Job Discussion Forums

[LarssonCrew]

So, I'm teaching oral English for one term, and I have been told I must mark the students and give them a grade at the end.

Firstly, I'm aware that if I attempt to fail any it will be 'altered' by the department over my head anyway, but still, for future reference.

Is it OK to mark based upon attendence and ethic and hard work? I ask because a few guys in my classes always turn up, always try their hardest, always throw themselves into games, willing to volunteer, prepared to take on some positions even if they lose face, just so everyone can laugh etc.

Whilst I have other students who turn up half the time but have superior English. If I were to grade based on ability the latter, 'can't be bothered' half would have a much higher grade.

[donb2222]

I usually (urually) fail some students at the mid-term, but I cannot fail any on the finals. I was told to fail some on the mid-terms to motivate them, but to give 60 to 80 on the finals.


I grade based upon attendance , ethic and hard work.
There are some students that are naturally gifted, but lazy, and I do not give them higher marks.

[johntpartee]

donb2222, you've been ordered to not fail students?

[randyj]

[donb2222]

[johntpartee]

You said, and I quote, "I cannot fail on any finals". Why not?

[Mister Al]

It depends on what you are teaching and your expectations of what the students should be able to achieve, how many students you have and how you actually test them. And also the time you have to do it in.
I have done individual short conversations and also observance of students doing a group activity such as a borad game. Then add up the scores.

Grading can be done by using similar criterion to IELTS etc

Fluency/Organisation of ideas
Grammatical accuracy
Vocabulary used (simple-more sophisticated)
Pronunciation/Coherence

[JDYoung]

Personally I grade on the ability to communicate in English. The IELTS rubric is as good as any though I usually make up my own. I feel that grading on things like attendance, ethics and hard work belongs in a personal development course, not an English course. Of course I record things like attendance and hard work because that can influence progress in learning English but I don't grade on it unless it's required by the administration - their playground, their rules.

[living&learning]

I give a P/F (pass/fail). If they attended more than 50% of the semester's classes (3/6) they get to register for the final.

If they turn up for the final and do the required roleplay for a minute and answer the single question I ask them they pass.

One girl turned up for the final, and told me she hadn't come to class for the entire semester because she was lazy. I failed her. She looked distraught, I didn't give a damn. She's the only student I've failed and I'm halfway through my finals.

[mat chen]

I kind of look at their level according to how they would compare to a native English speaker. If they only make one work answers they would be like a 1 or 2 year old. If they make two word answers I say they would be like 2 or three year old. If they make complete sentences they would be be like a 5 to 8 year old. It they can converse freely they would be like a 13 to 15 year old.
I usually make a bank of questions (30) and give them to them before the tests. I keep them simple like where is your favorite place on this campus. What do your parents do? I throw in a couple of tricky ones like " What is your pet peeve? To see if they studied. I put them on cards and have them ask each other the questions. I find a group of four is the quickest way. They ask each other five questions and answer five questions. They do this like a card game going around the table. I mark them on appropriateness, pronunciation, listening and facilitation. I coined the term facilitiation, but it means helping each other talk. I like this method because I can correct pronunciation problems at the same time.
It takes about 2 classes to get through 35 students. It keeps me sane.
Often I'll ask a question like "What does your father do?" and they answer "I like to play computer games" And I have trouble remembering if I asked the question" what do you like to do?"

[johntpartee]

[Mister Al]

brookesdara, that sounds like a win-win situation for you. Do your own grades and let the administration change them if they want. If the money and other terms/condtions were okay I would not have left just for that reason. TIC as they say.

[Jayray]

brookesdara,

The grade spread describes the classic bell curve. Teachers have been fighting the bell curve for twenty-five years, but this how most groups perform when their grades are plotted and no follow-up is done to ensure that the students actually DO learn the subject matter eventually. The bell curve is what remains when the teacher administers the test as an end result rather than as a diagnostic from which the teacher and the students begin to work toward ironing out the shortcomings of the teaching and learning.

In my classes, the test is not an end in itself. It is the beginning of a process at which everyone--- the teacher and the student alike--- begin to work toward mastery of the subject.

[dgoodsell]

brookesdara, my current university also specifies numbers of students, expressed in terms of percentages, for each grade level but with a twist or two. First, the percentages are upper limits of what I am permitted to do, e.g., I can give up to 6% = A+, 6% = A, 10% = B+, etc. The real difference, however, lies at the bottom end of the scale. I am actually REQUIRED to FAIL more than 5% of my students. Under this grading scheme I could theoretically fail everyone.

[johntpartee]

Dead on. If the grades are "pre-ordained", what do they need a teacher for? Why do they even need to have classes? Seriously undermines the entire concept of "learning". If the fix is in, you're a puppet; nothing more.