Immediacy for instructors
Regarding overcoming the issue of immediacy, I think a lot of instructors feel pressured by their students to get assignments graded and handed back in an immediate fashion, and end up burning themselves out.
I have had a few students "remind" me that they sign my paychecks! At that point I just remind them that I am only human with only two hands and patience is a virtue they may want to work on.
Joseph, That's a really interesting point. Quick turn around in grading can absolutely benefit instructors too. In some disciplines like culinary, having that kind of feedback while teaching can make or break your effectiveness.
Dr. Melissa Read
I know in my case the students are asking within hours of taking the test. I like to grade my papers as soon as possible.
Its not so much about getting them done quickly or "immediacy" but it allows me to see where my students are in understanding the concepts they were testing on. Being a pastry arts instructor, if they dont not understand I need to reaffirm the lessons prior to continuing.
Wow, I am shocked by your student. It is amazing how disrespectful students have gotten over the years. That was a good idea to report the matter to the department chair. I think that may be a good idea for me to do as well. Good luck to you too!
Hi Christine:
I can't believe how disrespectful that student was to you regarding the test. I am just like you - I like to provide quick feed-back to the students. However, your health comes first. You asked if anyone had encountered a similar situation. My situation did not involve returning tests, but it did involve a disrespectful and rude student. The student was late for class, missed half of our quiz that day, and then proceeded to leave the room 3 times during the duration of the class. When I approached her after class, instead of apologizing, she told me that she had a student government activity to tend to that could not have waited until after class. I handled it similarly to you: I explained the school policy regarding classes and told her that it was her responsiblity to comply. I also reported the matter to my department chairperson so that there would be a record of what had happened. I guess you might want to consider doing that as well: if a student is rude and disrespectful, make a record of it just in case it blossoms into something else in the future. Good luck.
Hi David,
I too have had the pressure from students to return graded assignments back immediately. Partly, I do not like to have clutter around my office, even if the paperwork is in an orderly fashion. I do like to have a neat and orderly office. Yet at the same time, I believe the students today want instant gratification. I actually recently encountered a situation when I felt burnt out from school work and home life. I was actually sick with a fever from the pressures. I had a student act disrespectfully toward me, stating it was my job to return tests and all of other graded assignments in the following class. I had to explain to him that I was the professor and he was the student. It was disrespectful of him dictate to me what my job was and wasn't. They had recently taken a test and I didn't hand it back the following class due to the fact that I was sick. I also went on stating that all assignments and tests would be returned in a timely fashion as outlined in the course syllabus. I was rather annoyed by his comments, although I tried not to take it out on the student directly. Have you ever encountered a situation similar to this? If so, how would you handle such a situation? I am curious to get the feedback from other teachers. I never have had a student respond to me in that fashion and was taken back myself. When I was a student, I just accepted the fact that the teacher would hand it back whenever he or she had completed the grading. I never dared to tell a teacher what he or she should do such as this one student.
David, Yes I know the feeling. There is a certain sense of entitlement on instant feedback. This is, in part, created by testing and grading software that automates a lot of the process that instructors typically own.
Dr. Melissa Read
