In the name of Sustainability and all that
is Sacred to our Liberal Art: Rigor &
Innovation and can they Just Get Along?
Encouraging Collaborative Genius
Please: LISTEN. Listen to the SOUND.
Effective Grading: A Tool for Learning and Assessment
in College, by Barbara E. Walvoord and Virginia Johnson
guiding group processes:
* Begin with instructions and guidelines for group work.
Address the ways in which groups could go astray.
* Construct a rubric by which the groups will be evaluated.
* Have groups compose and sign a written agreement,
at the beginning of their work together, that details what
all of them will be responsible for (for example, being on
time for meetings, completing their share of the work by
certain deadlines, communicating regularly with other
group members) and what each will do (Mary will research
this part; John will research this part; Ling-Chi will produce
the first full draft; Jamal will edit the draft).
* Ask the group to appoint people to certain roles:
record keeper, convener, and others.
* Ask the group for frequent feedback to you and to
each other. At the end of each meeting, whether online
or face-to-face, group members can write to one another
what they thought was successful about the group meeting
and what they thought needed improvement. Responses
can be shared with you, and you can step in quickly
if the group is struggling.
Ask a recorder to post or submit to you a record of the
group's activities. When did they get together? Who
was present? What did each person do? What
progress was made? What problems arose,
and how did the group address them?
What do they need from you,
if anything?
* Schedule a face-to-face or synchronous online
meeting with each group at intervals to check the
group's progress and interaction. At these meeting,
anyone who feels another group member is not
doing his or her share should say so right here in
the group so the issue can be discussed and you can
facilitate.
What If They All Get A's?
Faculty members in workshops sometimes raise the
possibility that if they teach what they are grading.
more students will meet the highest criteria for student
performance. You'd think this would be a good thing,
but some faculty operate in environments where they
fear they will be in trouble if they give too many A grades.
We discuss grade inflation in general in Chapter Eight.
In this special kind of case, where grades in your own
class are rising because students are doing better work,
you have two choices.
The first is to raise the standards so that it takes
more to get an A. Students are getting better teaching,
so they should be performing at a higher level.
A second option is to keep the standard the same,
give an A to all students who reach the standard,
and then, if you are questioned about it, be ready
to show your department head or promotion tenure
committee some samples of your assignments and
tests, together with student work that earned an A
and work that earned a B.
You can begin a discussion on this topic in which
you are open to the other person's ideas, and the
other person has a chance to see what you are doing.".
&&&&&&&&&&
Oyez Oyez Obey Obey:
To 8-Nicknames: THIS word-play and word-
consciousness you address is close to the
heart of what I do—key to my foolishness
and dubious doubling and so: doubt full
insight.
Barbara McClintock, Nobel Prize geneticist
when asked the secret of her research success
said:
“I lean in and listen to my corn shoots”
(the media for her study of genetics)
She obeys (literally: “listens.”)
I don’t expect no Nobel Prize, but I’m telling you:
I lean in (so to speak) and listen to the WORDS
(and not always so closely to the Sentences)
Because you are RIGHT—what you say about
how “impossible” it is for us to detach from the
connotations of WORDS.
And so we are determined by our terms and
we wince and smile and take offense—at the
mercy of the connotations, unable to separate
and sing sticks and stones will break my bones
but words will never hurt me—ouch, ohh,
damnit, shit, bastards!
EXCEPT: knowing how impossible it is to detach
from culture-trapping custom connotations IS
nevertheless the PREREQUISITE for
detachment and disconnect.
Need we argue?
Tell me: the word OBEDIENCE means to listen.
How come common sense connotation twists it
to mean: OR ELSE (command)?
“OBEY!”
Does that word make you shrivel or rise up in response?
yes, Yes, YES! Listen.
xxxooo, Sam (Please--anyone improve my terms.
Correct my bias and belief--warped, perverse,
depraved I'm sure,and acknowledge it. Or
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