Effective use rubrics to assess learning—Lang (138-140) talked about the benefits of using rubrics as an assessment tool. Rubrics are very helpful to the students and the instructor. However, the styles of rubrics vary extensively. Some rubrics are still very subjective and provide little or no direction to the students or the instructor. TT (330) talked about not assigning points for specific criteria addressed on the rubric, rather using the rubric as a general guideline and general set of points. However, on pages 326-327, TT explains the benefits of using rubrics and using the “primary trait analysis.” This is the method I like to see used. I believe that it provides solid guidelines not only for the students to use, but the instructor as well. This greatly reduces the subjectiveness of grading. I agree with the point made on page 327 (TT) about instructors having “eye-opening experiences” when they share the rubrics with their students ahead of time. I would like to make a more conscious effort to not only share my grading rubrics with my students ahead of time (something I already do), but to actually go over the rubrics with my students and seek their input on the criteria and method used to score. I can learn from them if I truly want them to get the most out of my assignment. Cautiously, I believe that using a rubric like Lang showed (139) can truly be a “real blessing with a massive stack of papers,” but if a majority of your course assignments result in a massive stack of papers, I would have to re-evaluate the purpose or intent of the assignment and the actual effectiveness of the rubric to guide student learning.
Importance of sharing grades/feedback with students in a timely manner—Lang (148-149) addressed the issue of returning student work as quickly as possible or at least within one week. I may have missed it, but I did not see where TT actually addressed the issue other than to say as quickly as possible. Both Lang and TT discussed the difficulties that can arise when grading papers and I would agree with them! I believe this to be one of the most difficult tasks of teaching. I do think that TT offers good suggestions (ch. 36) of how to break down the daunting task of grading. Lang (150) does bring up a good point about being careful not to overload students with comments. I find this a fine line to balance. I have usually addressed my comments/feedback directly on their assignment. Many of my students have said that they understand that this means a lot of “red writing” on their papers, but that they can see exactly what I’m talking about when I put the comment directly on their paper and they can look at it later. I do try to warn my students ahead of time about this and discuss it with them—I have even changed that practice depending on the class’ preference. Also, I rarely ever use “red” ink so the simple matter that it instantly has us thinking about what was done “wrong.” Therefore, I use purple, green, or orange because those colors seem to have more of a “calming” effect on the students when their papers are returned to them. J
“Writing” as a Pre-requisite—My initial reaction to TT’s chapter 34 was pretty similar to my students’ reaction when I correct their grammar on their assignments. I thought that was interesting! I think that I obviously do include writing as a pre-requisite to my assignments because I include grammar, sentence structure, and similar criteria on my assignment descriptions and assessments. However, I do not include a lot of full writing assignments in my classes. I include a couple writing assignments that are mixed with a variety of other assignments. Based on my course objectives, I usually have other competencies that I feel my students need to be proficient at that are beyond what can be accomplished in a writing assignment. Having said all that, I will say that when I do use writing assignments, I incorporate the points that TT discussed throughout chapter 34 (i.e. peer review, small group discussion, staggering due dates of assignments, and encouraging specificity).
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