163 - Can Alternative Grading Work with 300 Students? An Interview with Jordan Kostiuk

What does alternative grading look like when your class has 300 students—and what happens when generative AI forces you to rethink a system that had been working? In this episode, Sharona and Boz are joined by Jordan Kostiuk, Associate Teaching Professor of Mathematics at Brown University, to talk about his use of team-based inquiry learning and mastery-based grading in a large, coordinated linear algebra course. Jordan shares how a course organized around six sections, a team of graduate students, postdocs, and undergraduate TAs, and structured opportunities to demonstrate fluency made alternative grading possible at a scale that can seem daunting. The conversation also explores Jordan’s newest course redesign, prompted in part by the changing AI landscape, including moving fluency assessments back into a synchronous environment while introducing a portfolio designed to capture problem solving, mathematical communication, feedback, revision, and reflection.

Links

Please note - any books linked here are likely Amazon Associates links. Clicking on them and purchasing through them helps support the show. Thanks for your support!

Jordan Kostiuk's WebsiteTeam-Based Inquiry LearningHumanizing Linear Algebra at Scale with Team-Based Inquiry Learning, by Jordan Kostiuk (paywall)

Resources

The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.

The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.

Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:

The Grading for Growth BlogThe Grading ConferenceThe Intentional Academia Blog

Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:

Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David ClarkSpecifications Grading, by Linda NilsenUndoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel

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