Re: Baloney review and contest.

Miss Elaine Eos <Misc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in news:Misc-
00334D.22280121102007@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:


Another upside is that I'm forbidden to post grades on
my office door. Not even with a secret identity code.

Ooo, I missed this change! Interesting. Aside from cutting down
traffic at your door, what's the benefit? I mean, with the old
system,
you could just post the grades further down the hall, no?

The "traffic at the door" can be horrible. You give the final
on Monday and try to have it graded by Wednesday and turn
grades in by Wednesday at 5:00, say. The whole time you're in
your office on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, there is a
steady stream of students banging on your door wanting to
know if you're done yet? If you're not, then they want to
know how they're doing so far. Right, I'm going so sort through
this pile of half-graded exams, dig yours out, total what's
done so far, and tell you. If I did, then next question would
be "How am I doing compared to everyone else?" which would
require me to total the other 199 exams (half-done), sort
them in order and then tell them their rank. It takes only
10 or 15 of these interruptions to use up the whole day.

So most of us put signs on the door along the lines
of "Grading Exams. Do not disturb. GRRRRR!!!!" And that
gets us through until Wednesday. (Although there's always
a couple of students who, evidently, LIKE being yelled at.)

So now on Wednesday evening, you post the grades on your
door. In the days when we did this, it was time to go
hide until finals week was over. There will be a steady
stream of students checking their grade. Every single one
will want to see his final (which we have to keep for a semester
or a year or something) and go over it, problem by problem,
demanding to know why this or that point was taken off, and
then arguing to shave a few points to see if he can get the
next highest grade.

I'm happy to discuss grades with students who have issues,
but posting on the door _creates_ issues. It's much better
to have the grades mailed home and let the kids who have
substantive issues come and visit the next semester. That
way the mere "spur of the moment curiosity" doesn't cost me
1/2 hour of time for every single student I have.

HOWEVER, we now report grades online. The instant I'm done
grading and have submitted grades to the registrar, the student
can log in and see his grades. So while I'm trying to deal
with another class who hasn't had their final yet, and is
asking me questions etc., I get flooded with e-mails from
students who want unimportant information immediately. Many
faculty are lobbying to have the grades available less
immediately. We need to get through finals week before we
start dealing with the flood.

B.

--
Cheerfully resisting change since 1959.
.

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