Welcome to Teaching in the US Grading and Effective Feedback in the American System In what types of classes or labs will you be expected to grade US students? Respond below by using the textbox tool (the 4th icon down on the vertical toolbar to the left) Sabrina Kramer Assistant Director, University of Maryland Have this in the room when they enter Lijuan Shi CIRTL Coordinator, University of Maryland Session begins at 12PM ET/11AM CT/10AM MT/9AM PT. Please configure your audio by running the Audio Set Up Wizard: Tools>Audio>Audio Set Up Wizard.

Teaching in the US Events November 12: Grading and Effective Feedback in the American System Featuring Sabrina Kramer and Lijuan Shi, University of Maryland February 11: Recognizing and Handling Acceptable and Unacceptable Student Behavior Featuring a student panel of international TAs March 10: Using Your International Background to Your Advantage in the Classroom Featuring Kimberly Kenyon, Cornell University April 14: Developing Your Own Teaching Philosophy by Incorporating Your Cultural Background Featuring Khara Schonfeld-Karan, University of Maryland

Myths, Reality, and Implications of Grades in the American Grading System

Myth #1: “C is Average” F D C B A

Shift in Grades from 1960-2009 ROJSTACZER & HEALY, 2012 --Found that 43% of grades across 135 schools were “A”s --science and engineering-focused schools grade more stringently than those emphasizing the liberal arts

Grade Inflation Grade inflation refers to the increase in average grades over time Influential factors Student evaluations Department Part-time teachers

How should graduate students respond to grade inflation?

Introduction to Biology Sample Grade Distribution

Sample US Grading Scale Grade Interpretation A+, A, A- Excellent mastery of subject B+, B, B- Good mastery of subject C+, C, C- Acceptable mastery of subject D+, D, D- Borderline understanding of subject F Failure

A non-American Grading System B C

Have you ever been a student (or teaching) in a grading system different than the US? Where? Probe for more information about the format/scoring, distribution, etc.

Myth #2: An “A” is an “A” is an “A” Introduction to Biology Introduction to Human Development

Myth #3: High Schools prepare students for College-level grading Advanced coursework and GPAs Participation (showing up) vs. demonstrating knowledge Timeliness and grades

Implications: Do grades matter?

Implications: Do grades matter? Fairness and consistency University standards Course placement Jobs & Internships

Making Grading More Efficient

What are some problems that you have encountered in grading for your course(s)?

How do you reduce student complaints and help them learn? Give feedback in a timely manner Give feedback that students can use to improve (constructive criticism) Be consistent in feedback and in grading (rubrics)

Making grading timely Schedule time to sit and grade when you know assignments are due. Go to a coffeeshop or someplace away from lab so you can just get your grading done without being tempted to do another experiment. Grade in a group with fellow TAs. Remember that you’re getting paid to grade, so don’t worry about time away from your research.

Providing additional feedback Constructive Criticism– type of criticism that focuses on the ways to improve an issue, problem or other piece of work that typically involves both positive and negative feedback.

Rubrics are a great way to provide consistent feedback How many people have used rubrics before (raise your hand)?

What are rubrics? At its most basic a rubric is a scoring tool that divides an assignment into its component parts and objectives, and provides a detailed description of what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable levels of performance for each part. Stevens, D and Levi, A., Introduction to Rubrics. An Assessment Tool to Save Grading Time, Convey Effective Feedback and Promote Student Learning. 200. Stylus Publishing. Sterling, VA.

Why use rubrics? Saves time grading Gives consistency to grading, even with assignments that can have subjective components. Helps the student understand what is expected of him or her Helps the student understand what the important parts of the assignment or task are Gives feedback to the student where they are doing well and where they need to improve

What does a rubric look like?

What makes a bad rubric? Too many Columns (levels) Too wordy (not succinct) Mixing criteria Isn’t aligned with learning outcomes Not a logical progression of proficiency in levels

How would you create your own? Start by dividing up the grading criteria. For example, with a lab report: Hypothesis Methodology Results Figures and legends Citations Writing Style Conciseness

For each criteria, decide what would be exemplary and what would be unacceptable For example: Methodology: Exemplary Methods are explained clearly using correct language and are sufficient for someone else to repeat the experiment Unacceptable: Methods section is missing or if present, does not describe experiment.

Decide what would constitute needing more work Methodology: Needs Work Methods present and describe experiment, but not sufficient for someone to repeat experiment. Terminology and language used is not correct or sufficient to convey information about experimental conditions.

Resources for Rubrics (including good example used) Rubric templates: http://www.introductiontorubrics.com/frameworks.html Sample:http://www.introductiontorubrics.com/samples.html Rubric template maker: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

How to deal with students’ complaints of grading

Be relaxed, but prepared

Why do we need to be relaxed GPA, GPA, GPA Argument=engagement Complaining is a good opportunity for both parties to understand each other

How to be prepared Use rubric Keep rules transparent（deadline, handwriting) Clarify your responsibility

Be firm, but empathetic

Why we need to be firm Maintain fairness Level the playing field

A real example: An International TA F gave his students an assignment for a Math lab class: On the same graph (3 subplots) Plot x(t) versus t with a blue solid line and line width 1.5. Plot y(t) versus t with a red solid line and line width 1.5. Plot z(t) versus t with A green solid line and line width 2.0.

A student challenged F’s grading in the following Email: Hi F, I just looked at my Lab2 grade, and I feel that I lost points for reasons that were not made clear in the assignment document. First, the assignment said to plot the 3 curves on the same graph. The subplot command plots multiple curves in the same figure but on separate graphs, so the subplot command would not be appropriate based on the assignment. Second, it wasn't clear that our plots needed to be labeled based on the assignment. Assuming all 3 curves were intended to be on the same graph (which I know now was not the intention), there isn't an obvious title to describe the entire graph. Please let me know if you can adjust my grade. Thanks. Student

As an international TA, how would you respond to this student at this point? 

The TA F responded this following Email: Hi Student, I am certain that you had the potential required to complete the assignment. I have used the same rubric to grade everyone; it will be unfair to make special adjustments. 1) Graph and figure could have been misleading in the assignment, but subplot is a clear term, you completely ignored it, though we went through examples during the lab. 2) By know, (I also emphasized it during the lab) you should know better than turning figures, plots or graphs without labels. How will someone interpret them? In this case, how to distinguish x(t), y(t) and z(t) on those plots.  3) When you have multiple subplots you can label each one of them as well. Complete the assignment with more care. 

See problems? Hi Student, I am certain that you had the potential required to complete the assignment. I have used the same rubric to grade everyone; it will be unfair to make special adjustments. 1) Graph and figure could have been misleading in the assignment, but subplot is a clear term, you completely ignored it, though we went through examples during the lab. 2) By know, (I also emphasized it during the lab) you should know better than turning figures, plots or graphs without labels. How will someone interpret them? In this case, how to distinguish x(t), y(t) and z(t) on those plots.  3) When you have multiple subplots you can label each one of them as well. Complete the assignment with more care. 

Solutions: In person meeting Avoid using strong words in your Email require written complaint Utilize sample answers

What if you made a mistake? Take responsibility Talk to your instructor

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Teaching in the US Events November 12: Grading and Effective Feedback in the American System Featuring Sabrina Kramer and Lijuan Shi, University of Maryland February 11: Recognizing and Handling Acceptable and Unacceptable Student Behavior Featuring a student panel of international TAs March 10: Using Your International Background to Your Advantage in the Classroom Featuring Kimberly Kenyon, Cornell University April 14: Developing Your Own Teaching Philosophy by Incorporating Your Cultural Background Featuring Khara Schonfeld-Karan, University of Maryland