Feedback & Grading: Strategies

for Balancing Timeliness,

Effectiveness, and Efficiency

Julie Sievers

Center for Teaching Excellence

Jennifer Jefferson

University Studies

think.stedwards.edu/cte

Goals

• Learn how SLOs and a backwards design

approach can help you plan feedback

• Know a variety of feedback strategies

• Articulate your goals & scaffolding strategy

for student feedback related to 1 assignment

• Identify strategies to address your course

• Gain resources continued work on this issue.

Feedback by Design

Linda Nilson, Teaching At Its Best, 2010

Outcomes-Based Design

recognizes developmental steps required to progress towards complex goals

Strategy

A feedback plan driven by your learning goals

A scaffoldedapproach to making decisions about feedback and grading

Ask Yourself

What learning outcomes

will require the most

feedback?

Am I focusing my efforts

around these outcomes?

Am I scaffolding student

activities so that they

practice key skills towards

this goal, get feedback,

and then build upon that?

One Professor’s ApproachJennifer Jefferson, University Studies

Brainstorming

• Comprehensive

• Varied

• Responsive

Different Techniques

• Specifications grading

• Draft commenting

• Student conferencing

Specifications

• In order to receive a B, one must:

– miss no more than one entry or have two late entries

– have no more than two entries that do not fully address the prompt

– have no more than two entries that are not focused in their responses

Draft Guidance

• An “A” paper will have the following characteristics:

– Clear explanation of the social problem– Well-phrased normative or explorative question to guide the research– Revised and well-crafted introduction that sets up the entire paper– Carefully developed social problem context that includes the history of the

problem and integrates significant laws/cases/statutes– Clear and nicely supported understanding of the scope of the problem – At least two well-selected perspectives on the social problem that are

developed equitably and holistically– Underlying values embedded in each perspective are clearly integrated– At least six carefully considered resources that are demonstrably accurate,

reliable, and authoritative– Well-crafted, thoroughly revised, carefully edited, and proofread writing

with few minor writing issues– Strong internal organization where the sections clearly build on one

another

• A “B” paper will have the following characteristics:

• Clear explanation of the social problem• Normative or explorative question to guide the research• Well-crafted introduction that sets up the entire paper• Social problem context that includes the history of the problem

and integrates significant laws/cases/statutes• Nicely supported understanding of the scope of the problem • Two well-selected perspectives on the social problem • A mention of the underlying values embedded in each perspective • Six resources that are accurate, reliable, and authoritative• Revised, edited, and proofread writing with some minor writing

issues• Internal organization where the sections build on one another

Draft Guidance

Meeting Suggestions

• Meet in advance of presentations/paper/etc.

• Bring have a partial draft

• Bring 2 questions with you

– Related to assignment guidelines

– Related to research issues

– Related to structure

– Related to comments on previous assignments

– Anything that would be beneficial to you

Think / Pair / Share

1. Write down a course in

which you want to modify

your grading strategy.

2. Identify a key feedback challenge.

2. Identify what you’ve tried so far.

2. Identify strategies you’ve considered but

have not yet tried.

A Menu of Options (and guiding principles)

Using Rubrics

• Scoring rubrics

• Feedback rubrics for substantive projects

• Minimal rubrics for informal or low-stakes

assignments

• Completion rubrics for tasks where

process is more important than product

• Digital rubrics to enhance speed

Cutting the Number of Feedback Tasks

• Fewer assignments

• Assignments w/ completion points (no

feedback on product quality)

• Assignments w/ peer feedback but no

instructor feedback

Limiting / focusing feedback:

• Limit comments to key developmental tasks

student needs to work on

• Focus on forward-looking and transferable

feedback: not error-marking, but how to

improve subsequent assignments

• Focus on drafts, early and middle stages of

work - not final products

• Don’t be an editor – use minimal marking

• Don’t overwhelm students

Strategically Planning Your Feedback Time

• Work on attitude to reduce avoidance

• Stagger due dates

• Schedule grading time

• Have a realistic return policy

• Be a teacher, not an editor

• Limit your comments (see above)

• Limit grading time on each essay or project

Letting Others Do Some of the Work

• Encourage Writing Center consults

• Peer review

Shifting Responsibility to Students

• Require students to fill out a checklist, self-check whether there work has followed requirements, fulfilled all tasks.

• Gateway requirements? (Walvoord & Anderson)

• Self-evaluation (enables you to focus feedback on areas where they are not already aware)

1. Do any strategies have potential for your

course?

1. What are potential barriers?

1. What more do you need to know before

you could use it?

Resources

At the CTE web site:

http://think.stedwards.edu/cte/blog/post/feed

back-grading-balancing-timeliness-

effectiveness-and-efficiency

In our Box folder:

“CTE Feedback & Grading Session –

Collaboration Folder”