Pointless Grading and Digital Content Delivery as Educational Differentiators: A Case Study for Noise and Vibration Courses

Abstract

University professors need to be content delivery specialists to compete for students’ attention with lots of other content in the digital world. In addition, grading systems, although necessary for student evaluation, are a constant barrier between faculty and student interaction. This paper presents non-traditional ways to deliver content to students and evaluate students, in an effort to break down artificial barriers between faculty and students. The case study involves two courses at Michigan Technological University: Acoustics and Noise Control, and Shock and Vibration. Traffic light grading is discussed as a way to move away from point-based evaluation systems. Coupled with student-led exam debrief sessions, student investment in the new grading system has been high. Flipped classroom examples will also be discussed as a content delivery strategy, allowing more person-to-person interaction during classroom hours. This paper will share teaching strategies through examples of successes and failures of these strategies in teaching noise and vibration courses.

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