An Autoethnographic Exploration of Ungrading and Faculty Motivation Off the Tenure Track

• In Event: Course Grade Policies: What are the Consequences for Motivation, Achievement, and Equity?

Abstract

Purpose
Carrying a teaching philosophy that learning is a process, not product, I have increased pedagogical tensions assigning points to students’ assignments. While holding non-tenure track appointments where student evaluations are strongly considered for contract renewal, I have held pervasive anxieties about grades. To align my views on teaching’s purpose with my practices and to reduce stress felt both by me and students, I implemented ungrading into my courses. I wondered how my motivations for course practices (grading, student support) may have been impacted.

Framework
With ungrading, instructors do not report grades on individual assignments, instead allowing students to decide (individually or with the instructor) their final grade (Blum, 2020). Ungrading promotes positive student outcomes, including self-regulated learning and motivation (e.g., Guberman, 2021; Schinske & Tanner, 2014; Tannock, 2017). Ungrading may also improve relationships between students and teachers (Normann, 2023; O’Connor & Lessing, 2017). Instructors care deeply about accuracy and fairness in grading, facing tensions in balancing judgments of accomplishment and effort when recognizing how students’ futures and self-efficacy may be impacted (Sun & Cheng, 2013). Teachers worry about how their grading practices may impact course evaluations (Brookhart et al., 2016). Less often considered is how grading practices may impact instructors’ motivations in teaching.

Method
Autoethnography, an autobiographical form, was most appropriate to analyze my experience with ungrading to understand the cultural experience of navigating academia off the tenure track (Adams et al., 2017; Ellis et al., 2011). Data sources included course artifacts (syllabi, assignment descriptions, student evaluations) and memos kept during the semester. Analysis included inductive coding of the data to identify meaningful patterns. These were presented to and corroborated through friends/colleagues part of my community-of-practice (Anderson, 2006; McIlveen, 2007). Data collection occurred during two semesters at different universities (visiting professor at a SLAC and later a teaching faculty at an R1). At both, I integrated ungrading into an undergraduate research-focused elective where students learned content knowledge while carrying out individual research projects.

Findings
I consider three areas of teaching and associated motivations. When providing feedback on assignments, I noted a shift toward mastery-focused evaluations. I built my understanding of substantial areas for improvement as opposed to lingering on deducting points. While interacting with students, I reported increased feelings of relationality/connection with students. This was salient in individual conversations where we improved their work together rather than debated grades. I felt increased competence reading student evaluations. As my ungrading practices required frequent check-ins surrounding students’ progress and course experiences, the evaluations were not surprising and were constructive. Across these three areas, the most notable pattern was an increase in self-efficacy. I did not second guess myself and reduced my grading time, was more confident in supporting students, and experienced reduced anxiety reading evaluations.

Significance
For non-tenure track faculty whose teaching is weighed heavily, my experiences suggest ungrading can improve their self-efficacy. This motivational shift could have implications for remaining resilient in the face of tenuous employment and may translate to more effective self-advocacy in merit, renewal, or promotion reviews.

Author

• Allison Zengilowski, Lehigh University