Event Title: “From Scores to Stories: Weaving the Fabric of Learning”
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The Consortium of Communal Creativity
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Students for Story-Based Assessment
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The Institute of Embodied EpistemologiesAmbassador: Auntie Patch, Keeper of the Story Needle
CAMPAIGN SLOGAN:
“Grades divide. Quilts unite.”
OPENING REMARKS: AUNTIE PATCH (she/her)
Master Quilter and Oral Historian
In the old ways, stories are stitched into quilts to remember, to teach, to hold community.So too must learning be gathered and woven — not sliced into slices of ‘A’ or ‘F’, but wrapped in warmth and conversation.Each patch is a narrative, each stitch a connection, and the whole cloth is our shared becoming.
THE OLD SYSTEM VS. THE QUILTING CIRCLE
| Traditional Grading | Narrative Quilting Circle |
|---|---|
| Individual score | Communal story patch |
| Letter/number | Emotional tone and thematic colours |
| Summative judgment | Continuous narrative weaving |
| Ranking students | Celebrating interwoven journeys |
| Anxiety and competition | Safe space for vulnerability and growth |
PROCESS: THE NARRATIVE QUILTING CIRCLE
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Students gather weekly in a circle, each bringing a story-patch reflecting on their learning journey.
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Story-patches may take many forms: spoken word, a poem, a drawing, a song, or a symbolic stitch.
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A facilitator guides the circle, encouraging listening with heart and honouring diverse rhythms.
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Together, the circle stitches the patches onto a communal quilt representing the class’s collective learning landscape.
FACULTY TESTIMONIAL: PROFESSOR NYLA THREAD (they/them)
I have witnessed students blossom in ways grades could never capture.When we quilt together, assessment becomes a living act of empathy, not a cold transaction.
STUDENT REFLECTION: ZIN (they/them)
I used to dread finals. Now I look forward to sharing my story-patch and seeing how it fits into our quilt.It feels like home.
VISUALS: THE QUILT
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Vibrant colours representing emotional journeys: blues for moments of doubt, reds for passionate breakthroughs, greens for collaboration and growth.
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Symbols embroidered for themes like resilience, curiosity, and shared challenges.
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The quilt travels each semester, displayed in common areas and digital story maps.
ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSE:
The university pledges to pilot Narrative Quilting Circles in core courses next semester.Grading rubrics will be reimagined as story guides.Final exams replaced by “The Gathering” — a festival of shared reflections.
CLOSING RITUAL: THE FINAL STITCH
Students and faculty gather to add the last stitch of the semester, symbolising unity and ongoing growth. As the needle passes, a soft chant arises:
“We are patches, we are threads,Together we weave where knowledge spreads.”
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