Student-Centered Education, Self-Evaluation

An educator calls for a new, student-centered education model, and a professor’s experiment involving students in their own grading process yields surprising results.

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Making the Grade
In response to a question about making grading collaborative, Cate Denial decided to craft a process that includes student self-evaluations and individual conferences during which she and the student agree upon a grade. In the process, she found that grading can indeed be fun and collaborative. (Cate Denial)

A Newer Education for Our Era
Cathy Davidson calls for a “new education” model in which faculty and administrators promote student-centered learning over credential-centered learning. Among several examples, she points to Michael Wesch, who tasks students with creating educational video games to help people consider end-of-life decisions. (The Chronicle of Higher Education — Paywall)

So We Went to Prison…
Teaching in prison instilled in Katie Owens-Murphy, Christopher W. Purser, and Yaschica Williams lessons they took back to their university. They learned, for example, that small discussion groups foster stronger collaboration. They also discovered that inmates bring perspectives that aren’t always represented in academic settings. (Vitae)

Taking on the Teaching Free-for-All in Higher Education
It’s time to place the student experience at the center of higher education, Oldrich Bubak writes, arguing that there should be clear learning outcomes for students and that teacher preparation should include a set of standards for effective instruction. (University Affairs)

7 Key Ways to Make Student Mentoring Matter
According to Laura Behling, Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Paul Miller, and W. Brad Johnson, faculty-student mentoring relies on quality relationships that endure over time. The scholars outline strategies for institutions to promote mentoring, such as defining what good mentoring looks like, offering faculty continual training opportunities, and rewarding positive outcomes. (Inside Higher Ed)