This presentation offers insights on harnessing the basics of Moodle to restructure a course curriculum away from high-stakes exams to a “choose your own adventure” modification of specifications grading.
This presentation outlines how I addressed three problems I was facing in teaching statistics, a notoriously intimidating class for undergraduate students: How do I reduce students’ anxiety around grades, as well as encourage students to see their purpose in the classroom beyond getting a grade? How can I implement a curriculum around experiential projects, rather than high-stakes testing? Finally, how can I implement both of those changes under the constraints of an institution where objective grades are required? Working with the Center for Educational Technology and Curriculum Innovation at Pacific University, I utilized the basics of Moodle in order to implement a modification of specifications grading to address these challenges. The purpose of this presentation is to offer undergraduate educators my insights into how the basic capabilities of an LMS facilitated my implementation of a complete restructuring of my course curriculum from a reliance on high-stakes exams to a creative and engaging “choose your own adventure” modification of specifications grading.
Specifications grading, or “specs grading,” is set of strategies designed to reward students on learning outcomes, reduce student and faculty stress, and enhance student motivation to “earn grades rather than receive them” (Nilson 2015). This presentation will begin with a brief description of the primary component of specs grading that I integrated into my course: I eliminated high-stakes exams and replaced them with creative “choose your own adventure” projects that allowed students to design their own projects and choose the grade they wanted to receive. Next, I will discuss in detail how and why Moodle was an integral ingredient in the implementation, concluding with comments about my students’ experiences and lessons learned for the future.
This talk will be of interest to undergraduate teachers passionate about enhancing student motivation and creativity, and teachers who are open to incorporating basic LMS technology into their classroom. The implications of this type of modification of specs grading are particularly timely for confronting rising student anxiety about grades and the institution’s – and thus, also our students’ – preoccupation with high-stakes testing and quantitative assessments.
References
Nilson, L. (2015). Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.