Dave:

I think I get how the contract grading works, but am not sure of your scope.

Are you talking about every assignment being graded this way? Will this involve rubrics? When you “explain everything really well” will you give a sample lesson or assignment so that learners know how to negotiate their path?

I ask this because I have gone through a course like this before, and it was excellent for me to be able to negotiate what I proposed to my Prof as “outcomes”, but most of my classmates were bewildered.

Hope things go well for you with the class.