From Grades to Growth: Student Agency, Reflection, and Civic Engagement
Presented by:
Lisa Pace Vetter, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
In my political theory courses, I’ve reimagined grading, not as a measure of worth, but as a dialogue about learning and civic engagement. The classroom becomes a space where theory meets lived experience. Students practice the sort of critical reflection, empathy, and moral reasoning that democratic citizenship requires.
Keywords:
Alternative Grading, Civic Engagement, Active Learning
Abstract:
In my classroom, ungrading is both a pedagogical strategy and a civic practice. Political theory, the discipline I teach, can feel irrelevant, unapproachable, and elitist. But ungrading helps make it meaningful, accessible—even democratic. Students engage theory not merely as passive recipients of ideas, but rather as active interpreters of political power, justice, and community. Recognizing that students have complex lives and diverse strengths, ungrading is grounded in compassion, accommodation, and flexibility. Ungrading is not about lowering standards. It is about raising self-awareness. Taking the initiative, students manage their own learning experience and practice the kind of deliberative judgment that democratic citizenship requires.
Outcomes:
1. Examine the theoretical and pedagogical alignment of ungrading as both a political theory teaching strategy and a civic practice.
2. Identify specific classroom practices (e.g., structured reflection, assessment methods) that promote student agency and self-awareness using the ungrading model.
3. Assess the potential of ungrading to help students cultivate the sort of deliberative judgment required for democratic citizenship.
Hear it from the author:
Transcript:
Hi. My name is Lisa Vetter, and the title of my poster presentation is “From Grades to Growth: Student Agency, Reflection, and Civic Engagement.” In my classroom, ungrading is both a pedagogical strategy and a civic practice. Political theory, the discipline I teach, can feel irrelevant, unapproachable, and elitist. But ungrading helps make it meaningful, accessible—even democratic. Students engage theory not merely as passive recipients of ideas, but rather as active interpreters of political power, justice, and community. Recognizing that students have complex lives and diverse strengths, ungrading is grounded in compassion, accommodation, and flexibility. Ungrading is not about lowering standards. It is about raising self-awareness. Taking the initiative, students manage their own learning experience and practice the kind of deliberative judgment that democratic citizenship requires. Thank you.
References:
Blum, S. D. (Ed.). (2020). Ungrading: Why rating students undermines learning (and what to do instead). WVU Press.
Clark, D., & Talbert, R. (2023). Grading for growth: A guide to alternative grading practices that promote authentic learning and student engagement in higher education. Routledge.
Kehlenbach, E. S. (2023). A Study of Ungrading in Upper-level Political Theory Courses. Journal Of Political Science Education 19(3), 397-407.
Stommel, J. (2023). Undoing the grade: Why we grade, and how to stop. Pressbooks.