I use material that does not require quizzes. We do have homework and I use a excel spreadsheet that contains my grading rubric and the points for each item. I go line by line and grade and then I am given a total at the end. I also copy and paste the students rubric in with my comments about the students work.
Sounds like a good balanced plan Vivian. Yes, we never want to streamline to the point of negatively impacting learning. We've got to go just far enough but not too far with respect to saving time.
Although I could go all scantron, I believe that using short answer exams is beneficial to learning. I try to do what is best for my students and not just what saves me time.
However, I will continue to use formatting that will allow me to easily see the answers to the questions to speed up the grading.
Wow, sounds like you have a great system already in place Heather. I appreciate your tips on turnitin.com and McGraw-Hill. Excellent resources that I know other instructors could benefit from.
I actually do most of the things suggested in this module. There are several online test sites that I use. I frequently use eztest from McGraw-Hill. We also have an intranet site for our school which allows us to convert exam view tests to html.
I have been using online book sites for several terms now for homework assignments, and I am thrilled with the amount of time it saves me.
I recently went through my file cabinet and removed many of the paper files that I no longer use since I have computerized almost everything.
I am also very careful about the essay and short answer assessments that I give.
I have found that the one thing that I do take a lot of time grading are English Composition papers. I have moved to using turnitin.com and this saves me time in checking for plagiarism, but it still takes considerable time to grade the essays.
Sounds like you have developed a great system Donna. As an instructor teaches for many years, they find little ways to streamline as they go and this saves so much time in the long run.
I have over time developed my tests towards multiple choice, matching and defining terms.
The test answers are based off of homework that has a similar design. This makes them familiar with my design of tests. Consiquently the studetns test faster and seem to have less visible anxiety during testing.
These two methods save classtime and office time.
Over the years I have develop the inclination to use brevity in the grading of assessments as a derived outcome of being a functional classroom instructor.
Upon recieving the book materials for my assigned course of instruction, I included the books CD as a physical material for student practice and the book's compainon website as a support resource for giving online chapter test as well as practice resources for sections in the book.
Most definitely I would say this module is most applicable for today's career instructor and I can see my self using these strategies very much in the near future.
Yes, the underlining really helps the students focus on supporting their thesis too!
One of the things that I really liked was the idea of having all answers (whether short answer or multiple choice) off to the side. It really helps the answer stick out and would make it VERY easy to grade. As a former high school English teacher, I loved the idea of having students underline the "important" parts of the essay. You would have to let the students know that you are reading the entire essay and to make sure the the entire essay made sense.....and not sure key terms underline within a bunch of gibberish.
This is an important point Althea. We can leverage what works for one class to benefit our others.
In one class, where I give multiple quizzes, I have formatted the sheet to include the answer blocks on the side. I find it very useful. Right now, I'm teaching a different class where I haven't done that, and I'm reminded how very useful it would be.
That's excellent Gregory! Sounds like you are on the right track with respect to streamlining grading.
Well i already use most of the tools mentioned in the module. I use multiple choice, matching, T or F and some fill-ins. I also involve the students in the grading /learning process and it works out very well. For lab testing I have them complete practical exercises on tasks they learned in their lab packets.
It's a great idea indeed Marc! Go ahead and give it a try.
I think creating the test with spaces for the answers to multiple choice or true/false answers, rather than the students circling their choice, is a great idea. It streamlines grading similarly to using a scantron answersheet, but the students don't find them as impersonal as computer graded tests.
Product ID does sound fast and efficient Jeffrey. Also, seems relevant to how students will have to think when they are in the workplace.
Essay exams are indeed a great way to test knowledge. So I wouldn't stop using them altogether Jeris. It's just about finding the right mix of questions for streamlined grading and deeply testing knowledge.
I already have a fairly streamlined homework grading system, so I don't spend too much time there. I do tend to use essay exams, though, and after going through this module I am tempted to try integrating in some more multiple choice or true and false questions. Does anyone else hesitate to stop using essay exams, though? I think they can be a great way for students to demonstrate their knowledge.
In the Culinary Colleges, my class focuses not only on a short answer test format, but also a Product I.D. test with singal word answers on a sperate sheet. It is fast and functional.
