Different But Equal: What Makes Labor-based Learning Approach Inclusive

[diabk...@gmail.com]

Hello everybody,

Come join me at 10:30-11:45 (Oakland Center Room 129/130) for a Make/ Do session

Different But Equal: What Makes Labor-based Learning Approach Inclusive

In “Labor-Based Grading Contracts: Building Equity and Inclusion in the Compassionate Writing Classroom,” Asao Inoue proposes an approach of learning that values laboring over adhering to one biased privileged writing standard.  In this session, I present my experience in implementing the labor approach in two composition courses for multilingual students, where I observed students engage in learning, take risks in their various composition tasks, and act as responsible community members throughout the semester.

I present a brief overview of the labor-based grading contract suggested by Inoue, what distinguishes it from other learning contracts, what compelled me to implement it in my classes, and what my students said about it throughout the semester. Then, I share copies of my syllabus and class schedules and walk the audience through the core peer-assignment assignment.

With the higher education institutions reliance on particular ways of writing assessment and grading, I propose the question:

“How can we negotiate such a labor-based learning approach institutionally to facilitate and sustain its implementation?”