Job Discussion Forums

tigerlily20202 · Joined: 19 Jul 2004 Posts: 40

Hi...
I teach university students and final exams are coming up. I have had a hard time figuring out who is and isn't in my classes since the beginning of the semester and the admins haven't been so helpful. Some students are "sitting in" on the courses and others are taking the class for a grade and then, of course, there are students who I see once in a blue moon who never really show up for class. Over the semester some students have added my classes, then dropped them, and haven't always let me know. So some of my classes look like they have over 50 students, but only about 20 show up...etc. In short, I don't know for sure who is and isn't in my classes. I have a "loose" idea of attendence based on sign-in sheets, but going through pages and pages of names for each class is a huge hassel and doesn't tell me whose dropped ofr sure and who hasn't been showing up.
So I'm worried a bunch of kids will show up on the day of the Final Exam that I've never seen before, and attendence should play a part in their grade, but what about those people who haven't showed up to a single class all semester? Has anyone encountered attendence problems that persisted to the end of the semester?
And does anyone have suggestions for a nice, quick, to-the-point format for a final exam in oral english or american culture? Students haven't been taking notes in American culture (as their monitor informed me recently) and many have "severe colds", so they cannot come to class and have to go to the hospital [they do a lot of sleeping in class but not much coughing or sneezing]. holiday can't come soon enough.... Rolling Eyes

Old Dog · Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 564 Location: China

Unless you're at Bei Da, Tsinghua or Fudan, pass the lot and be done with it.

joe greene · Joined: 21 Mar 2004 Posts: 200

I agree with Old Dog. Pass everyone, but if you fail some don't exceed the 8% cap. Put a nice curve to your marks, with a median at 76, 77, or 78.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

It seems to me you were muddling through like the CHinese themselves. Never heard of teaching plans?
Never done presence control??? A sin, man!

The first thing you MUST tell your learners is that absences without a VALID EXCUSE written on a sheet of paper and duly chopped by the powers-that-be leads to their forfeiting their right to a grade! I only accepted to put regular students through a test. Others had to accept that I refuse to do them favours!

And, they had to earn their grades! It's a hell of a favour that they can sit their exams with the very teacher that gave them their lessons; by rights they should have ANOTHER teacher during the final exams!

ChinaEFLteacher · Joined: 08 Sep 2004 Posts: 104 Location: China

old dog is right on! from the picture you have painted it appears your class is not overly important, so don't try to make it so. go through the motions and give grades as you see fit, but don't worry too much. give good grades to the students who you know worked hard and the rest is up in the air, but don't stress yourself because your grades are just not very important and all the work you put into them will be for naught. better to find a good hobby to occupy yourself, you'll get much more out of it than thinking of how to pull some grades outta yer arse!

for the exam: give them a list of topics you talked about in class and tell them that they'll be required to speak about one of them that you choose for 2 minutes.

latefordinner · Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Posts: 973

Take note of Roger:

nolefan · Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1458 Location: on the run

I have to deal with a somewhat similar problem with my kids but I get help from my fantastic photographic memory (can't use it for most things but it is better at keeping track of attendance than anything else I've tried).

The kids that do come to class and participate get a few stars next to their name and number. Those select few are exempted from exams. The other rascals will be tested on materials that were covered in class (songs, movies, debates....) and let me tell you, there is no way that they will pass if they have not been there.

The school, as far as I know, is behind me on this one. I gave over 30 Zeros last semester in my writting class because of plagiarism and those were not reversed. I have given a few zeros in oral classes (less than 5%) and those were not reversed either.

My rationale is that I am not here to be a cop or a the bad guy. I give them a syllabus in the beginning with the rules and regulations and then I inform them that they are old enough to understand where their priorities are....

The G-stringed Avenger · Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 1:59 am Post subject:

Same problem. Some of my students show up about once a month. Not too many sit-ins, fortunately.

Well, the onus is on them. My oral exam will be on things we have covered in class. If they don't come to class, then they won't learn the things they need for the exam. If they can do the exam anyway, good on them. If they can't, because they haven't been attending or paying attention or doing the work, then they will fail. End of story.

Anyway, the grades we foreign teachers give are not entered on their degrees. So don't worry too much.

beck's · Joined: 06 Apr 2003 Posts: 426

Here's what I do, it might help you for next semester. During the first class I make a seating plan on a grid. Students must sit in the same seat for each class so I can quickly start calling them by name. In two seconds flat I can tell who is there and who isn't. I record their absences. Five absences and the student fails. Luckily for me, most have English names so calling them by name is no problem. Almost all of them attend because they feel accountable. They know that I know who they are.

I have a set of 24 colouring pencils, one colour for each week. Each time a student stands up to speak voluntarily, I put a coloured mark by their name on the seating plan. This week the colour was pink. After the first few weeks I can tell who is participating and who isn't and I can even tell what week the student stood up and spoke. The seating plan can therefore give me a participation mark. Guests sit at the back and are not part of the seating plan.

My exam is very simple. The students must prepare a two minute talk on a subject of their choosing. I let them speak and then question them about their topic. They are marked on content, organization, interest and pronunciation.

Participation counts for 60% and the exam counts for 40%. I don't fail anyone who has attended. Active students all get over 80%. I hope that this helps.