Labor-Based Grading Contracts for Anti-Racist Writing Assessment

http://tinyurl.com/uoantiracist A Social Justice Framework for Anti-Racist Writing Assessment: Labor-Based Grading Contracts October 27, 2017 Asao B. Inoue Director of University Writing & Writing Center Professor of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences University of Washington Tacoma asao@uw.edu Twitter: @AsaoBInoue

overview Classroom Activity that Introduces Labor-Based Grading Contracts Debriefing Discussion and Other Course Materials Introduce and Discuss: Dimension-Based Rubrics White Habits of Discourse

Introductory Negotiation Class Activity (Lets Pretend to be a Class) First week of class Students have already read once (at home) the contract This is our first official time on our contract, usually day 1 or 2 of the quarter

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The Basics of Our Labor-Based Grading Contract

Lets Read the Contract Together As we read the first two pages of the contract together, underlinethe most important words, phrases, and ideas that you hear or see in the contract. To help you, we ll pause a few times to gather ideas about what we just read. Our Goal: after we finish reading, I m going to ask you to explain the main philosophy of the contract and what changes you think it will mean to how you approach our course and your work in it.

Thinking About the Grading Contract 5 mins How would you describe in your own words the philosophy of our grading contract? How does it calculate course grades? Why does it do it that way? What changes in how you approach our class and its work do you think you ll need to make as a student? How will you succeed in this class as a writer?

Group Discussions Group Documents (to record lists) - - - - - - - - Amber Amethyst Citrine Hematite Jade Moonstone Obsidian Quartz 20 mins In groups, discuss what you wrote and as a group come up with two lists: List 1: a collection of ideas, claims, assumptions, statements that explain the core elements of the contract s philosophy and assumptions about learning and grades. List 2: a list of questions that are still unresolved or that you would like us to discuss as class. We ll share these ideas together and discuss them.

More Thinking on the Contract 5 mins As a student, what do you think the most important benefits are to our contract? What are your biggest concerns about it or its drawbacks?

Presentation: http://tinyurl.com/uoantiracist Debrief: Grading Contract Materials and Dimension-Based Rubrics Two ways labor-based grading contracts create more inclusive writing intensive classrooms: Reduce dramatically unequal racialized power dynamics in the way locally diverse students writing is judged by teachers. These power dynamics move through a dominant, white, middle class discourse that is informed by a white racial habitus, or a dominant whitely Discourse. Eliminate standards-based grades on writing (or grades based on comparisons to a dominant white Discourse) by replacing them with labor-based grading. Handout: http://tinyurl.com/uoantiracisthandout Labor-based Grading Contract Template Labor Log for Students Labor Journal (one entry a week) Charter for Compassion Dimension-Based Rubrics (pg. 2 of handout)

http://tinyurl.com/habitsofwhitediscourse Labor-Based Grading Contracts Create Ideal Conditions for More Socially Just Assessment to Occur A gradeless assessment ecology offers opportunities that avoid most of the typical power dynamics that are reinforced by a teacher s grading, and get in the way of antiracist and other social justice assessment work. Question the nature of judgments of writing/texts By Colleagues in their feedback on drafts By Teacher in their feedback and evaluations on drafts Interrogate students and teacher s racialized habitus through their judgements of writing Interrogate the dominant Discourse (a white racial Discourse) in the classroom s expectations -- students can pose authentic problems about the habits of white Discourse often expected of them (and used to judge their writing)

Labor-Based Contract Grading Ecologies Turn Inquiries about Language and Judgement Toward Readers Conventional Writing Assessment Antiracist Writing Assessment How well did this student do in this literacy task? What do I see and hear this student doing? What did the student do well (or poorly) in this paper? What do I think this paper is doing? How effective is this student s writing? How effective do I think this student s writing is? object of the assessment = student writer (other) What do I think the student is trying to do?