I haven't been as strict for the first 4 weeks as the syllabus addendum literally states. I have now made it clear to my two classes exactly what the the process will be for allowing 100% of weekly assignment scores, when it will drop to 50% and when it will become "0". I will now change my behavior to tighten up to that stated groundrule.
I feel the student needs to understand the importance of the assigments as a learning tool designed to assist them with retention of the material.I try to end a subject lecture with open class discussion so a review of the topic will not only offer clairification for something that needs further explination, but also help the instructor evaluate the needs of the class as a whole related to the understanding of the subject matter.
Hi Bill,
This is also an issue in in-seat courses as well. I do not get it...instrutors should provide feedback to their students the next period so that the student will know how they are progressing, and the instructor should want to know how the student is doing.
Patricia
As my original post indicated, I am a strong advocate of immediate feedback - a basic learning principle for learning - but also including both evaluative nad subjectve feedback comments. BUT - this becomes mandatory when it comes to online calsses. The primary compalionjt about many online instructors is the lack of timely feedback on submitted work.
Your use of the word feedback I find to be vitally important to student involvement and learning. Just marking the answers correct or wrong and giving a score at the top of a paper or test is not, at least in my thinking, feedback. Feedback involves offering some evaluative and subjective comments regarding the student's performance on that task, and perhaps on the class in general up to that point in time.
A basic principle of all learning theory is that the quicker the feedback the better the learning - period! And - students value highly the immediate feedback.
Hi Mark,
Students love it whenever you have their marks easily accessible.
Patricia
Hi Karen,
Students need praise as well as explanation to stay on point.
Patricia
Hi Betty,
I always make it a point to return graded assignments the next class meeting. This can mean the very next day. Students appreciate the quick feedback.
Patricia
For assignments, the students need to know how they did and what more they need to learn in the area of the assignment, if it was not perfect (and it rarely is).
For readings, there is a need to reenforce the learning by discussing it.
I think it sends a message to the student that the instructor is serious about assignments and each students ability to follow through and complete assigned work.
Betty,
I carry a hardcoopy of their online
"Engrade" marks with me. If they ask,
I just whip out the hardcopy, and tell
them the mark they are interested in.
But I give them back all tests and assignments
with the mark on it.
Mark, what did you do in order to get graded assignments back to your students in a timely fashion, and what was their response to the time frame in which you returned them? I have similar issues and would appreciate your response. Thanks, Betty Geschke
Following up on assignments are a virtual necessity in the technology classes I teach. Most of the lecture includes visuals and hands on criteria. Once an assignment is completed and graded, when I return them I speak individually and explain what they missed or that they did a super job. This seems to always keep the student engaged in the class.
Following up on assignments helps the students stay responsible for their own work. We use "professional points" as a means to help students stay responsible for assignments that are not graded. They get a certain amount of points per day and will lose them if these worksheets or assignments are not completed.
Hi Alexandra,
Students will take you for a complete joke if you do not follow up with assignments. Students have way too many other things that they can be doing for instructors not to follow up with assignments.
Patricia
To show that these were important. If there is no follow up to assignments and readings, the students will begin to disregard them and not do them.
To make sure that they know you are serious with your requirements. It also helps to make sure that students who are chronically late with work have a reminder, and know they need to complete things on time.
Absent follow-up, students are inclined to think that their efforts are exercises in futility. Whenever possible, I introduce the primary topics of a chapter (assigned reading for the next class). Following the students' reading, we cover the chapter in greater deatil for almost the entire next class. With fifteen or so minutes remaining following a thorough discussion of the chapter's highlights, students are given an assessment (quiz). The results of the assessment demonstrate to me the points that were not made sufficiently clear by the students' reading and class discussion. At the begining of the next class, I will return the students' assessments and for roughly the next hour, we revisit the topics that gave rise to misunderstanding/misinterpretation. With written assignments, my standard practice is to not give an assignment and collect and give a final grade for their efforts following the very next class. At a minimum, generally, I give students two class periods to complete each assignment; however, during the class session between the date of assignment and date of final collection, I review, in-class, their progress. Students are expected to bring a good draft to share with me. The draft is graded, but the grade given is liberally calculated. My intent with this procedure is to get a chance to look at the students efforts to ensure that they are "barking up the right tree" and if not, then I would have time to intervene and set them on the correct course prior to the completion of their assignment. Students seem to greatly appreciate the enhanced learning. Too, I explain to them (paralegal students) that they should employ this sequence, especially when they are just starting out in their career (replacing me with their supervisor) - there are not many feelings worse in the workplace than to reach a deadline, turn in a submission, and be told that the work completely missed the mark.
I feel it is important to follow up on student assignments for two main reasons. First, to make sure they are doing the assignments and second to make sure they are understanding the assignments. It is often the only way I am going to be able to assess how well a student is grasping the material between tests.
