Prompt 3: On Grading

I'd like to see you all reflect a little on your experience grading.  Shaun has already talked about it a bit, but in the wake of the essays for this week (and our soon-to-occur classroom discussion), I'm wondering what you find frustrating/confusing/bewildering about the whole process of grading.

So THAT'S why professors don't read papers...

I think my biggest surprise has been along the same lines as Shaun talked about: how far there is between the students who get it and the students who don’t. Along with that, I’ve been really surprised by how often A-student announces the answer (“in this essay Zinczenko is arguing that fast food industries are to blame”) and I’ll still get in-class writing and re-submitted summaries that say Zinczenko is talking about latch-key kids and personal responsibility. I’ve also been surprised how much work it is to grade papers. Whoa. I know novice teachers spend too much time trying to say everything and fix everything, so I’ve started setting a timer. It keeps me moving. It also keeps me mindful – Student B doesn’t participate in class and only comes half the time, so I catch myself skimming over it and moving on to Student C who comments every day and comes to class prepared. I try to minimize my comments, then worry that I’m denying them a valuable learning experience, so I go back and add more, then realize just how much stuff I’ve written and how the student doesn’t care so I need to just move on. Yikes. Now I understand why so many professors hand back papers with a few check-marks in the margins and 1-2 notes at the end. The 6822 readings we’ve had about feedback have been helpful. Now it’s a matter of practice and getting a system.

Surprises

I was most surprised by the range of writing skill and knowledge in my class.  I was expecting some students to come to the class writing better than others, but I was caught off guard by the distance between one group and the other.  

I found that this creates two problems, one in teaching and one in grading.  When we are having a class discussion it is hard to keep a standard pace that everyone can follow.  It goes like this: I ask a question. If George(not real name) answers, he is always correct, so we can move on to the next concept.  If Willimina(not real name) answers she usually gets stuck on some minor point that is often hard to explain, like how to pluralize, then I am explaining s vs es and exceptions, then catuses and cacti,  while the rest of the class doses off. 

In grading, I run into this problem: If I grade George’s paper first it makes Willimina’s look worse. If I grade Willimina’s first, then George’s looks perfect. 

I was expecting the range to be smaller and the scale to be more graduated.  There almost no students in the middle.

My instinct is to divide the two groups, but that just does not feel right.  It probably has something to do with being put in the dumb kids reading group when I was a child. 

During class, I am coping by asking George to explain his answers more thoroughly. Then I ask questions about his answer.  If Willimina is having a particularly hard time, I ask her to remember her question and see me after class.

In grading, I am trying to follow a more standard rubric, but since the difference between George and Willimina’s papers is mostly related to grammar, sentence structure, and other mechanical issues, it is still hard to know how to weigh that portion of the ruberic.

Any other suggestions?

Prompt 2: Surprises?

Sorry for the lateness of this.  I blame the holiday weekend.

Here's the question:

What has most surprised you about your students' writing and reading skills?

Teacher's Pet Anxieties

What I worry the most about is grading, which only got worse after the first round of actual summaries. I've studied and summarized the article, so I know what I'm looking for, but even with the most detailed rubric English is still the most subjective discipline. I fret over whether I'm grading to soft, or to harsh. I feel like I've gotten into a good rhythm and then come across a summary that makes me feel like I've graded all the others incorrectly. It doesn't help when students who didn't get the grade they expected start stressing out over the first real grade of the semester, either. All totaled, it's enough to make me occasionally wish I had the whole class on a pass/fail system instead of a letter grade.

Other than that, the only thing that has given me pause so far is when I do something in the course, like dispense grades for the pre-assessment test based on whether a student completed it or not, then read in an email or Canvas announcement that they weren't supposed to be graded. I'd be embarrassed to walk into class and have to say something along the lines of "Hey, that thing I did? I wasn't supposed to do that. So, don't freak out when the thing I did suddenly changes."

Other than that and a few anomalies among the students, I feel like things have generally gone well. Some of the anxieties I had before have greatly diminished, like how I would actually perform in front of class. Although I am stressed over some things, I think they're fairly common to most new teachers, and that they'll sort themselves out as I gain experience.

Anxiety, the hand-maiden of creativity (T.S. Eliot)

I've been very nervous about not having answers to questions -- "can I buy the older edition of the text?" I have no idea- I've never been through the course before. "when are we going to need the weber writes book? can I buy it later?" I have no idea- I've never used it and I don't know when we will. "where's that page in the syllabus?" I have no idea- it went in to the copy machine... "can I miss the last two days of class? I'm running the boston marathon." I have no idea - I don't know what we do the last two days of class. "can i make up the points for class on tuesday? I have a court date." I have no idea - I haven't figured out how to enter grades in canvas. "where's the last page of the syllabus?" I have no idea- i guess it didn't come out of the copy machine... "can I call you if I have questions?" I have no idea- I still don't know where my office is. "the boy in class asked if the film summary has to be objective - what does that mean?" I have no idea- I haven't ever written a summary. "where's the second page of the syllabus?" I have no idea - ask the copy machine. "we don't have that page of the syllabus- are you still going to give us a quiz?" I have no idea- it seems like I should since all I'm asking you is my name but what if you start thinking class time is pointless and that I'm setting you up to fail and that you can't get the help you need because i don't know where my office is or how to use canvas and then you aren't friendly in class and i don't know how to handle it and it tears up classroom dynamics that i'm so scared about managing and then we have a horrible semester and you all hate me when all i want is for you to love me and do what i say and learn and outscore your peers for the restofyourlivesbecauseihelpedyousucceedinthispivotalandfoundationalclass butiwastoobusyhavingnoideawhatiwasdoingandsecond-guessingmyselfandiruinedit!? justruineditall!?!? Does that make sense? please email me any questions, see you all on thursday. Remember to type your summary and use complete sentences.

Anxieties

I am nervous about the workload and organizing things.  I am worried that I will lose students' papers or miss-enter their grades.  I am worried I'll read the wrong article and show up unprepared.  I feel confident in front of a class, and I think I will be able to give valuable feedback on their writing, but the mechanics of teaching intimidate me.  Every time I talk to someone from the English department I feel a little behind.  Did you get that form filled in? Make sure you send a copy. Did the file open because if not you need to download the new version, and do it by Thursday because the deadline is the 7th, and if we don't get it in you just won't have a class.  Even student emails can be intimidating (these young people are so good with technology).  I'm sure I get the hang of it by the end of the semester, just in time for them to start over with a newer, better system I'm sure. 

    

Prompt 1

For your first blog post, I'd like to see you all write about just precisely what your anxieties are as you  begin your first teaching experience.