The Story of That Time I loved Grading
Grading has never been my favorite part of teaching. For me, it’s always felt like a necessary trade-off for the joy of engaging with students in the classroom. But last year, something surprising happened—I actually found myself enjoying grading. If you are reading this and you are a brilliant teacher who loves grading, I’m jealous. Keep reading!
It started with an experiment in my World Religions course. Inspired by a storytelling podcasting workshop I’d attended the previous summer, I decided to make the term project more creative and more AI proof. Instead of the usual papers or presentations, I tasked my students with producing a storytelling podcast. I know—it was ambitious. And as It turns out that this assignment was only AI proof for 6 months….
The assignment was twofold: first, as a team of two record an interview with someone who identifies as Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu. Second, with that interview, craft a story arc—similar to writing a narrative—by rearranging the recording content in meaningful way. This second one should include a huge asterisk—includes learning the basics of audio editing along the way. Okay, the assignment was a leap, and I knew it. Some students were daunted by the technology; others by the prospect of interviewing someone outside their worldview. It wasn’t the product I was most interested in, but the process students would need to go through.
When the submissions started rolling in, I braced myself for what sounded like a great idea in August….but now I was thinking, “What did I do to myself? How many minutes of listening did I just assign myself?” I did limit the podcasts to 15 minutes. As I started listening, I felt a sense of gratitude for the way students engaged others. Many of the students had taken such care with their interviews. Through their audio “essays”, I could hear their curiosity and wonder. I could also hear the interviewees—members of different faith communities—responding to that curiosity with warmth and appreciation.
One student interviewed a Muslim friend from high school. Though they had never discussed religion before, the conversation helped my student appreciate the commitment his Muslim classmate had to prayer especially during Ramadan. It caused him to ask questions about his own prayer commitments. Another student, who identifies as Catholic, interviewed a classmate who practices Islam. The conversation broke down incorrect assumptions they held about each other’s beliefs. Other interviews had students talking to their current teammates about religion.
I had hoped my students would gain an appreciation for people who practice various religious traditions. What I heard in their podcasts was that appreciation coming to life. This is a teacher’s dream! I also listened to students practicing a kind of conversation so many of us have been trained to avoid. Religion is off limits! Don’t go there! However, when we don’t, as my students learned, we miss out on knowing a central part of the people around us. In every project, well every project where students followed the directions, there was something powerful happening: connection and understanding.
As I graded their work, it didn’t feel like grading at all. It felt like listening to stories that mattered. My students weren’t just meeting a course requirement—they were building bridges and practicing empathy. I found myself learning alongside them and appreciating each of the people they interviewed.
Was the assignment perfect? No. Developing a story from an interview is a skill I can teach better and one I need to continue to learn. I had to navigate plenty of challenges, like deciding how much class time to dedicate to teaching the technology and helping students with finding someone to interview. But the experience was transformative; I hope it was for my students but I know it was for me.
In August, I had the privilege of partnering with my storytelling workshop instructor, Trauman, who now works for a start-up called StoryCollab. With Trauman and his colleague I helped facilitate a storytelling podcast workshop for faculty at a community college. It was the most life-giving part of my summer!
I loved helping faculty imagine creative alternatives to the traditional essay or research paper. It was especially fun to consider how storytelling could be integrated into unexpected disciplines like math or chemistry. Stories, after all, are how humans connect. They make facts memorable and engaging in ways that lectures often can’t. Helping scientists and mathematicians, for instance, weave stories into their theories and equations might inspire more people to pay attention! Oh, and one thing I liked about this training….there was no grading. : )
So here a little plug for an Organization and people that have meant a lot to me: If you’re an educator looking to explore storytelling podcasting, I can’t recommend StoryCollab and their team enough. And they work with a variety of other sectors related to digital and audio storytelling. If you take a training with Trauman and his team, it may transform how you approach assignments and deepen your appreciation of story. And who knows? They might even make you look forward to grading.