OPEN Math - Implementing Alternative Grading to Support Student Learning: A Guided Faculty Learning Community

Learning Community
Starting in August

Registration Fee

$50

Alternative Grading is an umbrella term referring to approaches to grading where grades support student learning by reflecting demonstrated student proficiency of course content through the alignment of assessments to course learning outcomes with a built-in process for learning through feedback. In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to redesign a course to use the principles of alternative grading by delving into the research supporting how students learn and how grades impact that learning, writing specific, assessable course outcomes, designing assessments and assessment practices to support student achievement of course outcomes, and developing the grading architecture that translates student achievement into final course grades. Alternative Grading as a philosophy enhances all forms of instruction from a traditional lecture style course to an inquiry-based, active learning course, from online to hybrid to in-person instruction, and regardless of course level (entry level, general education, undergraduate major courses, or even graduate courses).  

Workshop Format & Schedule

This is a Learning Community, meeting for regular, shorter sessions throughout the semester, where participants will implement pedagogical practices and return for feedback and support.

• Saturday, August 15, 2026 | 12:00 - 3:00 PM ET
• Saturday, August 22, 2026 | 12:00 - 3:00 PM ET
• Saturday, September 19, 2026 | 12:00 - 3:00 PM ET
• Saturday, October 3, 2026 | 12:00 - 3:00 PM ET
• Saturday, October 17, 2026 | 12:00 - 3:00 PM ET
• Saturday, November 7, 2026 | 12:00 - 3:00 PM ET
• Saturday, February 13, 2027 | 12:00 - 3:00 PM ET
• Saturday, March 13, 2027 | 12:00 - 3:00 PM ET
• Saturday, April 10, 2027 | 12:00 - 3:00 PM ET

Please note that as a federally funded program, MAA OPEN Math can only accept participants from the U.S. and its territories, and Canada.

Register by July 22, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET

This workshop is part of MAA OPEN Math, an NSF-funded grant project to learn more about effective practices in online professional development.

*Please note that registration will close and a waitlist will start to generate when a workshop has reached its capacity at 25 participants or when the deadline passes.

OPEN Math is a collaborative project between the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and the University of Colorado, Boulder (CU-B). The MAA is supported by National Science Foundation Award No. DUE - 2111260 and the University of Colorado, Boulder is supported by Award No. DUE-2111273. Any opinions, findings conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.