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Dan Goodman (neuralreckoning@neuromatch.social)'s status on Tuesday, 06-May-2025 22:18:53 JST Dan Goodman
- Dan Dean
@dandean same thing but for universities and grades.

In conversation about a month ago from neuromatch.social permalink
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  Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Tuesday, 06-May-2025 22:18:52 JST Paul Cantrell
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  - Dan Dean
  @neuralreckoning @dandean
  An analogy I use with my students: the point of weightlifting is not to move a weight from point A to point B. The point is not that nobody has done it before. The point is •you• doing it. If you got a robot to lift weights up and down for you, would you expect to get any stronger?
  It’s like that with class too: I’m asking you to do things that thousands of people before you have also done because the experience of doing them builds strength. And the strength is the only thing you’ll take away from the class that matters in the long term.
  
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  Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 07-May-2025 02:36:32 JST Paul Cantrell
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  - Dan Dean
  - meejah
  @meejah @neuralreckoning @dandean
  A systemic necessity that I’d abolish if I could.
  
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  meejah (meejah@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 07-May-2025 02:36:33 JST meejah
  in reply to
  - Paul Cantrell
  - Dan Dean
  @neuralreckoning
  What is your opinion on grading?
  @inthehands @dandean
  
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  Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 07-May-2025 03:04:39 JST Paul Cantrell
  in reply to
  - Dan Dean
  - meejah
  @meejah @neuralreckoning @dandean
  More here & upthread:
  https://hachyderm.io/@inthehands/111777992611351215
  Also here:
  https://hachyderm.io/@inthehands/113680656045905540
  In conversation about a month ago permalink
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    Paul Cantrell (@inthehands@hachyderm.io)
    
    from Paul Cantrell
    
    My own view — which you’re probably picking up by now — is that nothing I do as a teacher has a lower value-to-cost ratio than assigning grades. Grades are embedded in our institutions in ways that make them hard to just wish away. They do serve some purposes, but we should view them as almost pure cost, a harmful stopgap, a problem to be mitigated, not a virtue to be elevated and defended. (I have a much longer screed on this, which I’ll post once I finally get my blog up and running.) /end
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    Paul Cantrell (@inthehands@hachyderm.io)
    
    from Paul Cantrell
    
    Once again used a form of ungrading for an upper-level (ie mostly juniors & seniors) course. There are some big trade-offs, but once again, in the final tally, it's just a whole lot better for them and me: less stress for all of us, less work for all of us, and…I don't know if they learned •more• than they would have if it were traditionally graded, but dammit, I really think they learned •better• and •healthier•.

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