Motivating Timeliness
Over time I have struggled with motivating timeliness in students submitting work. Many approaches involve some kind of reduction in the score earned: no credit at all, 25% off, 10% off per week late, etc. Students view these approaches as punitive, and I have had many students react negatively to such approaches. A few years ago, I started scoring multiple facets on assignments, such as giving scores for content and quality, format and mechanics, and timeliness. This way a student is always earning a score (a positive effect), not being punished for being late (a negative effect). Since instituting this approach, I have not received a single complaint about unfairness in scoring timeliness.
sounds like a great method!
This is a great idea. I am big on punctuality and time management; however, it doesn't seem to be high on everyone's list. When I have tried the same with "punishment" deductions, I either got no response, or a negative outcome. I will definitely incorporate your idea next quarter. Thanks!
Hi Richard,
Thank you for sharing your experience in figuring out an evaluation format that works for you and your students. Your approach is why a grading rubric is so important. By breaking up the score into segments you can assign points in categories that merit them rather than just a blanket score and is shows the students exactly where they earned their points.
Gary
