Module 5 Grading and Feedback Header

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Module Requirements

Review this module's content and resources below.
Respond to the embedded poll.
Complete the Post-Course Survey by 11:59 pm MT on 3/7.
Post on the Farewell Padlet by 11:59 pm MT on 3/7.
Connect to this week's Live Learning Session (3/8, 9-10:30 am MT)

Introduction

Watch the video below.

This module will introduce you to some creative practices you can use to provide timely, useful feedback to your students and acquire feedback about your course.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Compare different grading practices and rank them in order of your preference.
Reflect on your experiences in this course and provide feedback to the course authors.

Key Aspects of Providing Feedback

Assessments are a useful form of feedback for students and instructors alike. Choosing assessment types other than tests and quizzes can be very beneficial in an online environment. This is partly because it is very difficult to proctor an online exam. Instead, use an activity, as described in Module 4, as an assessment. Students can create a piece of media or other project. If you do choose to assign a test or quiz, consider writing questions that can’t be easily Googled, and/or allow students to retake the quiz.

Formative assessments are a great way to gauge student comprehension prior to the end of the unit. One convenient formative assessment method is to embed questions in your videos, as described in Module 2. Formative assessments provide quick feedback that allows instructors to catch misconceptions early and alter the lesson to address them.

Student to Instructor Feedback

Offering a suggestion box can elicit constructive anonymous feedback to help you improve your course. Feel free to drop a suggestion into our class suggestion box, linked here and in the course menu at left.

Pre- and post-course surveys can also result in useful suggestions.

Instructor to Student Feedback

Students appreciate timely, detailed feedback on their assignments and assessments. Instructors can provide feedback via emails, Canvas messages, or discussion threads, either in text, or as an audio or video message. Students also respond very positively to instructors actively reaching out to students who seem to be struggling, or seem to need support. Instructors can also consider holding virtual office hours via Zoom.

Read through the slides below to learn about some different types of grading practices that can work well in online courses. Many of these practices help reduce the burden of grading on the instructor and help shift the focus of assessments from grading to learning.

Next, rank the different grading practices in order of your personal preference. (#1 is the practice you find the most appealing, #2 is the practice that you find the next-most appealing, and so on.) Click here to take the poll, or go to www.menti.com and enter the code 20 97 92. The results of the poll are shown below.

This Module's Assignment

We want feedback about your experience as a student in this course! Click this link to take the Post-Course Survey. Complete the survey by 11:59 pm MT on 3/7.
Click here to go to the Farewell Padlet. Please make a post to say goodbye to your classmates and share any reflections you have on the class by 11:59 pm MT on 3/7.

Thank you for participating in "Teaching Us: a Course for Faculty by Students." We hope you have learned some interesting new ways to teach your digital learners!