Job Discussion Forums

[Non Sequitur]

We're into the last 3rd of the 2nd semester and if your classes are weekly ones, that doesn't give a lot of time to plan, announce, conduct, mark and submit your class results.
In my experience you should focus on the last official week of school and vow to keep that entirely clear of commitments.
This is especially so if you have travel plans.
For oral classes, I allow one week to announce and demonstrate how the assessments will run. Students also need to decide who they are going to pair or trio with, that week.
Then allow 2 weeks for the actual assessments.
Allow one week for finalising marking. I wait until all my oral classes have completed their assessment, as I like to look at grades across classes as well as within each class.
Allow a week to report grades to admin and cope with their questions or balls ups.
Once the grades are on the school site, expect the odd call from students who are either delighted or appalled.
Including the 'off' week at the end it amounts to about 6 weeks and hey isn't that about NOW?

[Javelin of Radiance]

I'm all sorted out, and will have everything done by 20 June at the latest, maybe a few days before. Then it's off til 1 Sept.

[Non Sequitur]

Good for you Jav.
A below the line reason for having that week free at the end is to make sure you have time to deal with any difficulties over airfare refunds and release letters if you are finishing up at your current school.

[Guerciotti]

The final exam is ready and grades are more or less done. I completed all the prep. Just counting the days.

[Toast]

Most of my final assessments are just a repeat of my 2013 ones. Actually the entire course / lesson planning etc. is pretty similar so the prep is already done. Got the dates lined up for finals, completing the last of my mini-tests (be they speaking or quizzes from the book) by week 15.

Need to put in an hour or two every week to get my final paperwork in order to avoid having to do everything at the last minute. Overall pretty organized - of course the school generally throws a last second spanner in the works, be it "Oh this class must finish week 16, not week 19 as previously mentioned" - usually told mid way through the sixteenth week, or "Please do a listening test from your IELTS book as a final assessment, rather than listening test from Interchange book!" - usually told the day before the scheduled test "By the way the photocopier in teaching office is broken - Please make the copy in School Copy Office one week in advance!"

I have around 6 or 7 grades for each student so far that were push come to shove and they ask me for some form of final assessment tomorrow I could give it to them. As Guerciotti said almost just counting down the days at this point.

Insh'allah I can have everything cleared up by June 20th. Gotta change apartments and not really looking forward to lugging furniture and 1/32 scale models of the Millennium Falcon around the place in July heat.

Maybe helping me move can be a part of the student's final assessment.

[fat_chris]

[theoriginalprankster]

Final Assignments over the next two weeks.

Final Exam in the third week.

Last week to clear up any issues and sing sweet bye bye to the students.

Done by June 4th, 9.30am.

Five years at the uni successfully completed, new pastures and challenges lie ahead.

[mw182006]

Eh, I only teach Business English and Reading this semester, so I'm still deciding what kind of finals to have. Grading will take little time since I put spreadsheets together last semester for the same group of students. I'll probably continue the trend of group presentations and knock them all out in one class. I'm more worried about how long it will take the new school to get my RP/FEC updated.

[fat_chris]

I know what I am going to do, but I chose the "gotta get on it" option.

Will be giving finals after the 17th week, probably on a Saturday morning (). I still have some time to get it all ready, so if I get it put together by June 1st denn I iz golden.

This is a good thread because it is lighting a fire under my derriere to get to work Bubba. Should start putting my grades together soon. That would be magical to have it all done as soon as possible rather than putting it together at the last minute as I always seem to do.

Warm regards,
fat_chris

[rioux]

Jus think of vacation, get it all done, turn them all in and then hit the ground running.

[fat_chris]

[Bud Powell]

After you've been at it awhile, the most difficult part is setting up the grading books and getting everyone's name written in in Hanyu. I usually get a trustworthy student in each class to set up individual grade books during the second week of class. After that, it's a simple matter of entering test grades as soon as they're graded. after the finals are recorded, it's a simple matter of processing the grades the way in which the foreign language department wants them processed.

[fat_chris]

[theoriginalprankster]

Don't be sad, Big Bubba Chris.

I actually submitted my grades via email after a day at Ankor Wat, last semester.

Sat down in the hotel lobby, lesisurely slugged a few 50c Ankor drafts, and inputted the students' grades.

Voila - they all got 90%+, except for the kid who never came to class (because he plays for the uni baseball team) - gave him an 80%, cuz he's a bright kid, and I like to see him pursuing his passion for a sport.

This time 'round I'm being more stringent - perhaps because I really drilled them this semester into how to do what I was teaching (basic journalism).

One Final Assignment (to be audited by me before final print) + Final Exam (will keep it simple). Strange, since I'm leaving the uni and shouldn't really give a rat's ear.

Perhaps I want to feel that I achieved something with them this semester. I think I have, and the Finals will tell all. Also, I want a decent reference letter (even though I'm writing it up) from my Prof.

[theoriginalprankster]

DP