Ahead of today's #ungrading chat, a reflection on what we discussed in class yesterday.
My finally grades are, officially, assigned using a specs grading rubric: students show mastery on a set of assignment types I decided would show learning of the course objectives.

A couple of students have gotten excited about tasks that don't fit my neat scheme, learning deeply on skills and topics I hadn't planned for, but that are absolutely within our goals for the course.

One of these students actually expressed regret that they had 'wasted' so much time - but this student has so clearly learned amazing things!
So I offered up to the whole class: you're free to propose a different final grade if you think you've earned it.

You need to talk with me about your plan. And I'll likely have you write a justification of why you deserve that grade, based on evidence that you learned. But if you went off on a tangent that had you learning things I didn't expect? Totally a reason to earn a grade. #ungrading