22 Hours of work breakdown

How did you establish an hours of work breakdown for TAs or marker/graders? How could/would you do this with more accuracy, care, consultation?

ES: My course didn’t have tutorials, so my TAs were marker/graders. One thing I found helpful was having a brief preliminary meeting with the markers for ENG 2PC3, and learning about their experience with marking and grading. I wanted to make sure that I met the markers where they were at, and that I wasn’t asking too much of them. After learning that they did not have much experience with grading, I asked them to attend an ECS-run marking orientation, which was included in their hours.

I also prepared an information sheet for each assignment with information as to what I was looking for out of the assignment. We created rubrics for each assignment together, which they found incredibly helpful, and we set realistic goals for the time spent grading each assignment:

• 2 page reflections would take 10 minutes per reflection
• 4-6 page papers would take 40 minutes per essay

From here, I could calculate how many hours I needed to allocate for their grading. I asked the markers to please let me know if they were not able to make the return deadline for marking, and we would bump it by a few days with no issue. Ensuring and encouraging open communication is key.

EG: I prepped a tentative breakdown of hours in advance of our first meeting, then reviewed it with the full group. I also included several hours for group marking sessions (see below).

Some considerations for accuracy and care:

• Discuss the mechanics of feedback with TAs: considerations like the proportion of in-text vs. summative comments, using digital or hard copy marking techniques, and so on can have a big impact on time spent marking. Talk about these together to come up with a reasonable, workable, accessible model for providing feedback.
• Keep resources on hand: our group had a shared Google doc with considerations for different grades, and for collecting tips for marking.
• Give a senior TA hours for supporting other marking needs: my course had an amazing senior TA, who used some of her hours to provide feedback on marking or offer insights on the process.
• Consider companionship while marking: late in the term, when a TA was facing a challenging time, we decided on an afternoon Zoom call in which we marked independently and conferred at the top of the hour. I think it was really appreciated, and could be a good (optional) practice throughout the term.