"Will it be harder to grade 100 blog comments or wiki projects than traditional projects and tests?" I wanted to respond to SLehr's comments on this topic.
I have thought a great deal about this. I've assigned a number of wiki projects in the past year. I've had students create wiki pages and have had to grade 25 of them at a time. That was not too difficult because I had a clear rubric for my students to begin with, as I would with any other assignment. I graded their wiki pages based strictly on that rubric. Rubrics can be invaluable.
The area where grading has been difficult has been when students are posting to a discussion. I've established criteria for discussion posts related to thought and relevance, but I still find it hard to grade those, especially when students are posting in more than one place. It can be more time consuming to grade than having students write a reflection to turn in on paper. But... the benefit is giving students the ability to see each other's thoughts and be able to discuss/comment.
Also, in response to DKinney's earlier post about books, I have some comments.
My big concern is attention span. I notice it with myself sometimes. Younger generations are more and more accustomed to gathering information in small snippets and sound bites. The question has been posed as to whether Google is making us less intelligent. I think that having access to so much information is hugely beneficial, but there is something about being deeply ensconced in a book. That level of deep concentration that leads to in depth learning and understanding. If people only think in sound bites and do not have the patience to read something that takes them more than five minutes before giving up the desire for understanding, I think that will be detrimental to our society's future.
Finally, I totally agree with your statement DKinney, about NPR and Time, and stumbling across information that you weren't necessarily seeking out. Whenever something comes on NPR that I'm not sure that I'm interested in, I often leave it on anyways. It is amazing how often my knowledge of a topic that I have heard about as a result of reading/listening to something from start to finish has benefited me in conversations.
The bottom line is that when we incorporate new technologies, we need to be sure that we are not sacrificing efficiency (in regard to grading-- technology doesn't seem useful if it makes us less efficient as teachers-- this will affect our students) and depth of knowledge (it is good to know a lot about a variety of topics, but it is also important to have depth and expertise in one or more areas).
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Excellent reflection on two important issues. Consider sharing your student rubrics with other class participants. That would be a helpful attachment to this post.
ReplyDeleteYour comments regarding concentrating on a book for an extended period of time is a universal skill that builds intellectual stamina. I agree with you. We never want to give that up. You write about "deep concentration that leads to in depth learning and understanding." I'd take it a step further and say that without the deep engagement and enjoyment of the text, it is likely impossible to reach what the Greeks called epiphany (http://tinyurl.com/ygfma84).
Dennis
I think the grading issue is one where I really benefit from being an elementary teacher (with a developmental report card rather than letter grades). I don't in ANY way feel like I have to "grade" everything that my students do!! So, I can have them work on a project or post to a wiki, and as long as we use / review / discuss their work in some way so that they get feedback and feel that it is relevant, that can be sufficient for some projects and activities. (Of course there are some projects and assignments that I grade more formally, sometimes using rubrics, but I don't feel like I have to think about how I'm going to formally evaluate EVERYTHING that I ask students to do.
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