Get Your Students Hired
Cara, I had some difficulty in providing the information to the students with our electronic grading system. I could not tell how the students were doing myself let alone tell the student. Not until I was shown by another instructor how to do this did I realize how to do it. At the end of the gradesheet I make a "perfect" student who gets 100% on every assignment. Then I can take the students current percentage and divide it by the "perfect" student to get the grade. Good thing we can depend upon others for help.
Many students like to see how they are progressing and show general concern for what they are learning.
Just like so many other aspects of life communication is key. By communicating with a student over the course of the class there are no surprises when the final grade is given. When students are aware of their progress they are able to make informed decisions regarding their education.
Students need to be well informed of their status in the course so they will be able to review and focus in areas where they are weak.
Hi Christina:
Right. And early on is better thatn later on when help or assistance or even just status can do little to affect a grade. I think more frequent chats, even if informal, are better than some big status report. Most teachers can glance at their (electronic or manual) grade book and let a student know where they stand. Should be done as privately as possible, and sprinkled with encouragement and support.
Regards, Barry
students need to know where they stand so that they can get tutoring help if needed or buckle down if they are slacking
They must be cuurent on their status so that they don't deceive themselves that they are "doing well" when they are really failing
I encourage students to keep up with their own grades as sort of a back up for my errors. I also use an online grade book system that allows students to access their grades for individual classes. This will give them the opportunity to see their grades as of the current submissions. If a student is aware of an overall average grade in a particular class, they get an idea of how they are performing and possibly which areas should need a little more attention. Because all of the materials for each class carry a certain amount of weight for the ultimate average, students don't get the full effect of just keeping up with test and quiz scores.
Students want to do that all their hard work is paying off it is up to us to keep them on the right track thru the course by letting them know how they are doing and helping them when they need it
Hi Deborah:
I think frequent, if even casual, and early on does the most good. We can encourage, give advice, and time will be available to see a change in student performance and perhaps their grade.
Regards, Barry
They will know how well or how poorly they are doing. If performing poorly, they will, hopefully, dedicate themselves to studying more and applying themselves.
Hi Jean:
Yeah, no one likes surprises. Good or bad, informing students of status, earlier than later, and frequently is good. There needs to be time for reflection, correction, and inflection in the grade to occur. Waiting too long can limit the improvement in grade and/or performance.
Regards, Barry
Hi April:
One way you can use the students to help is have them wite their names on a sheet of paper along with the categories and a space for their grades thus far. Then collect them, and just fill in the blanks and hand them back. But for more impact, do the same exercise, but hand each one back personnaly so you can commend , comment, encourage, and reinforce your commitment to assisting them. They'll appreciate it.
Regards, Barry
Hi April:
Frequent progress or status reports give the student a chance to make corrections in their studies. Waiting too long or leaving it up to the students to decide to discuss their status may not help measure their performance acurately.
Regards, Barry
Hi Robert:
We also can impart suggestions for improvement and offer our encouragement and support.
Regards, Barry