Yes, it is extremely important. Students will not perceive the assignment as important if you make no attempts to collect them. Each assignment I give to my students is designed to further their comprehension of the subject matter. Not only will this benefit students in the course, but will also give them an edge in their chosen career.
So you can verify if your students are able to keep up in class and if there are topics that need more clarification. It helps them to engage if they know the instructor is paying attention to their work.
Hi Anna,
If students feel as though you are not going to grade/follow up with the assignment, they are not going to do it. They will put their energy into something that will be graded.
Patricia
I feel that it is important to do all follow up with your students for many reasons, #1 it shows them that they are important to you, that they are not just another face in a faceless crowd. They also will continue to complete and excel in thier studies when they know you are going to follow up.
I really like that quote!! And it is definitely true. I assign small vocabulary matchings that don't actually count for a grade, but help me know who is applying themselves to the class. There have been a few times when I don't get to go over them and inevitably there are at least twice as many people who don't do the next one that is assigned to them thinking I won't check that one either.
When you fail to follow up on assignments and readings, you leave the student to assume that you are not serious about the assignments. That can leave the student believing that the material is not important or relevant. It also encourages the student to not do the assignment or the readings. By following up, you encourage the student to complete the assignments in a timely fashion and you reinforce the behavior that you desire in the class and that will be expected of the student one he or she enters the work force.
Hi Thomas,
And may I add, instructors should care enough aboout the student's success to find out if students are grasping the material or not.
Patricia
Hi David,
It is important to discuss answers with students so that they can determine why they got a particular question wrong. The "why" is very important.
Patricia
Hi Ellen,
Extremely frustrating. This poor practice is so unfair to students. Students deserve the right to know how they have done on an assignment within a timely manner. At my institution, I encourage feedback the next day or next class meeting, whichever comes first.
Patricia
Students need to know that their assignments are important. Lessons learned here will carry on into their professional life
I feel that this is an important part of their future employment. They will be expected to be timely with their attendance and work performance as an employee. I try to make this point to them when they are given their syllabus, assignments and when they are in their clinical portion of schooling. I stress that clinicals is a form of job interview and the assignments given for homework helps to increase their overall knowledge, as they will not actually experience some of the various surgeries during their clinical time.
Hi Darlene,
It is tough when you teach in an accelerated program to review work each day. At my institution it is highly suggested that we review work each day for our accelerated programs.
Patricia
The school currently orders a text and a workbook for each student. We ask students to find the answers to some of the workbook questions in the text, and we discuss the answers in class. The multiple choice quizes from the textbook publisher do not always address the concepts in the workbook. The challenge is to select the most important concepts from a great wealth of material in a few short weeks of class. The solution might be to start with the objective test questions and compose study guides to match.
I agree with Mark S. I teach in an accelerated program that does not allow work to be reviewed ea day. However, due the quantity I use some of the assigments as a lecture outline and the students have completed the assignment are able to follow along. It works well for me. Students are notified well in advance that this particular assignment will be used as lecture/discussion.
Yes. I think this is important, too. I remember being a student and instructors taking weeks to get things back to me and it was very frustrating.
It's part of clear expectations. I am very clear about what will be collected, when it will be collected, so it's shouldn't be a shock when it is collected.
I absolutely agree. It's important for all students that an instructor take pride in the class and following up on assignments is certainly one way to show this. It shows that not only am I serious about the assignment and material, but I genuinely care about the success of the students. I want them to see the relevance of this material and I want them to succeed.
I beleive its a matter of modeling appropriate time management skills to my students. Students who meet deadlines for turned-in assignments want me to review them and give them feedback as soon as possible. They expect it of me as an instructor.
Therefore, I have to strategically place deadline dates early in the week in order to give these students feedback before they break for the upcoming weekend. My time management skills have to prioritize these students results or I run the risk of losing their enthusiasm for my class.
Hi Sherri,
I like how you have made this whole concept applicable to the real world. Deadlines are made to be adhered to, not broken.
Patricia
Hi Jennifer,
Absolutely! As instructors we should want to know if our students are grasping the information.
Patricia
