The Grading Podcast 116 - Growing Student Autonomy and Agency (Without Driving Yourself Crazy!)
What happens when we give students meaningful choices in their learning? In this episode, Sharona and Boz dive deep into the role of student choice, autonomy, and agency in both K–12 and higher education classrooms.
They start with a simple question: if nearly every school and district mission statement includes “lifelong learners,” how do our grading practices actually support—or undermine—that goal? From there, they explore how alternative grading practices can not only give students more options but also build genuine agency that empowers learners to set goals, take action, and connect their education to their lives.
Key Topics Covered:
- The difference between choice, autonomy, and agency—and why it matters.
- Real classroom examples, from multiple-choice homework sets to open-ended calculus projects.
- Research highlights, including a Science Advances study on how giving students control over attendance and homework increased their engagement and persistence.
- Why students often choose harder work (and stick with it!) when the choice is theirs.
- How alternative grading systems like Triple P (Preparation, Participation, Practice), contract grading, and ungrading create space for authentic student agency.
- The role of AI and efficient tools in helping instructors offer tailored pathways without burning out.
- Practical strategies for weaving agency directly into learning outcomes.
Takeaway:
Student choice alone isn’t enough. To truly prepare learners for life beyond the classroom, we need to design systems that move from choice → autonomy → agency, and grading reform is a powerful way to get there.
Links
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- Choosing to Learn: The Importance of Student Autonomy in Higher Education – Science Advances
- Measuring Student Success Skills: A Review of the Literature on Student Agency – Center for Assessment (see especially pp. 16–17)
Resources
The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.
The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.
Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:
Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:
- Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
- Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
- Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel
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Music
Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.