This sounds like a great plan Nanci. Simple techniques like this can go a long way.
As far as assessments go, I'm very torn. I value my time, and with 28-day modules, there's not much time to grade a lot of writing; however, I want the students to demonstrate more knowledge and understanding of the concepts we discuss, other than just rote memorization. It doesn't help me assess the student if they can recall basic information; instead, I'd rather see them apply the concepts to their lives or the industry they are entering.
I find my tests tend to be a combination of true/false, word banks, matching and short answer. Using all of these options also keeps the student population in mind . . . some excel with vocabulary, others with the short answer . . . but none really outweigh the other, so they all can succeed. So I save some time with the more basic, but still find myself needing to commit a little more time to grade the short answer questions.
These are great points Adam. As faculty members, we really need to find the right balance of both questions that can be graded quickly and questions that reliably test student knowledge.
I have a project in my course that requires the students to print an article from the on-line library that we have here at school. I have the students turn the srticle in prior to them giving a short ( two -minute) blurb about the article. I now plan for them to highlight the important points that they will present duringthe class.This will make it easier to evaluate the student's project.
I want to look at the online testing format to see if we can fit it into our program, if not at least look at the online test helpers to see if I can streamline my time in the making up of new test's. Our home work needs help to get it more up to date this is also an area where I can use the availble help site to see if it also fits our program.
I really liked many of the suggestions such as the underlined phrases or statements of importance in the essay tests. I have always thought that these tests were taxing, especially when you are teaching large groups of students. Another benifit of this method is that there is no gray area as to what you are expecting the students to provide within the essay.
Just read your post and do understand your initial concerns in regards to switching over to anything electronic, in this case electronic testing. It always seems to take a while to understand the system completely and then intagrate it into your course(complete with all those learning errors) But as you stated, it really makes life easier and the hard work does pay off.
Yes, these methods have worked quite well for me in practice, particularly the underlining.
Thanks for the tip concerning the Easy Test Maker program. As for grading multiple-choice
exams, well; I've never used scantrons. I do provide an answer blank next to the question. It really is easier to grade than just having the students circle the correct letter.
Makes sense Roy. Sometimes, if the scantron machine is too far away or inaccessible, it really does make more sense to grade by hand. But it sounds like you've developed some time saving grading methods nonetheless.
The courses that I teach consist of little homework throughout the term, and only 5 10-question quizzes. Therefore, grading is not a huge issue for me.
That's great Eva! Sounds like you already have developed an efficient curriculum.
Streamlining the grading process is necessary. As an carrier instructor there are many different task we need to preform during a work day. Having a streamlined process allows the instructor to complete the tasks and ultimately spend more time with students.
Indeed. And for many of us, spending time with students is the most rewarding part of teaching.
I will try to use for multible choice tests and grade them on a scan tron machine.
The school that I teach for has a 72 hour window. The grades have to be posted within 72 hours of the due date which I find very hard to do especially when you teach multiple classes. I've ask if that time frame can be extended. I believe in order to give effective feedback for a particular assignment you need more than 72 hours especially when you have 20 to 25 students in each course and 3 to 4 assignments to grade weekly. If anyone can offer any tips on how to achieve this goal without having to live at the computer for 72 hours I would greatly appreciate this.
This is quite the dilemma Solita! Perhaps you could make grading part of the learning process, and have students grade their exams after they take them. You would of course proof their grading to ensure that it was accurate. But they could do the bulk of the work and learn more in the process.
Even though our exams are more or less dictated by the admiinistration of the school, instructors are aloowed to partially change the test in order to fit their particular class needs. I have with our tests tired to streamline them for the sake of time, and thereofre I have used a variety of ways to test the students. On each test there are questions that are multiple choice, true/false and some fill ins as well as some essay type. Even thpough the tests have a variety of testing questions, they do seem to work fairy well and do not ususally take an inappropriate amount of time to correct.
Great points Bruce. Even if your school administration has a standard exam, it doesn't hurt to ask if you can make some modifications for faster grading.
