How can we use end-of-the-quarter grading to help our students continue the learning process even after they’ve left our classrooms?

We often talk about grading solely as a form of evaluation and judgment without considering the various ways it can help students learn. As we near the end of the quarter, consider using grading as a tool to increase students’ critical awareness of their own learning process. (more…)

As we move toward the end of the quarter, how can we use writing to assess student learning this quarter and help us plan for next quarter’s teaching?

Having students reflect on course materials and course activities can provide you with a picture of how students are learning as well as let you know if there are aspects of your course that might need fine-tuning. It can also help students to synthesize the work they’ve done over the quarter. (more…)

Chris Manion and I worked with Mechanical Engineering lab TAs and their coordinator Kimberly Clavin to discuss the criteria for grading technical writing on student lab reports. Our approach, overall, was to help the TAs articulate their expectations for lab writing in as concrete a way as possible. We hoped to give them an opportunity to discuss different good methods while they were grading lab reports. (more…)

We were invited to do a workshop for the Women’s Studies department on how to respond to student drafts. The professor leading a class for new GTAs indicated that her students wanted more information and “tips” on how to approach and comment on student writing. (more…)

Beck André, the manager of eLearning at OSU’s Technology Enhanced Learning and Research (TELR), and I put together this workshop to explore the possibilities Carmen (OSU’s course management platform) offers for writing activities. (more…)