ERIC Number: EJ868246
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Dec
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0010-096X
EISSN: N/A
A Unilateral Grading Contract to Improve Learning and Teaching
Danielewicz, Jane; Elbow, Peter
College Composition and Communication, v61 n2 p244-268 Dec 2009
Contract grading has achieved some prominence in our field as a practice associated with critical pedagogy. In this context we describe a hybrid grading contract where students earn a course grade of B based not on our evaluation of their writing quality but solely on their completion of the specified activities. The contract lists activities we've found most reliable in producing B-quality writing over fourteen weeks. Higher grades are awarded to students who produce exemplary portfolios. Thus we freely give students lots of evaluative feedback on their writing, but students can count on a course grade of B if they do all the required activities--no matter our feedback. Our goal in using contracts is to enable teachers and students to give as much attention as possible to writing and as little as possible to grades. (Contains 17 notes.)
Descriptors: Feedback (Response), Critical Theory, Grading, Instructional Improvement, Student Evaluation, Evaluation Methods, Evaluation Criteria, Portfolio Assessment, Writing (Composition), Writing Instruction, College Instruction, Educational Philosophy, Writing Teachers, Writing Achievement, Writing Assignments, Performance Contracts, Motivation Techniques, Instructional Effectiveness
National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Massachusetts; North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A