Walsh SoTLGrant 2012-13: Matt Siniawski and John Dionisio
Matt Siniawski, Mechanical Engineering
John Dionisio, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Design and Pedagogical Value of a Standards-based Grading System for Undergraduate STEM Education
A standards-based grading approach involves directly assessing students’ development towards achieving well-defined course objectives and providing them with meaningful feedback regarding their learning and progress. Standards-based grading was first developed during the 1990s for K-12 education and to date has yet to be studied for undergraduate education. We are interested in understanding how a standards-based grading system and the feedback it provides can be used to improve undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) student learning. A standards-based grading system was developed and first deployed in an undergraduate engineering course in Mechanics of Materials at LMU during the spring semester of 2011. The system has since been modified and deployed in a variety of other undergraduate STEM courses at LMU.
The goal of this educational research effort is to design and assess the pedagogical value of a standards-based grading system for undergraduate STEM education to learn how it impacts student cognitive and affective behaviors.