…and April Is Especially Cruel for Those Who Assign Papers

Those of you who’ve taken the WI workshop series have heard our spiel about how to save time when dealing with papers. Although it’s likely too late to redesign assignments, you might Consider separating commenting from grading.  Research shows that students usually don’t carry writing feedback from the end of one class into the next [...]

One Way to Save Time Grading: Outsource

Too busy to comment on student papers?  Master’s students in India stand ready to take on the job, according to the Chronicle of Higher Ed.  Cost for giving feedback to 20 students on six assignments: $1,440.

What’s Your Paper-Grading Practice?

Hofstra University fine arts professor Laurie Fendrich outlines how she tackles a stack of student essays in “4 days, 40 papers.” Team-teaching a large lecture course, Fendrich assigned one small essay, wrote all over it (too much IMHO), asked for a revision, and then awarded checks with plus or minus.  This assignment, however, she’s grading. [...]