Can you tell me what my grade in the class is so far?
Students will ask this question many times during the course therefore grading papers and exams as soon as possible is necessary to provide students with the right feedback. Electronic posting of grades helps to reduce this type of questions. What ways you use to provide student performance status in your class?
Gretchen,
Electronic grading has come a long ways. Instantaneous grade information is very cool. But, as you imply, there needs to be a time for personal discussion to add to the student's independent viewing. I try to meeting multiple times with students over a semester. It helps create trust and respect (both directions) and also give me an opportunity to offer support and encouragement along with advice.
Barry Westling
Our Portal system allows the student to look under the assignment to see the grade. If the student has any questions, or if they are having problems, i schedule a time so that we can talk about it.
Steven,
Many schools have similar systems. And while the convenience of accessing grades and other information is good, I think there is still great benefit is conducting one-on-one discussions with students as frequently as possible. The thing thing individualized discussions provide (that electronic cannot) is the human touch, personalization that may include elements of encourage, support, advice, listening to needs, care, and comfort to show we care about their success. I'll tell you, when students feel you're on their side and wanting them to succeed, they'll do much more to help achieve the higher performance we desire.
Barry Westling
Our school has a portal system that allows for the instructor to post individual assignment/test grades right to the Internet, where the students can access their grades and see their progress at any time. They can also see their attendance, so they know from day to day how many absenses and tardies they have. What I especially like about the portal is that I can post my daily lectures, as well as assignments that the student can access and print from any computer. It works great should a student be out of school the day I give a lecture and give out an assignment. It also has a forum section where I can post a discussion and require student feedback for participation.
Hi Eeric:
This sounds like a great tool for instructors to use - unless their institution already allows for this in some way, like perhaps with another program that offers the same tools.
Regards, Barry
I don't know if you have heard of it or your school allows you to use it, but engrade.com is a fantastic tool. Students can access their grades 24/7, you can post assignments, post quizzes, and keep track of attendance. I have no stock in the website; I just think it is a great resource for us to use. If students can see how they are progressing, it's a kind of wake-up call.
On the first day of a new course I take the time to describe, in detail, the grading process for the course. This includes describing the assignments, percentage-to-points conversion, and I even draw or provide them with a fill-in-the blank graph so that they can log in their grades and calculate (in a worksheet type of format) exactly what the grade is. Also, I formally meet with each of my students just prior to major assignments such as midterms and finals to keep them abreast and to double check their calculations (if they are keeping track). I think it is the students' responsibility to keep their own records, but I also think it is the responsibility of the instructor to provide it to them in a timely fashion upon request.
I often print out progress reports for each student. When a student is having trouble with the course I use this as a starting point to discuss what I can do to help them do better in the class and also to see if they need additional resources from the school.
