I am really giving up control
I stayed up late last night grading the first of three summary response papers and decided I could not bring myself to assign a letter grade/ number grade to their papers. Instead I simply gave them feedback. When I got to class I decided (per Cara's leadership) that I would let them determine what grade they should receive on their paper keeping in mind my comments, one other editor's comments, and our established expectations for a summary response. Although they graded each other a little easier than I would have, they provided each other with invaluable counsel and feedback. I am glad I took the risk. I have two more of these to go and am not sure if I want to contiue down that path again or if they will take advatage of the situation.
posted by annes @ 12:24 PM
3 Comments:
Way to take a risk. But what's holding you back from trying again?
Interesting. Maybe you could tweak this somehow to prevent any "taking advantage." You should brainstorm with some other folks and see what you come up with. One idea might be to record your grade separately, then if their grade of each other's papers comes in more than some predetermined percent different than yours, you average the two (or something). Just a thought . . .
Of course, you know me (Mr. Radical, nice to meet ya!), another thought of mine is - why is it a problem if they graded each other a little easier, as long as they provided each other with great feedback? If the goal is helping them learn, didn't you achieve that? Does it really matter if their grades are slightly "inflated"?
I agree with Karl that the grades might be a little inflated on this project but they are learning more information from each other. The grades will balance out for the semester if that is what you are worried about. I had the same concern in my math classes with all the partner tests and group work, but the students are telling me they are gaining a better understanding of the material.
Post a Comment
<< Home