In helping teachers and instructors start their ungrading journey, one of the questions I’m consistently asked is “Where do I start?” To be sure, there are a lot of resources out there to help: books, articles, podcasts, and more. But, admittedly, finding—and making sense of—all of these resources can be quite an overwhelming task. For this reason, I’ve compiled many of those valuable ungrading resources into this “Ungrading Toolkit.”
Other educators have done something similar—see Asao Inoue’s wonderful collection of resources on labor-based grading on his website and David Buck’s fantastic ungrading resources on his website—but I think this resource page offers something new in the way it’s organized. (The organizational structure of this toolkit was inspired by Ungrading, a book I highly recommend for any educator wanting to learn more about ungrading!). This toolkit is sectioned into four parts.
Part 1 starts with the “Why” of ungrading. Why should teachers and instructors move away from traditional grading practices? The linked articles, books, podcasts, and videos—from people in various disciplines—serve as powerful evidence as to why grades are harmful to students, both pedagogically and from an equity standpoint.
Part 2 provides quick descriptions of different ungrading methods and examples from various teachers and instructors. If you want to see how others have ungraded in their classrooms, there are many resources here to check out.
Part 3 provides reflections from educators on their experiences with ungrading.
Part 4 provides resources and activities specifically for students. If you’d like to introduce ungrading to students, these resources might help out.
(Note: you can navigate to the four different pages by following the links above or by utilizing the drop-down menu.)
Anthony Lince 