Don't grade Homework!
My philosophy is that homework is where you learn. Other assessment, such as tests, papers and projects is where you demonstrate your learning. I grade homework on completion. It is easier on me and less stressful on my students.
I try to meet once a week with all of my students in clinical to grade their homework with them with me
I agree with you about the students not "trying" when they know it's not going to be graded.
1) I will NEVER tell them that I am not going to grade the homework.
2) If it is a math assignment, i will certainly check it out to make sure they know what they are doing, or are at least on the right track. In which case i can give them guidance if that are not.
3) We have a vocab assignment which revolves around pastry/culinary terminology. That is something that requires my review, because there are many answers for a particular question (some of which might not be right). For example: "Hydroscopic". There are so many students who give me the definition for "hydroscope"... say this is a device used to view objects beneath the surface of the water. I laugh at that answer quite often. Then I tell them, that's true, but what on earth does that have to do with pastry arts?!
I suppose that grading vs. not grading homework is subjective....according to what he assignment is exactly. I do try to give a grade though, if they do the work properly, they should EARN a grade.
J M Stephenson
LCB Chicago
If they know this ahead of time, they may get lazy. If they believe they are being graded on correct information, they will try harder.
I COMPLETELY AGREE!!!! I give them a participation grade for their homework based on completion.
I grade all papers. It seems unfair to those who make an effort to not recognize their hard work. I also make a point of teaching the students how to follow basic instructions in the outline which also displays effort. Just like instructors, I think students appreciate feedback which can be very motivational. Assignments need not be too long - enough to allow them to learn and reinforce concepts.
Michael, when I taught in a traditional brick-and-mortar school, I did this too. The course was half lecture, half lab. So while they had papers and tests for the lecture component of class, the lab score was primarily participation (if they turned in their lab sheets and it was clear they had actually put in effort, they got full credit). In my experience, it made people feel a little bit better around exam time because they had the lab grade to help buoy negative exam grades.
However, I've not tried this approach in an all-online environment. I am curious as to how it would work in a course that didn't have a lab component. What do you think?
-Lindsay
I have to grade homework, it ensures that they are creating their pieces properly. If they're working on a team project or something that will take all semester long, I have to make sure that they are taking the proper steps in every way possible. Homework milestones help me achieve this goal.
Shawn, Interesting approach. Sounds like you are relying on recall of information rather than recognition. Recall testing formats do tend to be more challenging and do require the students to put more thought into their studies.
Dr. Melissa Read
I also grade based on completion.I do not give homework assignments from the book, like chapter reviews. I do fill in the blank question assignments. If they do not study it is obvious in their test scores.
I would love to grade homework on completion because I agree that it is a learning process and not an assessment. However, I am required to assign a certain, and rather large, number of points to homework assignments. I feel that I have to grade them so that I do not over-inflate their course grades.
I have colleagues that give 100% if the student turns in homework or projects. If I find that the course requires too much homework etc, I prefer to take time during class to go over the material and ask questions of them to make sure they understand the topic. Its faster and it reassures me that they are on track.
Homework assignments are not only tools for students but in grading assignments i can gauge whether my students understand the materials or not.
Yeh Scott, sometimes the 'right answers' we have maybe not what the student creates but still learns from the journey.
I grade homework. My thought process is why assign it if you are not making sure they are doing it and doing it correctly. If you measure homework as a learning tool and they are not doing correctly, then they are learning incorrectly. I believe you lose some respect from students if you are only assigning the homework a s busy work.
Well, I tried this method but I found out the hard way that, they just hand it in without trying too hard. Answers are all wrong and they don't even spend time if not graded based on answers. I had to grade it because of this.
Scott, That is an interesting approach. I'd be curious to learn more about how you ensure students are learning the material properly.
Dr. Melissa Read
I agree, homework for is more of a guide that the student is completing work and accessing other supplemental work.
I also grade homework on completion, not on whether it is correct.
I totally agree. I also grade homework on completion.
