Why do you grade the way you do? How does that focus/practice help you understand your “philosophy” of composition?
Above all, I want to be fair when grading, but that leads to all kinds of problems when teaching. First of all, you cannot give each and every student the time and focus they need because you would be in the classroom for days! Realistically though, I see that all students are not created equal in their learning abilities and determination. It is like trying to walk 16 different types of dogs, ranging from a bull mastif to a dauchsand, all at once and expecting them all to behave. As far as my teaching philosophy goes, I want to give my students 100% of the time while in the classroom. I believe that with more hands on learning, the students will be better equipped to tackle writing and reading issues down the road. Granted, I won’t be able to teach them everything, but the basics will be first (like grammar, form, content, voice). Once that foundation has been set, then we will be able to work on details.
In regards to my grading, I have to remind my self to follow the directions first. Then I look more specifically at content, form, and structure. If I can’t get the jest of what you are saying because of the grammatical errors, then I have no choice but to take off. The past six weeks of grading have shown me that hardly any student proofreads their papers, which is a shame because it helps so much! Anyway, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but that’s a lot like trying to read a psychiatrist’s mind: you don’t want to go there.
Victoria said,
October 20, 2009 at 3:19 am
I’m most definitely in the same boat with you about wanting to help students as much as possible. My issue is that I don’t feel like they want to take anything away from this class, which is most disheartening. I do, however, like that you acknowledge that everyone learns differently. Just because a student doesn’t have a “learning disability” does not mean that he or she will pick up on certain things faster or better than a student who does.
Erin Castle said,
October 22, 2009 at 1:13 am
You are very pragmatic.
Seriously though, I agree. I want to make a genuine attempt to give helpful feedback when I am grading, but sometimes I wonder if any of my suggestions ever reach the students. I know they see the grade—that damn letter grade (which I know, I know we HAVE to give it, but still)!! But what about the words on the page telling them ways in which they can improve their writing? I thought Dr. Baake posed a really interesting predicament on Tuesday about whether or not we should be expected to put forth the effort if a student clearly did not put forth the same amount of effort. Moments ago, as I gazed over my very first Draft 1.1 I thought, yes, I will put forth the effort—but really and truly, the answer is no…it would be an interesting and lively debate, I’m sure.
oabernethy said,
October 27, 2009 at 8:47 pm
While I want the students to put in as much effort as I do, I know that is not realistic. What it comes down to is how am I affecting the students and their work? Is it positive? negative? helpful? redundant? In a perfect world, teachers and students would meet halfway, but in reality, it’s more like 75%-25% with the teachers doing most of the work. Either way, I would rather give them more commentary or feedback than not. Regardless of if they use it or not, I know I gave them every opprotunity to succeed. Now it is just a question of whether they have the determination and patience to work with their writing and such.
Becky said,
October 27, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I LOVE the metaphor of walking the dogs–you might consider putting that in your teaching portfolio!
Assessing is difficult, though, esp. when you start seeing that the student who’s not as talented spends way more time than the one who is…and so forth. How will you handle situations like that?
oabernethy said,
October 27, 2009 at 8:43 pm
True, assessment can be a tricky thing. I definitely rely on previous work in order to “assess” progress in my work and in other’s. When teaching, I think it is prudent to keep up with the student’s work so as to give proper feedback and support to their progress. And by keeping up with their progress individually, I can keep tabs on the class as a whole by being able to see any trends or problems I need to address to the class.
As far as students who have more ‘talent’ when it comes to writing, I am going to want to see them push themselves stylistically and content wise. Just because writing may come to them as an easy skill doesn’t mean they can slack off. Also, I think the class will benefit from their ability as a whole. That student (or students) won’t be singled out to make the class feel bad, but they can help the other students understand how to write better in a way I, as a teacher, could not because I am not their peer.