Comments on: Enhance Equity in Your Course: Part 5 – Grade Equitably

By: Jessica Bernards

Jessica Bernards — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 19:11:47 +0000

Alyson – LOVE the idea of using the anonymize grading feature in D2L. I didn’t even realize it existed. I’m going to start using it this week when I grade finals.

Thank you SO MUCH for the work you’ve put into this!

By: Morgan Chase

Morgan Chase — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 18:38:03 +0000

I used anonymous grading for my Math 95 exam last week, and it worked pretty well. I was afraid that I would lose an opportunity to get a better insight into how individual students are grasping the material — in the remote environment, I need all the connections I can get — but it was easy to go back and skim through the D2L gradebook and click on the feedback to see who did what.

The best part about anonymous grading is that when I suspected someone of cheating but couldn’t prove it, I could honestly say “I don’t know who you are because I am grading the exam anonymously. It looks like you may have used an online algebra solver for this question, but I can’t prove it. If you didn’t, no harm done. If you did, don’t try it on the final exam because I might be able to prove it.” All my suspicions were based on the way the student solved the problems on this exam, not their name or picture or past performance.

By: Alyson

Alyson — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 20:36:14 +0000

Marjan, your comment is so fitting! In the next post, I will be sharing some ideas for incorporating flexibility in assignments. As a person who struggles with executive functioning, I find lectures to be the least effective way for me to learn, yet that was the main way courses were set up when I was in school. I’d love to hear about how you provide opportunities for students to self-assess their learning modalities.

By: Alyson

Alyson — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 20:28:48 +0000

Thank you for the comment Peter! I agree that it is really important to know when using technology in a course is appropriate and when personalized interaction is necessary. Do you have some tips on grading equitably when personalized interaction is necessary?

By: Marjan Rotting

Marjan Rotting — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 20:09:51 +0000

I think what is being missed here is focusing on equity by ethnic group or country of origin only. There is another, often overlooked aspect, their learning modalities. Students have different pathways to the brain, visual, kinesthetic, word, auditory etc. If a student has a visual mind and is only taught with words, they will not have the same ability to comprehend the subject matter. Thus, that student will not be on a level playing field with others. Something as simple as a concussion, troubled marriage or difficult work hours can alter someone’s ability to learn. Always focusing on ethnicity or country of origin is not enough. It is not a matter of lowering expectations but shifting them. It is our job as teachers to identify our student’s weaknesses and help them overcome them: each one regardless of country of origin or ethnicity. But taking the time to get to know our students and teaching and grading to their specific modality requires that we teach them about modalities and have them self asses their learning modalities during our introductory lesson. By allowing students to identify how they learn and calling out these specific aspects of our lectures and grading, they will learn to succeed.

By: Peter Seaman

Peter Seaman — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 22:05:54 +0000

Thanks, Alyson, for the post. I’m interested in the anonymized grading features in D2L, but I do wonder whether they will really advance equity since they don’t account for differences in student populations. For example, students who are not native speakers of English tend to make similar errors in their written English, but it seems unfair to me to penalize them for these errors on the same level as native speakers. But you wouldn’t know who is a native speaker and who is a non-native speaker if you anonymize your assignment submissions. The LMS seems to treat all students as if they are exactly the same, like “batch processing,” so I see a continued role for thoughtful and sentient instructors who treat each student as an individual and assess accordingly. Thanks.