend on them to teach me how to engage them. One strategy I use toward this end is a modification of\u202f<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ascd.org\/publications\/educational-leadership\/sept16\/vol74\/num01\/Seven-Cs-for-Effective-Teaching.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chris&nbsp;Emdin\u2019s&nbsp;cogen<\/a>, in which a few students stay after each class to chat with me about what I need to know for the next class. It also means I work explicitly in the classroom to examine how authority is constructed and understood; for example, sometimes when I hear myself make an authoritative statement in the classroom, I\u2019ll stop and ask students, \u201cWhat did I just do in that statement to develop my ethos as an authority? How did it make you feel?\u201d&nbsp;<\/li><li>The \u201csemester\u201d is a social construct. The timeframe I give for completing assignments may not work for everyone, so I have built into my teaching a few ways for students to have flexibility with deadlines and how long it takes them to grasp concepts. For example, late tickets can be used to extend deadlines, and Revise &amp; Resubmits give students multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Grading practices are impacted by implicit biases and \u201cstandards\u201d are generally reflective of the values of the people with power, which in the U.S. means people who are typically white, male, able-bodied, cisgender, and straight. I use\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/wac.colostate.edu\/books\/perspectives\/labor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">labor-based grade contracts<\/a>, portfolios, and class-generated scoring rubrics to mitigate these factors, and I invite students to negotiate other forms of evaluation that feel authentic and meaningful to them.&nbsp;<\/li><li>My #1 job as your teacher is to\u202f<em>teach<\/em>\u202fYOU, not to grade you or compare you with your peers or to institutionalize your thinking (colleges and universities are institutions\u2014we institutionalize). This means I will ask you regularly what you are learning and&nbsp;how&nbsp;so I can adjust my strategies to better meet you where you are. I will provide multiple opportunities for you to learn, and if the opportunities I provide aren\u2019t working, I\u2019ll invite you to help me invent new ones. I practice\u202f<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cast.org\/our-work\/about-udl.html#.XrK08qhKiUk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Universal Design for Learning<\/a>\u202f(UDL), which means I aim to make my classroom, course content, and evaluation measures accessible to everyone.&nbsp;<\/li><li>A classroom will never be equally \u201csafe\u201d for everyone because of implicit bias and uneven distribution of resources (time, money, etc.). I acknowledge this and aim for a\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gvsu.edu\/cms4\/asset\/843249C9-B1E5-BD47-A25EDBC68363B726\/from-safe-spaces-to-brave-spaces.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">brave(r) classroom<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All of&nbsp;my classes involve in-class writing to help us gather and organize our thoughts, small group discussion to provide safe(s) spaces for discussing ideas, large group discussion to share ideas with a larger audience and gather feedback, and collaborative problem solving to give us all an opportunity to apply and test what we think we know.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have questions about my teaching or whether one of my classes is the right one for you, please get in touch!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/elizabethkleinfeld.com\/current-projects\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Questions that drive my (Elizabeth Kleinfeld&nbsp;PhD)&nbsp;research:<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>academic\u00a0rhetorics:\u00a0<\/strong>How to instructor-created documents, such as syllabi, assignments, and handouts, construct academic integrity and citation practice for students? How do these documents construct academic values for students? How do these documents resist, reflect, and create pedagogical change? How do instructor comments on student writing construct academic values for students?\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>writing centers:\u00a0<\/strong>How can writing centers be sites of resistance to neo-liberalism? How can writing centers push back against\u00a0rhetorics\u00a0of (dis)ability, neurodiversity, hierarchies, patriarchy, and white supremacy? How can writing centers be brave\/r spaces for difference? How do writing centers sponsor undergraduate research?\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>source citation:\u00a0<\/strong>What do source citations do, rhetorically, interactionally, and epistemically? How do source citation practices direct attention toward and\/or away from\u00a0particular authors? What might a feminist citation pedagogy look like?\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>inclusivity:<\/strong>\u202fHow do current teaching, scholarly, and academic publication practices maintain and\/or resist naturalized hierarchies and institutionalized racism\/patriarchy\/ableism?\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Grading &amp; Equity Elizabeth Kleinfeld\" width=\"530\" height=\"298\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yM8R2rOXVWk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Elizabeth Kleinfeld, Ph.D As with everything we do, grading and writing are influenced by privilege and oppression. What? Yes, our systems of assessment that we have been told are objective or our ways of writing the \u201cright\u201d way need <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/2021\/02\/09\/issue-2-21-how-to-improve-equity-and-grading\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Issue 2.21: How to Improve Equity and Grading<\/span><span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":853,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[22,21],"class_list":["post-746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-digital-dialogues","tag-equity","tag-grading"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/853"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/socialwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}