Improved Grade Outcomes With An E-mailed ‘Grade Nudge.’

Authors

Ben Smith, University of Nebraska at OmahaFollow
Dustin White
Patricia Kuzyk
James Tierney

Document Type

Article

Citation

Presented at Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium, University of Nebraska, May 8, 2018.

Comments

Copyright © 2018 by the authors.

Abstract

First Name: Ben

Last Name: Smith

Department: Economics

UNO Campus: UNO

Email: bosmith@unomaha.edu

Phone: 4025544816

Track: Emerging Technology

Title: Assistant Professor

Session Type: Formal Presentation

Availability: Anytime

Presenters: Ben Smith, UNO

Presentation Abstract: Near the end of the semester, students who've placed little importance in your course will wonder: "what's my grade?" This realization often happens so late that no amount of effort will result in an acceptable grade.

What if students cared as much about their grade at the beginning of the semester as they do at the end? This is the idea behind 'Grade Nudge.'

'Grade Nudge' is a free application written by the presenter that sends the following message to each student over e-mail: `

`Hi [Name],

As of now, you have a(n) [Grade] in the class. This assignment is worth [Points] points. If you get more than [X] on this assignment, your class grade will increase to a(n) [Higher Grade]. If you get less than [Y] on this assignment, your grade will drop at least one grade. Not doing the assignment will result in a(n) [Lower Grade]."

where each of the above variables are filled in for the individual student. As shown in (Smith et al., 2018), this message resulted in a four percentage-point increase in homework scores. Further, this activity requires no class time and can be sent out by the instructor in less than three minutes.

References:

Smith, Ben O., et al. "Improved grade outcomes with an e-mailed “grade nudge”." The Journal of Economic Education 49.1 (2018): 1-7.

Importance:

1. Participants will be shown evidence of Grade Nudge's effectiveness

2. Participants will be shown step-by-step instructions to implement the Grade Nudge in their classes

3. Participants will be provided the resources to address edge cases such as very large classes and when assignments replace existing grades

Suggested Audience: Faculty

Presentation Needs:

I just need Internet access