Reflection on Using Competency-Based Grading in Weather Technology

Over the years, my dissatisfaction with my students ability to reuse critical skills learned in a first year weather technology course in future coursework has grown. As a result, I was looking for new pedagogies to help students better master the important skills and improve their ability to use these skills beyond the confines of the one class. Through participation in a faculty learning community on alternative grading methods I learned about a myriad of different approaches to assessing student learning including mastery grading, competency-based grading, and specification grading. From there I was able to re-envision the semester long map journal assignment which had a primary learning objective of further developing and solidifying students ability to make and analyze synoptic-scale weather maps using computing technology. I implemented a competency-based grading scheme for the spring 2023 semester which assessed students on sixteen different maps and analyses that ultimately factored into half of their final semester grade. A brief overview of alternative grading schemes, the perceived benefits and challenges I encountered from using this alternative grading scheme, and my future plans for modification and inclusion throughout my other courses will be presented.