…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 [...]

Teaching Tip: Just Ask

What’s one of the best, quickest things you can do to improve your teaching?  Get formative feedback from your students BEFORE the semester is over.  I know that you already will be encouraging students to complete end-of-semester ratings forms, but those forms frequently don’t tell you what you want to know for several reasons.  Students [...]

Writing (Teaching) Tip: Metacognitive Comments, Anyone?

At the recent Writing Research Across Borders conference at George Mason University, I attended a presentation on “The Impact of Metacognitive Strategies within Writing in the Disciplines.”  In a nutshell, having students reflect about their rhetorical choices definitely improves their metacognitive thinking and may actually improve their writing. Several University of Michigan faculty members presented [...]

Writing (Teaching) Tip–Acknowledging that Criticism Hurts

English playwright John Osborne once said, “Asking a writer what he thinks about criticism is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs.” That makes you, in the eyes of most students, a dog.  They write; you criticize. In an earlier blog, I wrote about genuine praise, or “appreciative inquiry,” as a feedback tool.  [...]

Less Happy New Year? Responding to Student Writing

Carolyn provided the inspiration.  I’m providing the reality check. A lot of your work this semester is going to be a waste of your time–especially when you’re responding to student writing. Some students will not read your comments, or read all of them. Some students will not understand your comments, or understand all of them. [...]

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. [...]