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154 - Building Thinking Classrooms Meets Alternative Grading - an Interview with Peter Liljedahl
Description
In this episode, Sharona and Boz sit down with renowned mathematics education researcher Peter Liljedahl to explore the often-overlooked connection between classroom pedagogy and grading practices. Best known for his influential work on Building Thinking Classrooms, Peter shares his own journey into alternative grading, from questioning traditional percentage-based systems to developing approaches that prioritize meaningful feedback, student growth, and competency development. The conversation examines why so many educators embrace active learning while leaving grading unchanged, the philosophical shift required to move from “point gathering” to “data gathering,” and why multiple opportunities to demonstrate learning are fundamentally different from traditional retesting.
Links
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- Building Thinking Classrooms (Website with Resources)
- Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics (the book), Peter Liljedahl
- 136 – Grading for Physicists, Not Point Collectors – with Chris Sarkonak
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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