Grading is an underutilized tool of course design. It has the potential to change the narrative of how students perceive and utilize feedback to grow in their learning process. Additionally, grading is a powerful tool to provide faculty with insights on the actual progress students make during a course. In the past few years, STEM faculty have started to embrace alternative grading methodologies that emphasize learning centered feedback and de-emphasize point systems. This faculty learning community will introduce the methodologies of specifications and mastery-based grading. The facilitator will launch this topic with a workshop based on his prior experience with these methodologies and continue with a semester-long opportunity to re-think how we structure grading in our courses.

This faculty learning community will offer practical tools to make your classrooms more accessible. We will use universal design principles to expand our knowledge of and practice in building accessible learning spaces. Based on disability justice principles, we will think through how to create access intimacy that cherishes disabled and neurodivergent students and faculty. We will cover various components of teaching, from syllabi and reading materials to classroom practices and testing strategies. Each session will offer concrete strategies as well as a space to ask questions and discuss access-related concerns.