Embracing the Messiness: Lessons from a 21st Century Classroom





Trust your students





De-stigmatize failure


Peer models


Students as co-teachers




4 thoughts on “Embracing the Messiness: Lessons from a 21st Century Classroom”

    1. Sure, Monica. Contract grading basically entails creating a set of criteria for each possible grade. Obviously, to earn an A requires more work than a B, etc.. At the beginning of the term, you give the students the contract that outlines each possible grade and its criteria. They decide which grade they want to contract for and sign the contract, stipulating that they understand the criteria required for that grade. I also include a clause that states that if they fail to meet the criteria for the grade for which they contracted, they understand that they will receive a lower grade, depending on which criteria they meet. Students can, of course, earn a higher grade if they meet the criteria. I wrote a post about various grading methods that includes a section on contract grading and how I use it; it may help clarify the idea if my explanation here doesn’t. The link is https://remixingcollegeenglish.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/hacking-assessment-redesigning-the-numbers-game/.

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