Class Metadata

Course: English 101

Course Theme: Introduction to Composition

Teacher-Designer: Katherine Burns (Whatcom Community College)

Course Timeline: Quarter

Introduction to Course

English 101 is an introductory composition course that is required of all college and university students in Washington State. In this course, students use rhetorical knowledge to analyze contexts and audiences to compose texts, think critically about texts, use multiple composing processes to conceptualize, develop and finalize writing projects, analyze the formal rules and informal guidelines that define genres, identify information needs and locate and critically evaluate information sources and analyze and explain how their experience with and understanding of composing has
developed and will continue to develop (based on Whatcom Community College’s Learning Outcomes).

In Katherine’s English 101 course, students explore rhetorical elements, situations and choices as they examine how to develop ideas for writing that stem from their own lived experiences as well how language, identity and power intersect within white supremacist standards and ideals. Students write a scholarly personal narrative, a persuasive letter, speech or essay and a theory of writing over the course of a twelve week term. The focus of this composition course is on gaining agency as writers.

Assessment Approach Narrative

Our current grading system is deeply flawed. Rather than students and teachers collaborating to create a meaningful learning environment, we focus on grades. Sadly, those grades don’t always reflect a meaningful demonstration of knowledge. Grades can feel arbitrary, random or, at worst, harrowing. Furthermore, traditional assessment methods are often steeped in racist bias and judgment. I don’t want that for students. (I honestly don’t want that for me either.) I want students to write for feedback, for developing ideas and for expressing their voice in ways that are relevant, important and authentic to their lives and experiences. Using a labor based grading system allows students and teacher to enter into a relationship as co-conspirators and writing rebels. Shifting away from traditional assessment methods means we have the opportunity to take risks and to become better writers, and it allows us to focus on responsibilities and growth rather than on unattainable or subjective standards.

After studying Asao Inoue’s labor based grading contracts, I developed a version of labor based grading called Grade Bundles. I present the bundles to the class on Day One of each term, we discuss what might need recalibration or evolution and revise accordingly. The focus then becomes writing to grow, writing to evolve and writing to connect. Instead of chasing grades, students seek out feedback and feel more at ease stretching their edge as writers. As we navigate the term, I expect students to use these Grade Bundles to develop their own self-assessment skills. It’s important that students examine their own work as a writer and thinker rather than solely relying on teacher approval. As Inoue urges his own students, “I want you to learn to rely on your own judgment of what good writing is, and how to detect it.” As Inoue states, “We will try to create a culture of support: a culture where we all function as allies… rather than adversaries working against each other for grades or approval by teachers.” Labor based grading, particularly grade bundles, aid us in searching for methods, ideas and practices that work for individual students in regard to writing and learning. It also makes exploring and interrogating the standards that exist in academia and the professional realm more readily.

Finally, this grading system stems from antiracist research, teaching and practice. It is, at its core, rooted in love. This is about love of exploration, love of failing forward, love of learning and love of community. Students don’t have to love writing or school to get something out of this; this assessment method means that our class can be about meeting one another where we are and finding ways to grow and evolve as thinkers and writers. This is good, hard work.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

My teaching and assessment are rooted in love – as a way to decolonize systems that divide, belittle, negate, erase and harm us; as a path to connection – with ourselves and others; as a disruptor, agitator and fertilizer; as a way to heal the wounds of  previous classrooms, communities and systems; as a way to celebrate the audacious power and beauty of language.

My teaching and assessment are rooted in collaboration, connection and community.  Learning, growing and writing are not accomplished in isolation. These are collective ventures; the more we connect, collaborate and embrace our community, the more we grow and evolve.

My teaching and assessment are rooted in stretching our edge. My role is to help create a space with students in which they can stretch their edge bravely. (Sometimes this is comfortable; sometimes this is uncomfortable.)  My role is to also model that stretching through my own curiosity, creation and humility.

My teaching and assessment are rooted in healing. Many students have been told they’re not capable and they don’t matter. They’ve been taught to mimic and parrot what they believe a teacher (or system) wants. They’ve been asked to erase and  negate themselves in favor of  white, heteronormative, colonizing standards. Through inquiry, discussion and writing, we will work together to redefine and reclaim scholarship, writing and excellence.

My teaching and assessment are rooted in empowerment. I want to embolden students to assess their own labor and progress. Students will actively engage with the evolution of their own writing through thinking, talking, writing, revising and assessing. When a student leaves our class understanding what they think about their writing just as much as they understand what I think about their writing, we have accomplished something great.

Links to Course Materials

• Grade Bundles  – This is the document I give students on Day One of our term. We read through this collaboratively, discuss the details and hold a discussion about student concerns and questions. Students also complete the commitments portion of this document, and we revisit (and often revise) those commitments throughout the term.
• My Guiding Principles – I share this document (seen above) at the end of Week One or the beginning of Week Two as a way to further explore and explain our grading system. Students then develop their own set of guiding principles that we revisit throughout the term – some are specific to writing and some are more generalized.
• Grade Bundle Video – This is the video I post in our Canvas Shell for English 101.

Instructor Reflection

It’s taken me several years to refine this version of antiracist assessment. Grade Bundles work for me and my students as they are incredibly clear and collaborative, and we can work together to revise or shift assessment methods or requirements if necessary. They leave room for humanity, but they also help us develop and maintain healthy challenges. What I have found is that students feel far more freedom to write what they want to write about with this assessment model. They know with certainty that my bias has been removed from the grading process. If we disagree, it’s okay. We’ll have a healthy debate about ideas and focus on the rhetorical choices each writers has to make. But their grade will not suffer. I’ve also found that students, especially bilingual students, are more likely to integrate their language and culture into their writing as they know that we aren’t grading based on the rules of SAE or white language supremacy. Again, we talk about audience awareness, voice, tone and diction and whether or not they want to use SAE, BAE or any dialect they choose. But no matter what they decide as conscious writers, their grade will not suffer.

Does this mean that everyone walks away from this course with an A? Does this mean there is no “true rigor” in the classroom? No. And no.  What I’ve found is that students and I have had the most robust conversations about language, power, identity and rhetorical choices in my career since I’ve switched to antiracist assessment, namely Grade Bundles. Students are working harder than they did when I used traditional grading methods and are embracing risk taking as writers and scholar; students are ready for this.

For grades bundles (or any kind of labor based grading), my two cents is that teachers need to make it what they need it to be. And ask for feedback from students. I regularly ask students to help me review the labor required in my grade bundles, and I check in frequently to make sure they are clear about what is expected and, most importantly, what is possible.

Finally, I thought antiracist assessment would mean more work for me as the teacher. While the initial dreaming phase and set up of this shift was time consuming, it was also incredibly satisfying and inspiring work. (My best advice is to do this collaboratively with your colleagues and students. This is work to be shared and mulled over in community.) Once implemented, I have found Grade Bundles to have lightened my load as a teacher. My focus now is on productive and dialogic feedback with students. We communicate back and forth about student writing, and I no longer feel obligated to defend my assessment. I no longer waste my time tallying points (or taking away points) for the silly stuff (see grammar). Instead, I get to engage with students about ideas, choices and the rhetorical situation. And when a student is unable to do the work required for a specific grade bundles, we have options to explore with the other bundles. There is a pathway to skill building and completion that is both clear and accessible. In short, these Grade Bundles have been fruitful, collaborative and celebratory.

Please feel free to use anything you see here that feels helpful. And please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions: kburns@whatcom.edu.