Grading, Assessment, and Feedback
38 Grading Participation and Assignments
Grading Participation
Participation can have different shapes and it varies from person to person. We cannot define what exactly participation is and which form of participation is more valid. As educators, the only thing we can do is to have multiple ways students can participate and engage in the class.
It is important to have a conversation with your class about what students and TAs mean by participation in order to have a mutual understanding of participation. Is it just saying anything? Or is it saying something the instructor feels is meaningful (and in that case, what would constitute a meaningful answer)? Are nodding, taking notes, keeping eye contact, or just being in the space considered as participation?
When it comes down to giving a grade, is it going to be based on how many checkmarks a student has (i.e. how many times they said something and you recorded it)? Or are you going to base it on how much you remember of each student at the end of the semester?
Is it going to be based on a rating out of ten that you have compiled after each class in regards to their performance every seminar? Or will it be based on how many times they showed up to seminar or lab?
Evaluating participation can be complicated. You must decide how you will be evaluating your students’ participation. If you are one TA or Lab Demonstrator among many for a course, check-in with the Instructor and your peers about evaluating participation and feel free to make suggestions. Ultimately, you can decide on your own system of evaluation or you might want to do so in collaboration with your students, even if you must work within the structure of the Instructor. Once you have determined a system, you must tell your students so that they know what is expected of them in the classroom.
For more information about participation, refer to Facilitating More Active Learning
Grading Tests and Quizzes
When you are marking tests and quizzes, you want to make sure you are marking them fairly and consistently. To mark fairly:
- Do not look at the students’ names so that you avoid biases.
- Have a marking scheme and stick to it.
- Make sure you are in a positive frame of mind.
- Start marking as soon as you can after assignments are handed in. If you put it off, you may find yourself marking when you do not want to, when you are sick, or when you have other things due.
- To be consistent, try to mark everything in one sitting, or at least make sure you have enough time to mark one question in one sitting.
Try to mark without interruptions: if your mood changes, your marking will be affected.
Grading Papers
As important as it is for you to know how to evaluate a student’s paper, it is equally as important for the students to know how you will be evaluating them.
The first step of grading papers begins before any papers are handed in! Fully inform your students about the assignment and the evaluation process.
- Refer to rubric and consult with the Instructor for the criteria of the assignment and how it will be graded. You have an obligation to your students to fully understand this information before you present the assignment so that you can answer questions correctly and clearly.
- Consider distributing a marking scheme. You can develop a grading scheme with your professor or with your fellow TAs. You can also use the grading guidelines outlined in the Undergraduate Calendar (the grading scheme is included in this section of the handbook).
Let your students know what qualifies as an A paper and so on. This technique can help guide the students’ writing and will help you maintain consistency in your marking from assignment to assignment.
