Grading and Feedback

Examining the Quiz

We’re ready to share responses to our call for insights, experiences, and opinions on quizzes. You can expect to see them over the course of the next several weeks. I’ll start here with an overview of the issues to consider if you want to start

Read More »

An Empathetic Approach to Writing Rubrics

“Response shows a complete lack of understanding.”
“Piece had no style or voice.”
“Position is incoherent.”
“Thesis is utterly incompetent.”
“Weak.”
“Ineffective.”
“Unsatisfactory.”

This is some of the discouraging feedback that we found in an interdisciplinary, cross-institutional survey of

Read More »

A Method to Prevent Cheating on Online Exams

Face-to-face instructors who give in-class exams have a challenge when moving their courses online: How to ensure that students do not cheat on the exams by collaborating? Different methods have been developed to address the problem. For instance, institutions can send each student a 360-degree

Read More »

Using a Data-Driven Approach to Write Better Exams

Like many faculty members, I started teaching as a subject matter expert without a formal background in education. My examination questions were either based on questions I recall from my personal experience as an undergraduate or questions provided to me by more senior faculty. Since

Read More »

A Case against Grades

I used to fret quite a lot over my grade distribution. If I gave too many As, did that mean my courses lacked rigor? If too many students failed, was I a bad teacher? My thinking has shifted to a greater concern over student learning

Read More »

Ways to Provide Feedback on Student Videos

The first thing that nearly all NFL players do the day after a game is watch film of their performance. Video provides an outside perspective that shows them things they would not be able to see from their own perspective. For instance, after a couple

Read More »

Make Your Exams More Secure by Using Question Banks

As many classes and exams migrate online, many professors are increasingly concerned about an uptick in cheating. Preliminary numbers indicate those concerns are valid. In August 2020, Derek Newton in The Hechinger Report disclosed that at North Carolina State University, for example, 200 students in

Read More »
Archives
The 2025 Teaching Professor Conference

Get the Latest Updates

Subscribe To Our Weekly Newsletter