if you're ever an instructor, don't wait the night of to grade 17 papers (for an English/Composition class)...
This batch was the first major assignment this semester... the momentum from the Spring semester is gone (last spring, I had a method to grade fast, efficiently and thoughtfully- now I'm trying to remember how I did that... so of course, grading took me longer than usual.... keep in mind that the minimum page count for these papers is "3" (17 X 3 =51pages, i had to read 51 pages of prose at least- almost like a novella but disconnected)... BUT I always encourage my students to go BEYOND (which is good)
with this realization, I stopped complaining and just graded. I started at 2 in the afternoon, and finished at 3 in the morning (took breaks in between, ate dinner/snack)-- next time, I'll start earlier (maybe at noon :), or Saturday).
Nonetheless, I'm glad they're writing and one of the goals in English 1010 is just for them to get comfortable with writing (keep writing in order to learn how to write-- we've discussed writing as a process, they've fastwrite, drafted, polished, revised [being flexible with certain situations], we've talked about "bad writing", the importance of getting ideas down, content first before grammar, inner critic, collaboration, grammar in the polishing aspect, etc.)...
yeah I got 4 hours of sleep (it's summer so I can afford few hours of sleep, plus I'm off on Tuesday and Thursday), but at least my students got their papers back so they could get started in their revision (all revisions are due July 21 or earlier)--- [narcissistic aside: talk about dedication]
it took me forever because i have to justify the grades I gave them (show examples/evidence)...
I returned their papers today, and I told them that I would not discuss their grades in class- if they wanted further explanations or if they couldn't understand my comments, then I told them to visit me during office hours or make an appointment-- I told them to read the comments first before seeing me in my office (in the past, I've had students who just looked at the number grade and totally ignored the thoughtful comments I wrote (which took TIME!), they'd ask me to explain it to them- most likely I'd say the same things I wrote or I might just take their paper and read the comments to them-- if they don't understand what I'm saying, it's their responsibility to ask me questions so I can clarify (I can't read their minds, I can read their facial expressions to a point as a signal to clarify but other than that- if they don't ask questions, then I don't know how to answer them)...
I used the dreaded/infamous RED pen to mark up their papers-- In the past, I've tried torquise, emerald, pink, purple--- BUT these other colors are not as bright and long lasting as the Red pen (plus I think, red goes well with the black typed papers-- graphic design 101- black and red is an awesome and powerful combination- i heard)... another goal of mine is to give my students another perspective/association for the color RED... red is not just used to mark up grammatical errors, correct mistakes--- Red can be used to question/clarify concepts/ideas, used to give SUGGESTIONS, used for constructive criticism...
their next major assignment is due before the July 4th weekend- I'll definitely have more time to grade this batch...
Posted by Michael Diezmos at June 23, 2008 3:01 PMA professor at the college where I used to work would always give a paper back with detailed comments but no grade. The student would then have to write a brief essay quoting from the instructor's comments, using them to support an argument proposing a grade. A student who didn't write that proposal didn't get a grade.
I've never tried that route, but I do ask students to write a revision report in which they call my attention to the specific changes they made since the last time I saw their draft. That really helps jog my memory, so that I have to spend less time reminding myself what their previous draft was like, and more time for me to assess their changes.
Posted by: Dennis G. Jerz at June 23, 2008 5:40 PMProud of you for being such a conscientious teacher...and I send you much empathy -- it happens to the best of us, more often than students realize. I've been doing this teaching stuff since 1991 and I still have the occassional all nighter for grading papers. Each time it happens, I resolve to get things done early...and sometimes I do! The best thing you can do is try to manage time well on the syllabus, stick to your game plan whenever possible, and try to grade a small batch at a time. But don't beat yourself up if you end up stressed at the last minute; ultimately, you're helping people and it's the best kind of self-sacrifice I can think of. Hang in there, Mike!
-- Mike Arnzen
Posted by: Mike Arnzen at June 23, 2008 8:15 PMhey Dr. A,
yeah, last semester, i graded in small batch (I think the minimum was at least 5 papers per day)... everything should go more smoothly for the next batch of assignments...
I wasn't that stressed... the whole thing felt more like a thrill/challenge... the situation will be a bit different this fall when I teach two classes a higher level composition class (new textbook/goals/assignments) while taking two classes for my program (children's folklore, and storytelling)...
I'm hanging in there... after the summer session, I need to read the new textbook I'm using this fall and study a 2010 syllabus in order to learn from it and adapt my ideas of approaching this class syncronizing all with the objectives/goals... helping people is fun, the only times when it's not fun is when i have to deal with bratz! :)
thanks Dr. A.!
~Mike
hey Dr. Jerz,
I just have my students turned in the marked up copy with my comments along with the revised paper... for the most part, i remember their paper (the small class size especially in a STATE college- small class size for this type of school considered the "norm" at SHU)- might attribute to this...
For a HIGHER composition class that might be a good idea... I'm mostly dealing with freshmen... the ideas of MULTIPLE drafts and writing as a process are pretty new to most of them... Most of them just want to get their writing assignment over with.... I'm slowly trying to give/show them another perception about REVISION being more than fixing misspellings and grammar errors, I acknowledge that these things are part of revision...I'm trying to focus on re-seeing their topic/idea, clarifying/strenthening their idea... Revision is an option (I try to encourage them and remind them that an improvement in their grades is a likely result of revision- for the rare few who works hard to get an "A", they usually opt for this choice)... and most of them who decide to revise just change the area they needed to work on (why fix something that works)... it's a step even if it's a little step into the world of revision, hopefully they'll get the idea that the IDEAS in their paper can be improved...
Posted by: Registered User at June 29, 2008 2:02 AMHaving students mark up their changes is as much for their benefit as my own. If they see they've only changed a few surface-level things, and there are whole pages they haven't touched, then that's a sign they're not really making use of the opportunity to revise, an if the student notices it before submitting, there's a chance for the student to revise.
Posted by: Dennis G. Jerz at July 1, 2008 9:03 AM