This document describes a formal method for assigning grades to students based on their engagement with the academic studio model.
This document assumes that students are enrolled in a 3 credit-hour course over a 15-week semester, which, according to federal student aid law, should equate to nine effort-hours per week. If these do not match your situation, adjust the metrics appropriately.
This document also assumes that students are acting in good faith.
Students track their time that they commit to the project. Most of these hours will be during scheduled studio meetings, which should simplify record-keeping.
At the end of an iteration, each student provides a three-part report on their commitments and contributions during the sprint. Two parts of this end-of-iteration report are the same for all students.
The third part is different depending on whether a student facilitated the retrospective meeting. The student who facilitates the meeting may submit the retrospective report.
Other students submit a portfolio piece and reflection. The portfolio piece is an artifact that you created during the sprint that manifests your contribution. Examples include artwork, audio, documentation, paper prototypes, and source code. The reflection is an essay that contextualizes the piece, emphasizing how this work affected your team. Note that I use “essay” in the classical sense: an essay is an attempt to understand, and hence, it must be clear and it must support its argument with theory and evidence. Put another way, the writing the reflection essay is training for reflective practice, for lifetime learning, and for presenting your work to potential employers. As such, it also provides the instructor with assessment material that is required for a Tier 3 UCC course.