Beyond Grading logo with photo of a 2018 participant gesturing with their hands and an image from Google DeepMind's project "Visualizing AI"

Beyond Grading

Beyond Grading is our symposium and strategy series on assessment for learning at McGill. By providing a platform for instructors to share and discuss their assessment strategies with each other, we aim to encourage effective, thoughtful, and creative assessment practices that put student learning first.

 

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Access resources related to assessment for learning.

Access resources

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Learn about the new Policy on Assessment for Student Learning (PASL) and find resources to help you prepare.

Learn about PASL

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Read blog articles about assessment for learning.

Read on

 


View highlights from past events

Beyond Grading 2023: Navigating new horizons in assessment

On December 7, 2023, we held a half-day in-person symposium to bring McGill instructors together and talk about top-of-mind issues related to assessment.

> View a gallery of images from the symposium.

Panel - Assessment and learning: Perspectives from two sides

Students with “dual roles” (as teaching assistants, student partners, etc.) discussed their thoughts on how assessments can help students learn.

four students sitting behind a table with a red McGill tablecloth. The fourth is speaking into a microphone."There’s nothing stopping you from telling students what a high-quality submission is – don’t hide the rubric!” – Katrina Poulin, graduate student, teaching assistant.

 

Panelists (left to right): Claudia Flynn, Rowina Debalkew, Catarina Rodrigues, Katrina Poulin. Participating remotely: Nathanael Rafinejad


Strategy exchange

Over 30 assessment strategies were shared by McGill instructors over three rounds. Download the program (PDF) to see a list of strategies and presenting instructors.

Coming soon: Access (audio and/or text) resources with a description and guidance for implementing the assessment strategy in your course.

two people presenting with a laptopFormative assessment of affective learning outcomes - Emily Sprowls, Stephanie Leite, Midhat Noor Kiyani, Faculty of Education

 

Photography by Genevieve Quinn.

Beyond Grading 2023: Assessment in the age of AI (online panel)

On November 22, 2023, we held a thought-provoking online panel discussion about the rapidly evolving world of generative AI, joined by panelists from across the McGill community who brought a diverse range of perspectives on these issues.

Panelists:

  • Dr. Emma Harden-Wolfson, Assistant Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE), Faculty of Education, and former Head of Research and Foresight at UNESCO IESALC
  • Serena Elzein, Co-VP for Community Engagement, McGill’s AI Society
  • Amanda Wheatley, Associate Librarian and Outreach and Engagement Coordinator for the McGill Libraries
  • Adam Finkelstein, Associate Director, Learning Environments, Teaching and Learning Services

> Watch the video.

> Access related resources.

2018: Effective assessment strategies for better learning

On December 7, 2018, we held a 1-day symposium where we engaged instructors in learning about creative and effective assessment strategies to help inform their teaching practices and improve students’ learning.

symposium participants sit around a table

> Download the 2018 symposium report.

> Read a summary blog article about the event.

> Find strategies presented at the 2018 symposium.

 


McGill University is on land which has served and continues to serve as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations. Teaching and Learning Services acknowledges and thanks the diverse Indigenous peoples whose footsteps mark this territory on which peoples of the world now gather. This land acknowledgement is shared as a starting point to provide context for further learning and action.

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