Grading systems are remarkably resistant to rethinking given the vast infrastructure built up around our commonly-accepted approaches to grading. Barry Fishman recounts some of his encounters with both the institutional infrastructure, explaining how systemic inertia makes it difficult to give up the current system.

As a biology professor who has gone gradeless in favor of a labor-based approach, Greg Pask has moved away from exams entirely. Whether at the introductory or 300 level, he has found that tests don’t support the goals for his classroom. Greg describes the three major problems with closed-note timed exams, and explores alternative approaches that address these specific shortcomings.

How can we make classrooms more inclusive, engaging, exciting, relevant, and welcoming spaces for learning? Political science professor, Liz Norell, shows how, by embracing pedagogies of equity and care, we can create environments in which all students can flourish.

This episode is the continuation of my conversation with college educators Maha Bali, Jesse Stommel, and Asao B. Inoue about the impact and implications of COVID-19 on college education.

Arthur Chiaravalli interviews Maha Bali, Jesse Stommel, and Asao B. Inoue on COVID-19 implications for the future of college and how we can put access and equity at the center of plans to resume.