John Wallace: Okay, so this short orientation video is about how I determine the final grades and it has two topics. One is the portfolio GRADE system that I use and the second is how I assess your progress in the class.
John Wallace: Okay, so first the, the great portfolio system. I started using about three years ago. And this is a portfolio of all of your work done in the class.
John Wallace: Which is then then receives three grades to it which depending on the class have a slightly different ratio to one another, those three components are the engagement grade the knowledge grade and skills. Great.
John Wallace: The idea here is that some learning objectives in a class have to do with the acquiring of knowledge, what, you know, by the end of the class. That's the knowledge component
John Wallace: Some aspects of the class, have to do with the acquiring of a skill, what you are able to do by the end of the class that is the skills component
John Wallace: And then the engagement element, which I'll talk about in a separate video has to do with the energy and curiosity and your how much you bring to the class to learn that material.
John Wallace: So I use all of the different assignments and your presence in your comments and your attendance patterns and all of that.
John Wallace: To determine each one of these grades, which means that an assignment might be used for all three because these grades might be is for only one of them.
John Wallace: Or might not be used at all. If I determine at the end of the semester that it's not a good assessment of your progress towards the stated learning objectives.
John Wallace: So given that, that I we don't do a point system and you can't tell based on some sort of report on the course where you stand grade wise in a class.
John Wallace: I tried to give a midterm assessment for those people who are interested in it and I'm always happy to talk with you about your grade.
John Wallace: You should know though that with the system. A lot of the decisions are made towards the end. So if you need to know what your grade might be to decide whether or not to go pass or not pass
John Wallace: You can talk with me and I will be able to give you a sense for that, but I will not be able to give you an exact answer to what your final grade might be
John Wallace: So that's number one. The this great portfolio system is different than what you might have in many of your classes and it's
John Wallace: quite accurate in my opinion of what you're really doing in the class, and it takes the emphasis off of specific assessment events like midterms or tests final exams. That's number one. Number two is that
John Wallace: For zoom classes I've done a couple of things. And this is how I'm going to be running soon. My sim classes this fall.
John Wallace: Some of this was tested in the spring. Some of it was tested during my summer class so
John Wallace: There's two aspects to this. The first one is I have simplified my learning objectives. I've asked myself what what are the essentials, given the disruption that we're working with.
John Wallace: What is it that I really want to be able to teach. And have you learned. And so that has
John Wallace: reduced the amount of material that I expect you to learn or learn how to work with. And it's given some very targeted rather shortlist types of learning objectives.
John Wallace: I think, given our environment that is not very stable right now in our learning situations which are not equal amongst students
John Wallace: I have personally decided it is better to dial back some and aim for the core material and try to teach that. Well, rather than a spread out across a variety of things that has also affected how I do assessments, so
John Wallace: Because I
John Wallace: Unfortunately, often get essays that were not written by the students who are enrolled in the class. And because it's difficult to proctor tests right now in a zoom environment.
John Wallace: I have switched to an entirely in person grading system. So basically what you'll be doing through a semester is attending class participating in the exercises communicating with me.
John Wallace: Submitting material assignments along the way, which some of those gate grades on them. But essentially, we come to a point in time where I will be sitting down with you.
John Wallace: And talking with you on a one on one basis through an interview about the material you were to have learned up to that point.
John Wallace: And that one on one discussion will help me determine how well you have learned the material in some of my classes I'm doing that twice for a midterm and for final in other classes I'm doing it only for the final
John Wallace: What this approach does
John Wallace: It, it's, it's very good for getting to know whether or not you know the material, but it does
John Wallace: Take a while because I have a lot of students. I mean, for this type of system. I have a lot of students. So if there's 30 of you. It can take four or five or six days to
John Wallace: Talk with each of you. So I have moved all of that up to begin towards the end of the semester. And to finish during our week and we don't have finals during finals week
John Wallace: I feel that it's unfair for some students to have to do that sort of one on one assessment during finals where others are able to do it during the regular session or during our week where, in both cases, they have
John Wallace: Their schedules might be less less cluttered with other tests. So in light of fairness. I tried to wrap everything up by are we
John Wallace: What that also does, however, is that I don't know how many students will be in the class. I don't know how many days I need for assessment.
John Wallace: So in some of my classes the schedule is fixed now in other my classes the schedule will be fixed. After the first couple of weeks of class when I really know what the enrollment because. So in review.
John Wallace: The I use a great portfolio system with three components and engagement grade acknowledge grade and skills grade.
John Wallace: And I have adjusted my learning goals have simplified them, given the disruptive environment within which we're working right now and I have decided that one of the best assessment tools is to talk directly to you about the material. It's not the only thing that I use, but it is
John Wallace: A
John Wallace: Important element. I wouldn't say it's key. I just say it's an important element in the grading process. I could add to this at the end that really
John Wallace: The best way to score well in my classes is to do the assigned reading or viewing and attend class regularly and make your best effort to learn when you do those things you position yourself very strongly for a very good, very in the class.