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Where the most Inspired Musicians
become the most Inspiring Music Teachers

Beyond Measure: UnGrading Your Music Classroom

Date

February 10-May 2, 2025

Course Code

7305A

Credits

3

Tuition

Course Description

Our traditional system of grading in education is fraught with bias and leans heavily on extrinsic motivation tactics. Traditional grading is usually light on description and heavy on comparison. Rarely does a single letter or number convey the complexities that it is meant to summarize. Our traditional use and understanding of assessment and grading in education need to shift from comparisons & labels to self-assessment & growth.

This course will examine the use, and purpose of assessment and grading. We will look at research and reflect on our own methodologies thinking deeply about equity, effectiveness, and our own grading practices. We will imagine and construct new assessment methods that serve the most important people in the room – the students. Please join us for a course that will dismantle some historically bad practices regarding grading and replace them with equitable ideas that will transform not only the way you teach but also the relationships you have with your students.

Instructor

Chris Gleason

Chris Gleason is the Art and Creativity Consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. He recently concluded twenty-five years as an instrumental music educator in East Troy, LaCrosse, and most recently Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. He is the 2017 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year, 2017 and 2022 semi-finalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator Award and the first Wisconsin teacher to be named a finalist for National Teacher of the Year in 50 years. He was recently selected as one of five educators for the prestigious 2022 Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence by the NEA Foundation as well as a Top 50 Finalist for the 2021 Global Teacher Prize sponsored by the Varkey Foundation and UNESCO. Mr. Gleason was selected from 8,000 nominations from 121 countries around the world. He was recently honored with the Wisconsin Badger’s Outstanding Educators Award and the Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award from his alma mater, UW-Eau Claire where he earned his BME degree in 1997. Gleason earned his Masters Degree from UW-LaCrosse in 2002 and is a Conn-Selmer Education Clinician.

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3140 South Federal Street
Chicago, IL 60616-3731
(312) 225-6288

The mission of VanderCook College of Music is to enrich the lives of present and future generations by developing uniquely skilled music teachers who exhibit strong character, professionalism, and a commitment to excellence.

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