I will for certain change some of my tests. I like the side box technique for the student to write the letter of the correct answer. I will be able to grade very quickly. Thanks!
I give exams that are short answer, multiple choice and True/False, so for the most part, the grading is fairly quick. However, I will definitely start using the suggested short answer format of writing answers to the side of the question; this will enable me to finish my grading with much greater efficiency, allowing time for other important tasks.
I teach the the front house portion of the Restaurant Practical, consequently there are no "exams". I grade on how the students follow instruction when it comes to restaurant etiquette and attitude. I have learned to be constructive in my critique based on what the students have been taught.
When organizing your time schedule, especially when it comes to exam preparation, it's essential that you take the time to identify the key elements and relate them directly to your answer key. Obviously is of extreme importance not to miss placed the answer key as we all do on occasion. I have discovered that by using three ring binders to house my tests for this semester as well as a separate three ring binder to house my answer sheets is extremely helpful in keeping myself organized and saving a tremendous amount of time quote looking for things.
That's really adds up Joseph! Yes, it's the little savings in time day to day that can make a big difference in the end. Talking with colleagues is great because they likely have materials you can leverage. The internet is also a great tool. There, you can listen to the perspectives of instructors worldwide and publishers who help streamline grading too.
In the future, I will look for ways to streamline my grading by consulting with colleagues to see what they do in order to expeditiously grade papers. I will also peruse the Internet to find ways to grade and post my grades more efficiently. If I could save myself five minutes a day, by the end of the year, I could have freed up approximately 20 hours to accomplish other tasks.
There are some essay exams in the courses that I have found to be very time consuming to grade. Often I take them home to grade on the weekend. I am going to implement the underlining or highlighting of important information within the essays to speed the process of grading these. I have already implemented the grading of homework in class. I collect it first then I return it to the students and they are prepared to correct their own with a red pen. Some students prefer not to have a fellow student grade their work. This has eliminated that concern and allows the student to have correct answers which I encourage them to use when studying for an exam.
I really enjoyed the idea of passing homework back out for grading by the students. It would make my life easier, but I think the idea of using it as a learning tool is brilliant!
Dear Dr. Read,
In the course that I'm presently teaching, each week the students have to post a comment from a forum issue and reply to two other posts. They also have to submit an individual project. Both of these assessments were set up by the school ahead of time, as was the syllabus. The underlining method would work great for the forum discussions and I will implement that with my next class. For me, the bigger problem is getting my students to engage with an online taught class. They love feedback and I give them that with each grade. I also stress spelling and grammar and it's amazing to me how many students submit work without proofing it in the first place. Finally, we all know that you can't rely on spell check alone, yet most do, even with my warnings not to do so.
Regards,
Peter
Great question Wanda! One tip is to make sure you set student expectations. If you expect students to make their own corrections to their revised essay, articulate that at the start of each semester. As for grammar and mechanics errors, I would allow your students to type their answers if there is opportunity (e.g. access to computer lab). Typing is more consistent with what students will do in the real working world and programs like MS Word will reduce the number of errors students produce.
It sounds like you have a great grading system in place Michael. You are right in that hands-on subjects like culinary skills don't require essay exams. In fact, essay exams make far less sense than real world evaluation.
Hello Dr. Melissa:
I was wondering if anyone had best practices to share on grading essays. They seem to be time consuming, particularly if the students have alot of grammar and mechanics errors.
What are best practices for grading rough drafts. It appears that students expect the professor to make all of the corrections for their revised essay.
Wanda
Hi Susan:
I have changed from having students grade each other's work after a comment was made on a survey that I was having the students do my work of grading. It is interesting how some students value the process while others do not.This was a 400 level course.
I now use peer review more often for courses at a 400 level.
Wanda Tisby-Cousar
Fill in the blanks and essay tests are much more time consuming to grade. I'd try to avoid using these formats, unless the content of the course that you are teaching requires it. Fortunately, as a culinary instructor it isn't necessary to have essay tests for the content I am teaching. My tests are basically a mixture of true/false, matching and multiple choice. To make grading easier I have two options. The first is to create a "bubble answer sheet", which is what I use in my classes. Students are given a set of test questions and then they record their answers on an answer sheet, similar to those used in standardized tests. The students fill in the darken with their pencils the circle that has the correct answer. I then place my bubble sheet on top of their answers and I can grade an entire page of answers in a matter of seconds. The second option is the one mentioned in the module, where students write their answer in the margin. The instructor places his answer sheet alongside the margin of the students answer sheet and can quickly compare the correctness of the answers.
I will definately incorporate having students grade each others work. I had a professor in College who did this and we loved it; you knew your grade right away.
It also prompts good dialogue on why an answer is correct.
At this time things are working fine for me. I am able to get both homework and quizzes back within a day.
Hello Dr. Flanagan:
I am very interested in your template and how it is different from a grading rubric. If you would not mind sharing it my email is WTisbyCousar@faculty.ctuonline.edu.
Wanda Cousar
Adjunct Professor of management
There are no exams in my online courses. They are graduate level courses. There is a series of task assignments that the student must respond to for the individual assignments. These assignments can be Discussion Board assignments or individual project that require the student to either respond with a PowerPoint presentation or a memo or email to a specific person in the scenario organization. Each of the assignment is "on-the-job" oriented.
I have established a grade worksheet that identifies the areas and weighting of points for each of those areas. I annotate the lost points for each area and then in a feedback area, provide the students with written information on what they did well and the points they either didn't cover or didn't cover with correct information. I use a word document for each of the assignments that contains the comments for the common errors I have found in the past for the specific assignment.
Dr. Mike Flanagan
I would us the portal for handing in assignments. Also use multiple choice answers for shortened gradibg times
This method works great Mona. When the answers are on one side of the page, we can scan each exam rapidly to make quick evaluations.
