December, 2013
Today a student took his children to daycare, went in early
to his job to get some work done, went grocery shopping, picked up his children
from daycare, changed a flat tire, cooked dinner for his family, cleaned up the
kitchen, and then sat down to read comments from his instructor on a paper he
spent three hours on last week. It read, “You didn’t include a source and have
a lot of errors.” He feels tired, frustrated, angry, and wants to give up! He
thinks to himself, maybe this isn’t for me after all, and quits.
Today a student took his children to daycare, went in
early to his job to get some work done, went grocery shopping, picked up his
children from daycare, changed a flat tire, cooked dinner for his family,
cleaned up the kitchen, and then sat down to read comments from his instructor
on a paper he spent three hours on last week. It read, “I can see you put a
tremendous effort into your paper. It is well written, and you bring out some
very good, important points; with relevant comments about the piece you read.
You clearly thought about the audience, and your paper is well organized. What
the paper is missing is complete source citations. I provided examples for you.
Please let me know if I can help you with this for our project next week.” He feels
recognized for the work he did, proud of his effort, and realizes that he still
has more to learn, but there is someone there to help.
Are you thinking about the student’s perception when you grade?
As an instructor grading this time of the year it can be challenging. You may
see some of the same type of errors in student papers that you’ve witnessed in
the past several units. It can be sometimes arduous to remain positive after
writing some of the same comments repeatedly to students on a weekly basis.
Today I caught myself writing comments to students that
could have been worded differently. I sat back and asked myself, “How do I remain
robust with encouragement, positivity and delight this time of the term?” I
thought about this at length. It’s crunch time. Three weeks left. Students
really need now, more than ever, to receive affirmative, effective feedback. I
remind myself to stay optimistic, energetic, and constructive; and consider the
circumstances these students are dealing with. This all is coupled with the
fact that the holiday season is upon us and people tend to become more burdened
with holiday shopping, hosting, planning, families, traveling, finances and all
the rest. We aren’t the only ones who are dealing with this; students are
trying to manage this as well.
Taking this all into consideration, these are things that
I remind myself of this week while grading student work. I remind myself that
student experiences are not the same as my own. I remind myself that their
cultures and backgrounds may not be the same as mine. I remind myself that they
have work, families, jobs, medical conditions, sick children, ill parents, and
challenges that are not the same as mine. I remind myself that my job is to
help them succeed; provide guidance, encouragement, professionalism, and
kindness. I remind myself to consider this all when making grading comments.
Today I put this sticky note on my laptop as a reminder:
“Be kind, be firm, be consistent, and be a human being with empathy; provide
guidance and support and consider student conditions. Evaluate fairly, avoid
subjectivity; and provide constructive comments that will help them improve.
Point out strengths.” This has helped me
during this busy season to take a pause, reflect, and consider my grading
comments.
I found a very good article about this that I thought I
would share, and hopefully you will find some helpful tips.
Happy Holidays!
Cathy Kennedy
Instructor
Globe University
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