Comments on: Give Graders a Break

By: Jeff Patterson

Jeff Patterson — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:05:29 +0000

Anyone interested … here’s the Turabian citation guide mentioned above, with a downloadable PDF for quick, easy, reference.

http://library.osu.edu/sites/guides/turabiangd.php

By: Kari Patterson

Kari Patterson — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:10:55 +0000

Hey Tyler! Yeah, eventually Turabian comes and grabs you by the throat–at least at Multnomah. The Turabian book, “A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses , and Dissertations” (by Kate Turabian) is in the library. That’s the exhaustive source, but Jeff made up 2 pdfs with quick overviews as handouts for students. I’m emailing them to you…

Kari Pattersons last blog post..LiveDifferent Challenge (28): Pen, Paper, and 42-cents

By: GTS: Graders are people too | deTheos

GTS: Graders are people too | deTheos — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:36:20 +0000

[...] and our intentional efforts to bless them. Read her post at goingtoseminary.com: "Give Graders a Break [...]

By: Tyler

Tyler — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:57:13 +0000

Great list Kari.

Speaking of Turabian…..is there a good website that gives an easy overview of that? I’m still used to MLA and haven’t found anything that explains Turabian well. I have to start using it says Dr. Kim.

Tylers last blog post..Fortuitous Bouncing

By: Kari Patterson

Kari Patterson — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:01:51 +0000

Last thing (to Chris and Jake), it is usually first-year courses that have TAs. Advanced-level courses, especially those preparing students for doctoral work, don’t have TAs, at least at Multnomah. It seems to me that by the time you reach 2nd and 3rd year courses, you “earn” more professor attention, including the personal grading of papers. But I can only speak from my experience at our school …

No, Jeff and I have the final go-over of the papers in our TAing class, but in another class I’ve just begun grading for, my professor will review my first batch of papers to ensure that they are according to her standards, then free me to do the remainder without her final review. I’m not certain how other professors do it.

Kari Pattersons last blog post..The Disappointment Cycle

By: Kari Patterson

Kari Patterson — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:55:54 +0000

Hey Chris, Thanks for commenting. I completely hear your sentiments. I guess where I’ve landed is that I’m honored and privileged to have the lecturing, class discussion time, office hours, and personal interaction of professors, and have accepted that they can’t do everything. I’d much rather write interactive papers that are graded by experienced students than take scantron-sheet tests which don’t help me truly assimilate and process information. I’d rather the professor have time to interact with students rather than spending dozens of hours each week grading papers, and at least at our school it is a very small handful of courses which actually merit having TAs. Most courses don’t.
So, I hear you, and I guess I’ve just landed at recognizing professors can’t do it all, and of all the responsibilities to delegate, paper grading seems the best choice.
I appreciate your thoughts, and you taking the time to read and interact here. All the best on your seminary journey!

By: Jake Belder

Jake Belder — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 19:50:37 +0000

Some great points, Kari. I can fully understand how time-consuming and difficult of a task this could be. But, I must confess, I am also sympathetic to what Chris says here. I am aware that our professors employ only qualified students, and I am also aware as you mention here that our graders put in the utmost effort, I still always feel at little uneasy when I know that a professor hasn’t touched my paper.

I’m curious…when you and Jeff TA at Multnomah, does a professor get a final go-over on things you grade?

This is especially a concern for me because I want to make sure that my research papers are top-notch. I’m planning on heading into the academic world, and I need to know that my work is suitable for that pursuit.

Jake Belders last blog post..Bertrand: (Re)thinking Worldview

By: Chris Gensheer

Chris Gensheer — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:25:47 +0000

Appreciated your post on this. I do, however, want to pose a question to you with a little bit of background, and get your feedback on it. I am at seminary and have several friends who are TA’s and graders, so I have had this discussion with them. And I resonate with the need for humility and grace, instead of criticism when talking about grades and graders.

However, I have been bothered by this whole system in the first place. My concerns have not been whether or not I get a good grade, or even a fair grade, but whether or not I am getting a fair evaluation of my progress from the professor. In a system of student TA’s and graders, it is feasible that the Professor passes me through the class without ever having to interact with any of my work.

I believe the graders and TA’s to be fair and judicious assessors of a professor’s rubric, but I miss the actual interaction with the professor through the assignments they deem important. I am of the opinion that if professors don’t have the time to look over and grade their own assignments, then perhaps they need to adjust their assignments (less busy work like reflection papers, more substantial ones like exegetical/research papers or exams), or adjust their other commitments outside of the classroom to allow them time to actually shape and influence their students.

My question (perhaps my problem) is, Why do I pay as much in tuition as I do if I am being evaluated, assessed and graded mostly by peers, and not by actual professors? I came to seminary to learn and be developed by these men in particular, yet I seem to have very little interaction available with them. The least they can do is actually comment and guide me through their own assignments.

That’s my question and my two cents. What do you think?

Chris Gensheers last blog post..Reflections on Worship (Part 1) – What is worship?