This is our EDUCATORS’ EDEN™ series wherein we explore the paradise that the most passionate, creative and committed educators create for themselves, their students, peers, administrations and institutions! This episode is, “Why Don’t Students Read…the Syllabus, Assignment Instructions, My Email, etc.?”
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela It is exciting when we educators create and disseminate the tools to enable out students to succeed! We are eager for them to enjoy learning new content, to enlarge their vision of the world and to uncover their hidden talents via our course. Our intention is for them to have every available opportunity to prepare, plan and provide their best quality work! This drives us to provide clarity and communication to make their tasks as well defined as possible. What is required, when it is required, how it should be submitted, where it should be submitted, how it will be evaluated and graded, when it will returned to them, etc., are all important details that we want them to have by the start of the course! Thus, they will be able to plan ahead to achieve all of their academic goals in conjunction with all of their other responsibilities throughout the course term. We are in a constant improvement process to enhance and improve our syllabus, assignments, instructions, class communications, etc., to make them clearer and more comprehensive. Ideally, our students will be able to use these documents as guides to ensure that they understand all of the requirements and are meeting their own individual academic goals. The most pristine and powerful documentation is useless if it is not accessed. The deflating reality is that in some instances our students decide not to read the documents that we worry so much about (in terms of making them better and more effective for our classes). A great novel that is never read by a student is not a great novel for that student. The same principle applies to our class content. We educators lament, “The answer is in the syllabus. Why don’t they read the syllabus that I provided to them instead of asking me a question that I have already answered?” We lose perspective in that instant and selfishly focus on all of our labor, our love of the course content, our intense effort to create documentation for make their lives easier. We must step back and accept and respect the choices that our students make in their own lives. Some students read nothing in the entire class (no assignments, no syllabus, no instructions, etc.) and earn grades that satisfy their individual needs. Some students read everything provided in class and have skill deficiencies that prevent them from earning their desired grade in the class. No matter what choices the students make [...] This episode is part of our EDUCATORS’ EDEN™ series wherein we explore the paradise that the most passionate, creative and committed educators create for themselves, their students, peers, administrations and institutions!
“There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.” - Socrates. This series acknowledges the power of education! Those fortunate enough to be educators share knowledge to ensure that their love of learning is able to flourish and thrive in a version of eden! Teaching (any students, in any format, in any setting) is honorable and one of the most special endeavors that humans engage in. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela Our show topic is, “Grading Feedback...How Much Is Too Much?" I really enjoy grading student submissions! Yes, I honestly look forward to the student grading process. Not all educators always feel the same way! “So we stay up late. And, then, all too often, students ignore our efforts. First, they turn the pages to check the grade, and, then, maybe glance at the copious notes we labored so long and late to produce. Unfortunately, all too often we find that students don’t use our feedback. We wonder if all that time spent giving it was really worth the effort. What can we do to shorten grading time and give feedback that students will read and use? Rubrics, an assessment tool, are one solution. They cut grading time in half, and they communicate our expectations in writing well before students start the assignment.” (http://www.nea.org/home/34447.htm) Grading student submissions is one of the most fascinating aspects of teaching! We just have to prepare and plan ahead for it to be fun! Having the opportunity to access the student submissions where they share their innermost thoughts, their analysis, and their unique worldview is a privilege. The entire process of disseminating information to several students at the same time and in the same manner (via in class lecture in a physical classroom, via releasing an audio lecture in an online classroom, etc.) and then having the ability to observe how different students accessed that information and interpreted it is exciting. It is like going to see a movie with a group of friends and then discussing it afterwards and finding out how differently we all experienced the same content. There are times when it will seem like we didn’t even see the same film! The way we all interpret information is related to our individual experiences, our existing knowledge base, our interests, our biases, and a range of other factors. It is the same exploration of how we and other people process the world when I have the opportunity to grade student submissions. We all have been in the same class with the same information yet that shared experience is filtered through the lens of each scholars’ unique combination of factors that make them an individual. There are times when I grade work and I learn that I need to address enhancement of, or replacement of, a particular issue that was not conveyed effectively to a large portion of the group. At other times I will ask myself if we all were in the same class (based on the different interpretations of the content and assignment parameters). Some students have heightened attention to the smallest details and will address items that I did not even note when preparing the lesson and/ or assessment. There are other times when students do not read the assigned material, assignment instructions, syllabus and/ or other mandatory material and that omission will result in them not completing the required tasks. That is their choice and it is insightful to access what actions the student decided to take (or not to take). Grading permits me to gain individual data about how each student learns, what their interests are, where their skill weaknesses exist and what strengths and mastery they already possess. It also permits me to obtain group data regarding the course content (where the group had similar challenges is often an indicator of the need for additional improvement of that specific content delivery process). I also learn new ways of interpreting the material myself, which is a delight! The reality is that all of our enthusiasm for teaching in general and for grading specifically may result in us providing inappropriate and excessive feedback to our students. This may happen because we: 1) Want to do everything in our power to ensure that [...] Why I Won't (or can't) Tell You "The Answer" in my Corporate Education Program and/ or Class...8/1/2014
This episode is part of our EDUCATORS’ EDEN™ series wherein we explore the paradise that the most passionate, creative and committed educators create for themselves, their students, peers, administrations and institutions!
“There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance.” - Socrates. This series acknowledges the power of education! Those fortunate enough to be educators share knowledge to ensure that their love of learning is able to flourish and thrive in a version of eden! Teaching (any students, in any format, in any setting) is honorable and one of the most special endeavors that humans engage in. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela Our show topic is, “Sage on the stage? Good, bad, obsolete?” Definition of SAGE: .... |
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