Ungrading Themes for Upgrading UXD Assignments

Rubric-based assignment grading in User Experience Design (UXD) can lead to students feeling anxious, uncertain, and overly focused on superficial success metrics. Presented for discussion are ideas from the ungrading and UXD education literature that can reframe assignments to decouple guidance from evaluation, encourage student initiative, build self-validation and self-evaluation skills, prepare students for industry, and foster ongoing positive dialogue with faculty, peers, and stakeholders.