By: Amanda Murphy
If you’re wondering how time-keeping devices, astronomy, and mysticism聽can make you a more effective teacher, then read on!
If you find聽yourself overwhelmed by the combined responsibilities of your own聽research and giving careful feedback to large numbers of students, try聽using a rubric, a timer, and a systematic, generally positive marking聽process to preserve your sanity and help your students grow in their聽chosen field. This overview of suggestions to enhance the feedback聽process, from the initial assignment through marking, can help you聽have a more manageable semester.
Step 1: Assignment (or, Why Rubrics Are Your Friends!)
Sometimes the clearest way to articulate expectations to students is聽to distribute an assessment rubric in advance of an assignment’s due聽date, so students know the parameters of an 鈥渆xcellent鈥� paper as聽compared to a 鈥渘eeds improvement鈥� paper. A rubric can serve as a聽contract between the person assigning marks and the student submitting聽the assignment鈥攖he students will perform within the parameters of the聽rubric to the best of their ability, and the person assigning marks聽will provide clear, constructive feedback based on the students’ proximity to those parameters considered 鈥渆xcellent.鈥� (I have found聽this to be an invaluable teaching tool as a TA for the History聽Department, but it can be adjusted for other programs. 聽Check online聽or with the EDC for sample rubrics鈥攖here聽are many teaching tools out聽there to help you to help your students!)
Step 2: Marking (or, Why聽Timers聽Are Your Friends!)
Using a聽timer聽(or a stopwatch) while marking writing assignments might聽sound problematic or counter-intuitive, but if you know generally how聽long an average essay takes you to mark, you should plan to spend the聽same amount of time on each essay. This can allow for increased聽fairness in the marking process, because you will spend an equal聽amount of time on each student’s work, rather than starting the聽marking process with vim and vigor and a will to eliminate all聽unnecessary participles and then fading into the mysterious 鈥�?鈥� and聽鈥渁wk.鈥� comments by the time you reach the bottom of the pile. This聽will also help you to avoid the fatigue associated with combing聽through dauntingly high piles of papers, because you will be better聽able to plan for breaks and your own work more appropriately.
Step 3: Feedback (or, Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten)
One method for maximizing the efficiency of your marking and feedback聽process is to use the tried and tested 鈥淭wo聽Stars聽& A聽Wish鈥澛爇indergarten model, also known as forward-looking, constructive聽feedback. Leave space for comments on your rubric, and use that space聽to (a) address the student by name, (b) note at least聽two聽areas where聽the student performed well or improved from the last assignment, and聽(c) suggest a specific section where the student could improve. This聽is beneficial to the top students, because it gives them information聽about how to continue to excel, and it is helpful to the students who聽need improvement, because it tells them where (or how!) they may need聽to work harder.
Step 4:聽Good luck and don’t forget to have fun this year!
Sources & Resources:
Byrnes, Ron. 聽鈥淓valuating Student Work: A Different Kind of Feedback.鈥澛�The Teaching Professor. 聽April 2005, p 3.
Wimer, Maryellen. 聽“What Students Take from the Feedback.” 聽The聽Teaching Professor. 聽April 2005, p. 2.
Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence, Carnegie Mellon University