Blog Entry #4-Grading and Cheating

After reading these chapters I have grown a greater appreciation for my professors who I now realize have spent countless hours grading exams. These chapters brought me back to memories of myself as an undergraduate reviewing my grade on essay questions and feeling like I had been cheated out of a few points here and there. I'm positive there have been multiple times that I had marched into my professors' offices and debated with them about my grade. I now realize I was that student; that one who cared more about my grades than anything and would fight for every point until I got it. That's the kind of student that intimidates me the most. The one who will question whether I've done my job grading correctly or whether I didn't give them a point where I gave someone else the point. I was that student so I can understand where they will be coming from. Although, that might not make it any easier to deal with.

• From chapter 8 from the book First Day to Final Grade, I found the section on grading short answer and essay questions to be very useful. The book states that it is important to list the key points that you are looking for when grading these answers. A teacher should give partial credit for a short answer/essay that covers some of the desired points. Deciding ahead of time how many points will be given for a partial answers and how to calculate the weight of each key point is very important so students know they are being graded fairly.

This section was useful to me for several reasons. As I mentioned before, I was the student who always felt like I got cheated out of points on these questions. For that reason, I want to be a teacher who students can rely on to be fair when grading. I feel like I can grade fairly by formulating a list of the key concepts I expect from the short answer questions ahead of time. I will also list of topics or concepts that I will give partial credit for (those being points that aren't dead on but closely related to what I was looking for). I think it will be useful to write these points down for the students when going over the test. If I do this, I feel like they will know that I graded them the same and carefully considered what they wrote. I want to make my list available to them after the test to help them learn and figure out what they had right or wrong in their answer.

• First Day to Final Grade also suggests telling the students the minimum length their answers can be for these questions (p. 144). Other than the fact that it will save time on grading, this idea will communicate with students that they don't have to write everything they know about the subject.

Students may feel overwhelmed by the weight and complexity of an exam/short answer question. If students are informed that they need to just include several key concepts rather than "fluff", as my former professor called it, it may also alleviate some anxiety about the test questions. I just like the idea of being straight forward with the students and providing this extra information so they aren't so overwhelmed on exam days. I think a good way to implement this idea is to make sure the student knows how many points each question is worth and the weight of each correct concept they write down. If they know there are only 4 points possible I would bet they would spend much less time and write a lot less than if there were fifteen points possible. I'm sure there will still be students who write and fill from space on the entire page, but hopefully this advice will make my and their lives easier.

Other than just telling students how long their answer should be, I felt like the biggest take-home message from the grading chapters was to being careful when grading. McKeachie covers a few different methods of how to differently grade students more based on their competency and skills learned. Students will complain no matter what but opening communication about why you graded the way you did will make this less common (I would hope!). I found this link useful, which reiterated good basics for testing and grading.

• From McKeachie's Teaching Tips, chapter 10 provided some interesting information on cheating. A few of the tips to reduce cheating are to reduce pressure on tests by providing a few opportunities for the students to easily show their learning achievements (ex. starting out the test with a few very easy questions to build confidence), have a discussion early on in the course addressing the issue of cheating, write an interesting and reasonable test, and reduce stress by addressing issues students may be having in the class.

I found these concepts to be useful because I didn't think there were ways of keeping cheaters from cheating. I will implement these ideas in my own teaching so I can hopefully make cheating less common in my classes without making the students feel like I don't trust them. The part about graduate assistants not proctoring very actively was interesting to me (McKeachie, p. 117). I believe graduate assistants might let things slide to keep from falling out of favor with the students. The suggestion of walking to the aisles with a more helpful question answering demeanor may keep the students on good terms with you and keep them from cheating. Simply showing that you are alert and watching for cheating will hopefully deter some students from doing it. On a side note, McKeachie's approach to why and how students cheat was informative and showed me how I can be more conscious of how students are using technology to cheat.

The link I found about why students cheat has been my personal favorite thus far. I guess I have never thought about any reasons why a student would cheat other than the fact that they didn't study. The thing I really liked about this link is that there are teaching strategies to help prevent all kinds of cheating. Another link I found was about teachers helping students cheat on their college placement tests. Sad but true, sometimes teachers cheat too!

Textbooks are still useful! Who would’ve thought? This is surprising to me due to advancements in technology and the invention of the computer. McKeachie points out in Ch. 4 of Teaching Tips that textbooks are still very useful as course material. I agree that textbooks are useful, although I do wish that teachers would make better choices in selecting them. As an undergraduate, I seldom had to open a textbook. This wasn’t because I didn’t want to; this was because I didn’t have to. Every course was assigned one or two books that we almost never had to reference. Was this due to poor planning on the teacher’s part? Or was this due to the fact that the material was related but out of date? I'm not sure, but I can say that I will try to learn from this and make careful textbook selections for my classes.

I think it’s important for teachers to take special consideration when choosing books, articles, and reading passages for their courses. McKeachie notes that students can learn more efficiently from reading than many other classroom activities. This is interesting to me because I am a hands on learner. It is extremely hard for me to focus on reading material if my environment isn’t completely silent and without distractions. Knowing that reading may be beneficial to many students helps remind me that I need to incorporate activities for all types of learners in my courses.

A possible problem with reading assignments is that students may feel like they don’t need to know the material. A suggestion I like from the book is to tell students why you chose the reading and how they should read it. Students may not see reading as valuable, but if you explain to them ahead of time what they should take from the reading they may read it more efficiently. I would like to incorporate this into my teaching as I believe it will give my students confidence that I am not making them read something that isn't important.

I will also use the suggestion of pairing a reading passage with an assignment. For an assignment, it may not a good idea to only ask for definitions or specific quotes, but rather pose thought provoking questions. Students who have to look for only quotes or definitions may be more apt to just find that material instead of reading the whole passage. I believe students will get the most out of reading if they have an assignment to go with it that makes them think about what they read.

A great way to enhance active learning is through discussion. In chapter five there are a lot of great tips for starting a discussion, handling emotional thoughts that may come with a discussion and handling varying levels of participation. My favorite subsection is the one that refers to playing the devil’s advocate, a role that I often play. I like how McKeachie points out how one may be perceived by students when taking on this role. The downside to playing the devil’s advocate is that students may feel the teacher is trying to fool them or they are being manipulated. The suggestions of how to not be perceived this way are helpful. For instance, it would be useful for me to say, “I am going to take on the role of devil’s advocate and this is my stance on this issue….” My stance may be in disagreement with most of the class. As the book mentions, disagreements can be constructive if properly presented.

Other suggestions I like from this chapter:

-Allow students time to think before they answer discussion questions
-Keep quiet when possible to let students learn from each other in discussions
-Give students discussion questions ahead of time for the next class
-Ask students to write down 1-2 questions (pertaining to a reading assignment) that will be handed in at the beginning of the next class

One suggestion that I have mixed feelings about is the use of an online discussion. I had to be a part of an online discussion once and all I had to do was roll out of bed and type a few sentences. I didn't have to take notes or respond to other students' posts. I wonder if anyone in that discussion was actually engaged in the content. I want to know my students are engaged and I feel I might not achieve that by using an online discussion.

A positive thing about an online discussion is that it may give a voice to students that are less likely to speak up in class. I may come off as an unsympathetic person who doesn’t care about quiet students, but the more I think about it the more ignorant I realize my comments have been on that subject. Feedback from a quiet student is just as valuable as a talkative student. I want quiet students to feel like their voice can and should be heard. I probably won’t go out of my way to make them speak in class, but I need to remember they can provide good ideas and thoughts to other students. An online discussion may be a great way of facilitating that. I also found some tips on keeping students' attention in online learning sessions.

Now onto the topic of lecturing covered in chapter six. It appears that lecturing has a lot of downsides. In my area of interest, lecturing is more used than any other method of teaching. McKeachie points out that the lecturer’s attitude and enthusiasm are a huge part of what makes a lecture successful. I think this will be a key element to my teaching. Chapter six gave me a lot of ways in which I can deliver a lecture that can engage students and does not only achieve ‘surface learning’.

An interesting point in this chapter is that we view learning as being stored in various networks in the brain. This is opposed to the old theory that learning was stored and tucked away. This gives me all the more reason to try and teach science in different ways than just straight lecturing. Incorporating activities in a lecture may be a good idea for me to keep students’ interest and enhance synthesis of the material. A good suggestion is to let the lecture be somewhat spontaneous and not word for word from the lecture notes. It puts students into a daze when all they do is stare at a board and take notes. I think I will be able to hold student's interest more if I allow for discussion and additional activities with lecture material.

I think it is a good idea to have lecture notes that flow. An introduction can cover material from the last session, a body can give facts and stress a few major points, and a conclusion can summarize what is most important to take away from the lecture. An interesting idea from the book is to ask students to just listen to you for 5 to 15 minutes and then have them write and compare summaries. I really like this idea because some students have a hard time writing and processing information.

I found a link which mostly reiterates information we have read, but adds a few new points about student's thoughts on what makes a good lecture and discussion.

The great thing about all the advice from these books is that I find myself reading, evaluating my teaching, and thinking of changes I can make. It's good that I have some previous experience that I can reflect on. Even though I said before I didn't really like McKeachie's book, this assignment changed that. I got a lot from this passage and I'm anxious to continue with this book.


(I found a link that is a little off topic, but Dr. Pratt's post piqued my interest in class manners, which turned into use of cell phones to cheat, etc. The 'sting' is kind of interesting and controversial but effectively caught cheaters.)

This week’s reading assignment covers three chapters in First Day to Final Grade. I found several key points and interesting ideas from each chapter that are showing me ways that I can improve my teaching. The great thing about this book is that it sheds light on classroom situations that I have never thought about before or encountered. Every chapter makes me feel more prepared for things that I will face as a teacher.

Chapter 3 makes me think about having one or two main goals for each lecture. I like the idea of having a consistent personal goal of going to each class with a key point or two in mind. My goal concept varies a bit from the book’s concept. I want to go to each class having a main focus (being my goal of what I want them to take home from the lecture). Having this goal will help me be more prepared for each class and will give me a key point for which to base my content on. I think it will allow me to teach students so they can see the ‘bigger picture’.

Another part of the chapter I like is the addressing problems portion. I have seen these situations firsthand and I’ve always wondered what the teacher’s role is in stepping in. For example, the student that comes in late to every class and disrupts everyone’s learning. My inclination would be to lock the doors so the student would learn that he/she has to be there on time. The book recommends addressing this with the student and asking why they are late to every class. This is good advice for me because I didn’t really consider that a student would be late for any reason than poor time management. A late student is frustrating, but I guess if there is a good reason accommodations can and should be made.

The information about running a discussion is especially helpful. Initiating an organized discussion, in my case, has typically happened on accident. My biggest challenge has been getting students to speak up. In some groups discussions come easily, and in other groups it feels like pulling teeth! A few ideas from the book to help keep the discussion moving are to provide input and feedback, offer different view points, and be supportive of student's ideas, even if they aren’t necessarily what I agree with.

I can benefit from the tips for handling different kinds of students. Again, I have always wondered how much a teacher can intervene. As an undergraduate, I was constantly getting frustrated with the girls whispering in class, or students dozing off. I wondered why they would come if they weren’t going to listen. I also wondered why the professor never did anything to stsop it. I like the suggested subtle ways of controlling whisperers by standing by those students when you’re teaching, or halting the discussion until they realize they are the only ones talking. I don’t want to humiliate any students, but I expect respect and want other students to be able to listen undisrupted.

From the Running a Discussion chapter, I do not think I will use advice from the subsection about handling quiet students. I agree that quiet students should be made to feel comfortable so they can have a voice in the class. Although, I also feel like putting too much effort into making them feel comfortable could take away time from all the other students. I also feel like if a student wants to be quiet in class, that’s his or her decision. If participation is part of the grade and they don’t participate, that is something they personally need to address. If a student is motivated enough to attend college they should be motivated enough to be able to find their own voice and use it when they have to. I think elementary and high school are good places for teachers to get more involved with quiet students, but at a college level a professor shouldn’t be expected to spend time trying to get someone to speak up.

I really enjoyed the activity ideas from the Trusty Class Plans chapter. I found the steps for running a debate to be the most interesting. As I mentioned in my first paragraph, there are many things covered in this book that I have not yet had to deal with. This book is showing me how I may have screwed things up had I not considered all the components. For example, there are several components to running a debate. The grouping strategies are good ideas for dividing the room instead of just asking the students to split into two groups. I like these ideas because it seems students don’t naturally split themselves into even groups, so this makes the dividing process quick and easy. The downside to this is that they may not agree on the side of the issue you put them on. The steps for a debate give me a clear outline of how I can run and wrap up a debate effectively. The options on how to organize who talks when, and how groups should respond to each other will be useful to me in the future.

In my field, which is science, I can implement a lot of these ideas. It’s crucial for me to know that students understand the concepts clearly. Science builds on itself and gets more in depth the more you learn. I think discussions and learning exercises are a great way to get students to participate and understand what they’ve learned.

Here are a few links that I found interesting…
The Importance of Teaching Goals

Example types of debates

Try to learn from this!....

Blog Entry #1

These two books seem to be good references for course structure guidelines. The one I prefer is First Day to Final Grade. It's more straight forward, less personal fluff that Teaching Tips seems to have a lot of. At any rate, it's good to get two perspectives on teaching & course organization.

A few ideas I thought were important from this reading assignment:

I. Being clear on the syllabus and use it as an introduction to the what students can expect from your course. As noted in both books, it's important to include office hours, email, phone, etc... A teacher must establish easy ways for students to communicate with them that don't interfere with their personal life. Giving a cell phone or home phone number may seem like a good idea until calls come in the middle of the night regarding assignments. Other important things to include are class conduct expectations, course material, grading, policies regarding assignments (tests, quizzes, etc), plagarism rules, etc.

• This information was useful for me because I've seen a lot of syllabi, although I've never really thought about the contents of them. I really like the idea of using the syllabus to give students a sense of organization and structure in the course material. I am a person who likes outlines and structure, so I can benefit by knowing how to produce an effective and straight forward syllabus.

II. A first class is important in establishing who you are to your students. Setting the tone is important even on the first day. Arriving on time and being prepared are key elements in showing your students that you take your job seriously. Taking attendance is a good way to help learn names, otherwise an ice breaker activity can be done. Ice breakers are a great way to get a class involved and lighten the mood. It gives the students and teacher a chance to get to know something about one another that doesn't necessarily relate to the course material.

• I believe the first class is very important in creating a positive environment. I know not all teachers are as concerned as I am with trying to keep the atmosphere welcoming. In my experience, I have enjoyed classes the most when I felt at ease to ask questions and be myself. I think the best way a teacher can do that is to start the class on a positive, fun note. I like ice breakers because it gives a chance for a students to interact on a 'normal' level and get to know a little about eachother. I also liked the exercise from Teaching Tips about having students write down how they felt on the first day, and then write how they thought the teacher was feeling on the first day. It seemed like a good exercise for easing first day anxiety and connecting to students on more of a personal level.

III. Preparation is important. As highlighted in Teaching Tips, planning your course months ahead of time is helpful so a teacher can modify or make changes as needed.

• I don't know if I would plan months ahead of time, but I do believe preparation is key! I think prior-to-course preparation is important for various reasons. One reason is you can discover if your material flows like you're expecting it to. Another reason is it gives a teacher time to modify material. In my field, science and research is always changing. It would be embarassing for me to teach things that are out of date! Preparation is also important so a teacher can look for materials to incorporate other than the textbook. Technology gives us access to so many things and students all learn differently. I like the idea of interactive learning and the use of the internet or computer programs to enhance learning.

I think these theories/techniques can be implemented in any teaching field. Whether it be science, math, writing, etc. a professor or teacher should provide a clear and effective syllabus, set the tone for the semester on the first day, and be prepared (among many other things). I have already outlined a few ways that I want to incorporate these ideas into my own teaching. Some things I learned by doing this reading were how to introduce myself, establish credibility, and even influence my teacher/student relationship by the way I dress. These are things I will definitely take into consideration when I start teaching.

Here are a few links I found interesting...

http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/teachtip.htm

http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/firstday.html

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/9/35/591069