Hi Glen,
I do the same thing, and when they do not meet the deadline they have no one to blame but themselves.
Patricia Scales
I give weekly reminders on my assignments sometimes with the harsh consequences of not having it in on time. This is very effective
Hi Melissa,
I like how you encourage your students to come to class by giving quizzes unannounced. We have to do what we can to encourage our students to attend because attendance is vitally important.
Patricia Scales
Hi Patricia,
I find it important to always stay on top of student's grades and assignments. By knowing where students are, I can usually help with any questions they may have on a particular assignment. I do have some students that just will not submit certain written assignments, but most will do the assignments when I ask for them!
To check for relevancy of the material, I do give students weekly quizzes. They are unsure when I will give them, and at what time. Plus, if they are absent, they lose the five points for the quiz for the week and do not get the chance to make it up. This slows down on the coming late, leaving early, and not coming to class at all.
Melissa Giudici
Hi Melissa,
Students need to know how they are progressing, and the instructor needs to know if the student is grasping the information. It is a part of your job to follow up with student assignments.
Patricia Scales
Following up with student assignments is important because it helps me keep my grade book current so I know what their grades are so and I can let them know of any missing assignments. This is important for them to know as they have a grace period if they missed class. To insure they are keeping up with their text book readings, they are given a quiz over the previous class materials every time we have class.
I have found that if you do not follow up on their assignments they just conveniently forget about it. So I make it a point to send them reminder emails with what is due. I remind them in class just once or twice but I do insist that they have to keep up with whats due by looking on the class calendar and checking emails regularly.
If you don't follow up on assignments and the students see that you don't value their work, chaos will ensure. You must show the students that assignments are not just for assignment sake, but to show their knowledge and that their work is valuable.
Hi William,
Assignments should be followed up on so that they instructor can determine if the students are grasping the information or not.
Patricia Scales
It's a truth that following up on the students assignments shows a caring instructor that views and corrects the assignments and to discuss the responses in class to make sure they understand any wrong responses.
This is critical if the student is to feel that you are taking their work and time seriously. When an instructor gives an assignment, he or she should be willing to spend the time grading and returning said assignments in a timely manner. Otherwise, students assume that you aren't really interested in their work, and don't mind if they put in minimal effort. Following up on assignments reinforces the importance of a student's involvement in the class, and also helps to monitor a student's progress and whether any student is falling behind on a concept. without assignments, there is little way to gauge a student's progress.
It is important to follow up on assignments because it let's us know as instructors which students are doing the assignment and which students are not. It is also important because it signifies that the instructor is serious and will be following up on everything that is assigned either as classwork or homework.
I my college, we use two type of rubric for evaluating the courses- one which is more traditional- with less number of homework and assignment and more weightage on exams; and other being more balanced in which exams make up to 50 percent and homework makes about 50%. I think the second one works better from learning point of view. Although, it increases more work for an instructor, but as an instructor I like to continuous monitor my student's learning process and if some problem arises, I can take steps to intervene. For example- I use mastering- a Pearson online homework tool, where I can assign homework and monitor the student learning progress. It gives me an opportunity to timely identify if student is having trouble with the concepts or not. If I see somebody's performance is going down, I contact them and ask if they need additional help.
Hi James,
As a new instructor, I have been spending a lot of time putting thought into how I will weigh grades. I really think that your approach is great. Thank you for sharing your system.
Hi Josette,
I agree! We need to prepare our students for the real world. Employers are not going to tolerate deadlines not being met.
Patricia Scales
I have always been a stickler about students handing in their assignments on time. My subject area is medical and I constantly remind my students that patients (and their employer ) are not going to give you a second chance. I feel that it is very important to their success in the workplace that they learn this very early on in their educational process so I do not allow for any late submission except for:
1) they are admitted to the hospital (documentation required)
2) they are in the morgue and then it doesn't much matter (this usually gets a laugh out of them to lighten the day)
I often come up with review sheets as well so students can take the lecture information with them in lab to make it easier to start applying all of the new information. This helps other lab instructors as well know what material was presented because they were not present for the lecture portion.
It will give the instructor a chance to see if the students understand the course content and let the students know you are serious.
In addition to reminding my students about an upcoming assignment in class, I also send a reminder email to the entire group. Any students who have been absent get the reminder along with the rest of the class.
Hi Michael,
You can even use different formatting on your syllabus to draw attention to when assignments are due.
Patricia Scales
