Specifications grading is a system of student assessment described by Linda Nilson in her newest book, “Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time”. In specs grading, assessments are aligned with learning outcomes and implemented using bundles of assignments that are graded pass/fail, and students choose the grade they wish to attain and select the bundles accordingly. For more background, see the links at the end of this post.
In this hangout, +Theron Hitchman of the University of Northern Iowa and I will be talking specs grading and its potential use in university mathematics courses. TJ and I just finished reading the book and so we are not experts in this — the discussion is for hammering out thoughts and airing out ideas. Hope to see you there.
In case it’s not clear, the hangout is on Thursday, December 4 at 3pm Eastern.
More background:
+ Article on specs grading: https://www.utimes.pitt.edu/?p=30598
+ Interview with Linda Nilson: https://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/2014/11/25/41-interview-linda-nilson/
+ Link to her book: https://amzn.com/1620362422
Covers the building of a simple model of a 3-span slab bridge with twin deep ribs, using shell and beam elements and constraint equations to tie the surfaces and beams together to ensure composite action. Tendon profiles are defined and assigned to the model, requiring specification of tendon properties, prestress force and jacking details, and selection of the lines of the model to which they apply. The deformed shape from self-weight and prestress loading is viewed for each in isolation, prior to looking at the effects of both in a load combination. For better quality video playback visit www.lusas.com