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> | The Options | | | Since Molissa has so clearly and precisely articulated the actual information and process, I have deleted everything preceding it, since it will only serve to confuse people who come to this late. | |
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< | Confession: I am making a post during class (ironically, while we discussed Ritalin). | >
> | -- AndrewCase - 02 Apr 2009
Confession: I am making a post during class (ironically, while we are discussing Ritalin). | | | Explanation: I wanted to write this down before all of us, with our short and degraded memories, forget Eben's explanation.
We WILL have a third assignment. The question is about how to evaluate/grade the third assignment. There is a rule that all electives base the majority of the grade (over 50%) on an anonymously-graded assignment. We can chose to do away with this rule entirely and submit a third assignment that will be graded with our names attached, we can choose to violate the spirit of the rule but not the letter, or we can chose to follow the rule to a T. The decision process will happen in two stages. | | | -- MolissaFarber - 02 Apr 2009 | |
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> | Thanks for clearing the brush, Andrew. I'm adding back a few of the posts that related to the relative merits of one choice or the other, as opposed to those that asked for clarification regarding the options.
-- MolissaFarber - 02 Apr 2009
The Discussion
Given that this will come up in Thursday's class, let's start the discussion.
I was not at all uncomfortable with being graded blindly in any of my classes last semester. However, after hearing Eben discuss the grading possibilities for our third writing assignment in class today, I found myself prickling at the idea of being graded "with a bag over my head." This prospect is particularly prickly since we happen to have a professor who seems to be investing a great deal of effort in individualizing the learning process. In the class following Theo's HowToFixHealthcare post, Eben explained that his responses to Theo were engineered to best help Theo learn and develop his piece. The discomfort for some of the rest of us had come from the fact that we learn and are motivated differently, but could still see Eben's comments. I was struck by this explanation because not only did it make sense, but it seemed to be effective. Having gotten to know Theo a bit over the poker table, I suspected it was true that he would step up his game if challenged in the way that Eben challenged him. Given his re-write of the topic, it seems that he did just that.
If we were talking about grading options for one of my typical 1L classes, I might lean more towards blind grading; I haven't been to any of my professors' office hours this semester, and would feel at a disadvantage compared to those students who have become BFFs with the professors. But we're not talking about a typical 1L class, we're talking about this class. In this class, I think I have the faith to take the bag off.
-- MolissaFarber - 31 Mar 2009
I think you make some great points, and I tend to agree with your positions overall. I actually would prefer more anonymity with regard to most classes, as many professors now have the ability to partially increase or decrease grades based on their own evaluations of your in-class performance. Even this small amount incentivizes frequent but banal contributions in many classes, which have the effect of distracting the class while someone merely gets their daily word in.
I think this course is an exception to a general preference for anonymity, not just due to the individualized assessment, but because of the challenge Professor Moglen will issue to those on either side of an argument. One thing I realized quite quickly was that this was not a concept that he just paid lip service to, which I suspect is a unique characteristic among the classes we will end up taking here.
-- AaronShepard - 31 Mar 2009
To be taken with the seriousness that individualized criticism requires is, especially in this degree program, an invaluable and all-too-rare opportunity. I say to hell with the anonymous grading rule.
-- MichaelHolloway - 01 Apr 2009
Given Eben's assurances that nothing truly "bad" will come from disregarding this rule, I agree with Michael. This is my first opportunity for individualized feedback on my writing since my freshman year of college. I'd like to take advantage of it.
-- KeithEdelman - 01 Apr 2009
I'm with Keith and Michael on this. Although it is painful sometimes, I think the individually tailored feedback is really valuable. I don't think we should pass up another opportunity to get some.
-- PatrickCronin - 01 Apr 2009
I genuinely feel that I am at a point of actually developing in some way with/from this class. A lot of loose ends are coming together for me, and I hope that I can reflect that in another assignment. Additionally, let's not forget that Eben has offered to allow revisions up until the last point before his grades are due. It might be really interesting to see how themes continue to develop during our respective experiences in "the real world" this summer.
-- JonathanFriedman - 01 Apr 2009
[Alex is discussing the "Letter-not-the-spirit" option to grade the third paper anonymously, but all get the same grade] This basically alleviates any "stress" that comes with writing a good paper, which may or may not detract from the overall quality of the papers. But remember, that means that the grade an individual receives will be determined by everything NOT the final, which may not be good for those that want to demonstrate improvement, effort, and commitment with the final paper. [...] with anonymity, we have less stress, but less opportunity for learning, thinking, and/or demonstrating the three pillars of this class. With the other option, we actually have to work (and stress and edit), but we will have something to learn from/show for it, along with demonstrating our growth and development over the semester.
-- AlexHu - 01, 02 Apr 2009 | | | |
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