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By Steve Taylor, English Division
The stacks of essays and tests
loom over us, never seeming to grow smaller. Yet we remain committed. We
scribble and scribble with our pens or markers, diligently pointing out
errors, explaining how to correct them.
Our eyes grow red, our brains numb, our fingers cramped
and gnarled. Ah, but it is worth it to think of our students all
growing enlightened by our carefully-worded notes. We pass them
back and wait for the looks of realization and the intelligent
questions. None come. Only the ones who got A's seem to look
at what we wrote. We hear a little grumbling, some cries of the
lost, one or two curses, but no other comments as they stuff the papers
into their backpacks. A while later, someone knocks at the office
door and asks, "So, what's wrong with my paper?" but it's
clear he or she hasn't thought about the comments and simply wants to
argue about the grade.
How can we avoid these familiar scenes and get students
to use our corrections? Here are a few ideas from GCC faculty
members.
Andrew Feldman, Culinary Arts
(Winner of this issue's "Best Idea" trinket)
I often share a critical mistake I made in my career. I
describe the circumstances that led to the poor decision I made and
explain the decision itself. I describe the outcome of my decision
and the havoc it wreaked. I then query the students as to what my
mistake was, how I might have reconsidered the facts, and what the
correct decision might have been. I find this humanizes me in front
of the students and breaks down barriers between us. It tells them,
"Yes, I am human, all too human and make mistakes, and I am
searching for the reasons I made these mistakes." This, I
hope, encourages students to do the same.
Sue Brinkmeyer, English
Very early in the semester, I get the students to
discuss how they learn and ask them to write down the steps and
suggestions they consider most important. Of course, using
corrections objectively rather than building up negative feelings is
always one of the most important points students make. I then try
to get them to "commit" to learning. I have them write
their "personal commitments to learning," put them in sealed
envelopes, and hand them in to me. Much later in the class, I
return them so they can decide whether they have kept these commitments.
Nancy Nevins, English
Very early in the semester, I collect "writing
fears" and list them on the board. The class then sees how
many shared fears writers have, and a sense of community begins to
develop. Throughout the semester, I list mistakes taken from their
papers and project them on a screen, and I ask them to discuss how best
to correct the errors or improve the writing.
Joan Brandt, Non-Credit
I have students correct homework before turning it in,
and uncorrected homework does not receive credit. That way, I can
be certain both that they review the concepts and use their errors to
improve.
Tina Tarnelli, ESL, Non-Credit
I have fake $100 bills ready in my desk drawer in the
classroom. Whenever a student catches the teacher in a mistake or
when the teacher doesn't correct a student's chalkboard work, I hand out
one of the $100 bills. This keeps everyone awake, and everyone has fun
while we learn.
Mark Maier, Economics
I do "brown bag" lunches on topics in the
class, and I give points for showing up at my office.
Steve Taylor, English
In order to make certain that my students read and
understand my comments, when I give them back a paper, I take ten or
fifteen minutes and ask them to translate what I have said into their
own words and give me back a summary. I then give them the same
amount of time to ask questions, and, having just done the summary, they
tend to ask very
relevant and useful questions.
Got a teaching idea to share with other teachers?
Send it to me at
staylor@glendale.edu, jot it down and put it in my
mailbox, or leave it on my voice mail. You could win one of the
fabulous teaching trinkets given out semi-monthly.
Also, watch for soon-to-be-completed Teaching Ideas web
site, which will contain lots of ideas from GCC faculty and links to all
sorts of learning resources. ,
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