1. SEVEN PRINCIPLES ABOUT MARKING 6 th Annual TA Day Friday, September 22, 2000 Elsie Chan Department of Sociology University of Victoria Mike Zastre Department of Computer Science University of Victoria Marking Is Educational Feedback Mark the Subject Pace Yourself Ensure Consistency Keep Careful Records Report Plagiarism Respond to Overwork Contents

2.  An assignment mark is the first chance a student has of checking their progress in the course.  Marking must provide feedback.  Inform your approach to marking by recalling the best experiences you had as an undergraduate when receiving back your papers and reading your evaluations. Marking Is Educational Feedback Mark the Subject Pace Yourself Ensure Consistency Keep Careful Records Report Plagiarism Respond to Overwork Contents Marking Is Educational Feedback

3.  When the instructor gives you the marking guide, ensure you understand what are the correct -- and possibly incorrect -- answers.  If you are not given a guide, ensure you understand what the instructor is looking for in a correct answer.  When many students consistently answer a question differently than that required by the marking guide, and you are not sure if the submitted answers are indeed incorrect, immediately seek advice from the instructor.  If marking for math, don’t correct English grammar. If marking for English, don’t correct the science. Be aware of the diversity of student body and empathize with the broad academic challenges faced by many students. Marking Is Educational Feedback Mark the Subject Pace Yourself Ensure Consistency Keep Careful Records Report Plagiarism Respond to Overwork Contents Mark the Subject

4.  Break up the marking task into parts, with each part separated by time for rest or other work.  Avoid mental fatigue and eyestrain.  Know yourself and your limits; marking assignments can be very hard work.  The first few answers to a question are always the most difficult to mark; after that your marking will become much easier. Be aware of this, and be patient with yourself. Marking Is Educational Feedback Mark the Subject Pace Yourself Ensure Consistency Keep Careful Records Report Plagiarism Respond to Overwork Contents Pace Yourself

5.  Where possible, mark one question for all papers before proceeding to the next question.  Where you are responsible for deciding the mark breakdown for questions, keep a list of the points you award or deduct for particular kinds of answers, and refer to it often. Pass along this list with the marked assignments.  When possible, create mark breakdowns with sensible units. Marking Is Educational Feedback Mark the Subject Pace Yourself Ensure Consistency Keep Careful Records Report Plagiarism Respond to Overwork Contents Ensure Consistency

6.  Some instructors will ask you to keep track of grades, so keep these records in a safe place.  Ensure you know which students have submitted work, and which have not; on occasion a student may complain that they handed in an assignment but have not received a mark, and the instructor will ask if you lost it. Marking Is Educational Feedback Mark the Subject Pace Yourself Ensure Consistency Keep Careful Records Report Plagiarism Respond to Overwork Contents Keep Careful Records

7.  If two or more assignments have answers which are far more similar to each other than the submissions, report this fact to your instructor. Disciplinary action is the instructor’s responsibility.  Do not overlook cheating -- in certain disciplines the problem is getting worse, and the only way departments can respond is if they know when it occurs. Marking Is Educational Feedback Mark the Subject Pace Yourself Ensure Consistency Keep Careful Records Report Plagiarism Respond to Overwork Contents Report plagiarism

8.  With the instructor, carefully complete the TA work breakdown.  Always request a midterm check of hours with the instructor.  If marking is taking far more time than allotted, inform the instructor immediately.  If your instructor is not responsive when you are overworked, then discuss the situation with your academic advisor; if you are still unable to have overwork situation resolved to mutual satisfaction, then contact the TA union. Marking Is Educational Feedback Mark the Subject Pace Yourself Ensure Consistency Keep Careful Records Report Plagiarism Respond to Overwork Contents Respond to Overwork