Korean Job Discussion Forums

Zyzyfer · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2003 2:38 am Post subject: Grading Mass Assignments

I guess that's what you'd call it.

I've got almost 800 students, and I've spent my lone class for the week with each of my 22 classes grading, and more importantly, correcting, those 700+ papers. The vice principal of the school supposedly decided to observe my teaching and witnessed one of these classes, and wasn't happy with it. I've already tried collecting the papers and grading them on my own time, but that is about the most brutal thing I've done thus far.

Are there any other possible solutions for grading mass assignments, shy of just handing out As?

canuckistan · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2003 2:49 am Post subject:

It's called a TA: Teaching Assistant

Any possibilities of that?

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

-Students do a self-assessment (grade their own papers, based on a rubric you put on the board.)

-Students grade the papers of their classmates, in conference in pairs or small groups.

Zyzyfer · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2003 5:45 am Post subject:

Not bad suggestions, OiGirl, but I've tried the group grading thing in an easily controlled environment, and it was...well...not that effective.

My students are notorious cheaters.

As for getting a TA, hah! Not possible.

ulsanchris · Joined: 19 Jun 2003 Location: take a wild guess

no sleep and lots of coffee.

posco's trumpet · Joined: 20 Apr 2003 Location: Beneath the Underdog

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

Your situation is unusual Z.

We hagwon teachers know nothing of that kind of student numbers. 800!!! Really!!!

My only suggestion is grind through the marking this time but strongly suggest a change to the system so you don't have to do it again.

800 is unreal!! Do all middle-school teachers have that many students???

Zyzyfer · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2003 2:51 pm Post subject:

steroidmaximus · Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Location: GangWon-Do

Besides the other good suugestions, I was going to suggest setting up an internet discussion site (through yahoo or msn), and have students make posts on the website as their homework assignment, but since you're teaching middle school that idea probably wouldn't work.

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

How about this? Follow Oi girl's advice for step one.
Next:
Have them hand their tests to the person beside them and vise versa. That way they won't be grading their own paper.

This doesn't prevent cheating, but it makes it more difficult.

The other method would be to go to a tall stair well,
cast the papers freely downward.

Those that reach the bottom get lower marks and those on upper steps get graded accordingly. Wink

I heard talk of a professor doing this when I was in university.

Cheers

Zyzyfer · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2003 7:47 pm Post subject:

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

Zyz,

Did you come up with a system that works for you in your situation?

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

I wouldn't do the assignment thing.

If you were teaching 22 classes that is WAY WAY WAY too many. Let me rephase that...WAY too many.

There is no way any Korean teacher would be seeing THAT many students.

Why do they think a foreign teacher could do it?

I hope you decided with just giving them all As.

I had to mark about 160 assignments at my school one time...I say one time is the hours it took to do that meant I never have and never will give that type of assignment to the students again.

BTW think this thread is a little old, isn't the Op now out of Korea? So you can tell us what worked.

Zyzyfer · Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2004 2:16 pm Post subject:

OiGirl: Hmm, I never did really find a solution to my problem. The best I could do is give my boss a boatload of recommendations after my contract was up, in the hopes that the next two teachers wouldn't go bonkers doing the exact same thing that I had to do.

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003