iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

“The honest work of education was helping students see that most of education isn’t honest work. And then helping them to thrive regardless.” ~ Sean Michael Morris www.seanmichaelmorris.com/my-selfie-wi...

seanmichaelmorris.com

My Selfie with Paulo Freire; or, Honest Work

Education spins on the axis of reputation which spins on the axis of influence...so much so that the desire to simply help people learn can get very, very lost in the mix.

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

So far, my review of Bluesky is that it is everything that was unpleasant about 2015 Twitter and not much of what was truly great. I’m still not sure why it ever made sense to clone the structure of a platform that had so thoroughly combusted. I’m here for now, and will attempt to remain open.

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Danielle St Hilaire @docsthilaire.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

“The work, though, is not to imagine that the hierarchy doesn't exist (it does), but to work together with students to dismantle it. That work starts by talking frankly about how these systems work and how the culture of grades impacts us.“

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Drew Lewis @drew-lewis.com · 23/05/2025

A lovely read ahead of #TheGradingConference in a few weeks. I especially loved "a bunch of quantitative legalese masquerading as pedagogy" as a turn of phrase—perhaps because it so accurately describes where I, and probably many others, started.

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

It’s been almost two years since I’ve written something entirely new about ungrading. Really glad to have this out in the world. It’s a simple piece but it gets to some incredibly practical aspects of this work that I haven’t written about before.

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

"The work of ungrading is to push back on the culture of grades and quantitative assessment that reinforces hierarchies between students and teachers, while reducing both to a set of crude (often inscrutable) data points." www.jessestommel.com/the-practice...

jessestommel.com

The Practice of Ungrading

Ungrading inspects the inequities of schooling, asks hard questions of the structures of our schools, and offers a critique of the labor conditions for teachers at all levels of education.

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Jennie @unabridgedopinions.com · 20/05/2025

There are no shortcuts, to learning or to digging ourselves out of what feels like a very deep hole. But there are small steps. We do have choices!

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

“If education is going to prevail in its mission, it will require those who teach to lead the way. And I believe it can start with small things, like the choices you make when designing your next class, or the sentences you write on your syllabus…” seanmichaelmorris.ghost.io/the-pedagogy...

seanmichaelmorris.ghost.io

The Pedagogy We Practice

On May 20, 2025, I was invited to keynote the Spring Pedagogy Institute at Plymouth State University. The text of that keynote is below, followed by the slide presentation. It’s been awhile since I’v...

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Lisa Jacobson @lisawj.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Part II of our JCMS teaching dossier on ungrading is here! Check out my intro, "Risky Business." Thanks, as ever, to my wonderful co-editor @jennblaylock.bsky.social! I'll shout out some of our terrific contributors in the comments below. quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/teach... #ungrading #teaching

quod.lib.umich.edu

Journal of Cinema and Media Studies - TeachingmediaFind us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

“Rather than focusing on financial education on the ‘Big Three,’ this study suggests improving financial well-being by helping students access public benefits and other material supports.” educationnorthwest.org/publications...

educationnorthwest.org

Financial Knowledge and Basic Needs Insecurity Among Undergraduate Students

Can increasing financial knowledge among college students reduce basic needs insecurity? Explore our findings from nationally representative data.

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Brendan W. Sullivan @professorbrendan.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Letter to the editor in today's NY Times advocates for gradeless education! She even links to relevant articles and research, including posts by @jessifer.bsky.social and @alfiekohn.bsky.social #edusky #ungrading www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/o...

I’m being overly simplistic, of course, but so is Mr. Brooks. I would love to have a conversation with him about how students today feel pressured to spend more time pursuing that elusive A+ than perusing their local library. I would love to have a platform half the size of his so I could advocate gradeless education — so I could point to evidence that rating students on a letter scale ruins their passion for reading.

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

When 30% of students have accommodations requests, I think: 1) why are disability services units so underfunded? 2) can we make radical decisions to reimagine the pedagogy of our courses to meet the needs of all students? 3) what funding can we advocate for to support faculty development efforts?

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

Super excited to be a part of this collection. Lots of amazing folks and perspectives represented. Thanks to @lisawj.bsky.social and @jennblaylock.bsky.social and many many others who contributed! (My own piece comes out soon in part two.) #ungrading

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Jennifer Blaylock @jennblaylock.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

I am happy to announce the publication of the first part of a 2-part @jcmsjournal.bsky.social Teaching Media dossier on #ungrading that @lisawj.bsky.social and I co-edited. Please check out "Part I: Critical Reflections on Ungrading" here: quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/teach... Part two coming soon!

quod.lib.umich.edu

Journal of Cinema and Media Studies - TeachingmediaFind us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram

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Jason Mittell @jmittell.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Check out this dossier of reflections on #ungrading from a range of Film & Media Studies faculty (including me) - thanks to @jennblaylock.bsky.social for co-editing! quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jcms/teach...

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Lisa Jacobson @lisawj.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

The wonderful @jennblaylock.bsky.social and I co-edited a 2-part Teaching Media Dossier for @jcmsjournal.bsky.social on #ungrading. "Part I: Critical Reflections on Ungrading" is now live, and we couldn't be prouder. Huge thanks to our contributors and editors! Look out for Part II soon! #teaching

quod.lib.umich.edu

Journal of Cinema and Media Studies - TeachingmediaFind us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterFollow us on Instagram

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 16/03/2025

Academia's culture of competition breeds this kind of cruelty. Too often, faculty who've suffered in these systems believe that suffering is what made them successful. So, they perpetuate that suffering with their own students, rather than seeing that success doesn't have to be wrought that way.

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

On Wall-E: It knows we're watching it now, 17 years later. It winks at our nostalgia. The movie knew it would become a relic of the past about the future. The cynicism and hopefulness remain intact. It still asks us to listen, even if we didn't the first time.

media.tenor.com

wall e from the movie wall e is standing on a rocky surface

ALT: wall e from the movie wall e is standing on a rocky surface

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

But, also, you don't have to be silent in the face of bullying. This is why I hate the phrase, "don't feed the trolls." Yes, you don't need to engage, and it's often not useful. But call it out. Point to the systemic shit that fuels and amplifies bullies.

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Block and mute. Realizing I could just hit block is the best thing I've learned on social media. Bullies, bigots, people who make up shit, and people who incessantly shift goal posts just to incite you to engage. The algorithms on many platforms are tuned to rage-bait. We don't have to play along.

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Criticism of technology has a history. We have to look back as we look forward. Our pushback on insidious tech (and especially edtech) has to be as nuanced as possible. 🧵

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

For folks who want it gathered in one place, a thread with links to (and excerpts from) my public writing on #ungrading…

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Sara Goldrick-Rab @saragoldrickrab.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Students at Santa Monica College need your help now! They have been seriously impacted and are raising money for emergency grants, food, and clothing to be delivered swiftly to those who need help now. Please join me & donate⬇️ foundation.smc.edu/areas-to-sup... #lafires

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Dr. Heather Leslie @heatherleslie.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Just finished @jessifer.bsky.social’s book and it’s giving me life! #Ungraders if you haven’t read it yet, do yourself the favor and it will help you get inspired. Let your humanity be a counter friction against the mechanization of teaching and learning ✊ pressbooks.pub/thegrade/

pressbooks.pub

Undoing the Grade – Simple Book PublishingShare on XShare on LinkedInShare via Email

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

According to Meta’s “Hateful Conduct” policy, it is fully acceptable for someone to call me mentally ill, because I’m gay. All transgender people can also be targeted. Because … “discourse.” The gist, I guess, is that if enough people hate us, Meta says it’s okay to publicly express that hatred.

Full text of Meta’s hateful conduct policy: https://transparency.meta.com/policies/community-standards/hateful-conduct/

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 08/01/2025

Meta literally created a LGBTQ exception for calling someone mentally ill as an insult. You can't do it for any other group except LGBTQ people.

The image is from a "Transparency Center" document and lists guidelines regarding acceptable and prohibited content for insults. It mentions:

1. Insults about:

Character, such as cowardice, dishonesty, criminality, and sexual promiscuity or immorality.

Mental characteristics, including but not limited to accusations of stupidity, intellectual capacity, and mental illness, as well as unsupported comparisons among politically correct (PC) groups based on inherent intellectual traits.

2. Highlighted section:

The document allows allegations of mental illness or abnormality when tied to gender or sexual orientation, referencing political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality. It also acknowledges the non-serious use of terms like "weird."

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

One of the biggest problems of grades is how they’ve been so thoroughly naturalized, as though they must continue existing because they already exist. This fails to recognize they are a recent technology (only popularized in the last 60 years). And that there is little research to support their use.

A quote of a recent tweet advocating for rethinking grades with a response: “Abolish bedtime while you are at it.”

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Jamie Levine Daniel @jamielevdan.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

📣📣📣 Our ungrading paper is officially out. Check out this work w/ @j9love.bsky.social in @jsepajournal.bsky.social. We must match what we teach to how we teach it, sharing power with students & fostering participatory practices. 1/5 #ungradingchat #academicsky #pasky jsepajournal.org/index.php/js...

jsepajournal.org

View of Ungrading: Socially Just Assessment Practices for the PA Classroom

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Laura T. González @lauratgonzalez.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Discovered the strategies of Ungrading during the pandemic and BLM uprising, when it was devastatingly clear that assessment practices had to change. Changed my relationship w/my courses, allows students to meet the requirements of each project at their level. It is not “not grading.” #EduSky

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Tim Miller @tmiller-uq.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Ungrading completely changed my courses. In the end, it resulted in me designing a pass/fail course on innovation that focuses on competencies and allows the students a lot of freedom on open-ended problems with minimal policing.

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Katgallow @katgallow.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Great thread on ungrading. Unis are part of the industrial ecosystem. As credentials, they sell grades as much as they sell degrees. Grades are marketable and it’s rational for students to chase grades instead of learning. Unis facilitate this.

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Iryna Cranny @irynacranny.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Excellent thread on ungrading. We desperately need it in schools if we want any learning to take place. And it will be a lot of work. The transactional nature of classes is deeply ingrained into the minds of both teachers and, which is worse, students

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

The word "ungrading" is an active present participle. It doesn't mean "not grading." Ungrading acknowledges the existence of grades and invites systemic critique, an undoing or thoughtful dismantling. Not best practices, but fluid, contextual practices to push against an insidious culture of grades.

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socraticme.bsky.social @socraticme.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Shocking discovery: if you try and teach responsibility to students by talking to them about the point of learning and how we honor our ideas, a lot of the need to control their every thought and action fades away.

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

I guess it’s that time of year when academics proudly share AI policies that demean, belittle, patronize, or otherwise make assumptions about students. My take: if you stop treating students like that, you won’t need the policy.

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Gabriel Rodríguez Lemus, Jr. @grodriguezlemus.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

we need professors that are not naturals at academic writing we need professors who didn’t have perfect grades we need professors that went to community college we need professors that went to non-selective institutions we need professors that have always struggled to belong

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Sean Michael Morris @seanmichaelmorris.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

"When we take the time to write feedback, we connect our own thinking to a student’s thinking, thereby opening up the possibility for new knowledge and insight to develop." #ai #ungrading www.seanmichaelmorris.com/ungrading-ai...

seanmichaelmorris.com

Ungrading, AI, and Feedback as Scholarly Work

When we take the time to write feedback, we connect our own thinking to a student’s thinking, thereby opening up the possibility for new knowledge and insight to develop.

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Jerry Shannon @jerry-shannon.bsky.social · 15/09/2024

"The classroom is a place for students and teachers to ask hard questions of one another, working together to reimagine the project of education, in order to help students (and teachers) become full agents in that education and in the broader culture in which they live."

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Jesse Stommel (Jessifer) @jessifer.bsky.social · 15/09/2024

A decade ago, social media changed my academic life by connecting me with a global network of scholars and teachers. I made friendships and met amazing collaborators. The landscape feels different today, but I'm grateful to be listed among these folks. edtechmagazine.com/higher/artic...

t.co

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2024/09/30-higher-ed-it-influencers-follow-2024

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