Grading Can Consume You
Last summer I was asked to teach some additional classes. Always being one to say yes, I accepted.
It was not so much the four different classes I taught (simultaneously) that was the challenge. It was the grading of hundreds of test's and paper's that consumed all my time and energy. If I knew then what I know now, I would have approached things differently.
I am regrouping now. I have discovered that I am making things harder for myself because I am trying to be a perfectionist in all that I do and it is affecting my time management when it comes to grading. I am getting a crash course but am glad to say that it has been a lesson learner for me.
Like I have told you before Ms.Stone, grading for a career college is not for a perfectionist. Even with your math class, multiple choice assignments are alot easier to grade then long problems where you will be grading the steps as well as the answer. I hope you have learned your lesson for good this time.
I found that setting aside at least 30 mins a day has really taken the stress out of grading. I do not grade during class, only after and never at home. It is very easy for the papers, projects etc to pile up and become overwhelming. And having had this happen before 30 mins really isn't a lot of time verses all day on a day off.
I've learned to say no much more frequently now. I need to prioritize and understand how much I can do in one 12 week course. Agreeing to do more just gives me stress and I don't feel like I give 100% to any one task then
I have learned to create my tests in a way that makes it easier for me to correct in the shortest amount of time. If you take the time at the beginning to work this out correcting takes less time and your not stressed.
I have been in the same situations. As this lesson has taught us we must learn how to prioritize, relieve ourselves of not needed stresses, and become functional. Many times we will get used to the idea of putting thing away for later and then when everything piles up we are in a deeper hole than ever before. Having so many tests and papers to grade can now give you an apportunity to observe what is the best way to approach this issue if it were to ever occur again. Now you know what to expect and learned the diffrent resources that exist to facilitate the everday activities of an instructor.
So happy to hear you learned something from this module Alexis. I agree that when we put things off, tasks can often pile up and become more daunting. A much more effective approach is to attack each task head on.
I was in a similar situation. I was teaching two technical classes and one management class. The types of work, and therefore exams, homework and papers, were very different. We use a learning management system (Angel, at that time) and at least quizzes and tests could be computer graded automatically. The management class was much more essay-driven and I had to be very disciplined about budgeting time for grading. I also very carefully constructed the exercises to make it easy to see when the students got the point and when they were trying to fluff their way around it. If I ever teach that class again I am likely to use the approach of having the students grade each others papers. This could have the additional advantage of generating a good set of discussions on the issues, one that could help both the students and me.
And never get behind. Procrastination when grading is the worst. I have learned how to write a cirriculum without buring myself in paperwork at the very end of class. This avoids a lot of frustration.
Interesting posting!
You stated, "Having so many tests and papers to grade can now give you an apportunity to observe what is the best way to approach this issue if it were to ever occur again."
Could you have had in place of some of the many tests a couple of projects?
A helpful tip.
Yes, a couple of projects could also work Lee. Great point!
that is very difficult to not only prepare effective lesson plans for the class to keep students interest but to also keep atask of the many responsibilities of being an instructor.
I can understand how challenging it can be. I teach online and about three months ago I was working full-time and teaching 4 classes online as well. It became a little overwhelming due to the amount of grading that was required and because I had also been having back pain due to a pinched nerve. It was difficult to sit at the computer for long periods of time and there were some nights where I could not sit very long and then the following night I was up really late grading due to having to make up for the assignments that I didn't complete the night before. I had to make a decision to reduce the number of classes I was teaching so I could grade a little each night. The pain is not as severe now due to a procedure I had but for now I am still teaching only two classes.
Sounds like you made the right decision Paula. Sometimes we've just got to adjust our commitments so they are reasonable. Even the most expert person in time management can't get everything in the world done!
As a rule always try to get all grading done before the arrival of the students next day of getting graded.
Most of the work I evaluate are projects that involve actually creating or designing items. This is quite time consuming to grade as I have to evaluate and give each student individual feedback on their work. I cannot have a computer grade the work for me.
