Participation Grades

I’ve tried to use participation grades and I’m thinking the time has come to ditch them and simply leave it up to the student to learn as they learn best. Students are different, and learn differently.

Then again, if participation grades penalize the silent contemplative learner, removing them could be interpreted as penalizing those students who create vibrant class discussions that everyone benefits from, but do less well in other aspects of coursework.

Here are two other blogs presenting arguments against participation grades.

In the past I’ve also tried offering “alternative” forms of participation to count towards this part of the grade, such as posting on a discussion board.

What do others think? I’m interested in hearing from students and professors. In your experience, does a participation grade actually help ensure that classroom discussion occurs?