Working on my first syllabus…what’s one classroom policy a professor had (grading, assignments, attendance, etc.) that you actually found really helpful?
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I’ve been happy offering 3 extra credit points for assignments i post during the semester. usually webinars i invite them to attend and summarize (bullets are fine). Also use as a carrot to attend a career service events. So students know what they can do to raise their grade.
Some context: This is a public health course for first-year masters students! The vast majority will be straight out of undergrad with no work experience.
CGScholar, a UIUC platform from Mary Kalantzis and Bill Cope allows professors to set points for certain criteria to achieve an A on an assignment or for the entire semester. Then users (students) get to put in their own levels of effort across all criteria to reach the equivalent of an A. See below
What I like about this platform is that it tracks your progress in real time. It gives students complete ownership over their educational outcomes and makes learning tailored to each student. Some focus on content, others on peer reviews, etc. I benefited from this platform more than once!
I used a contract/portfolio (search it up) model for grading undergrads and it seemed fair, easy to understand, and defensible, as well as helping students prioritize/value engagement in class AND mastering ideas—which makes for a more fun and effective classroom.
Just finished teaching my first year for freshman writing! I set “strict” deadlines, but always indicate to students I’m much more lenient on late work as long as students are willing to email me or talk to me about their problems. I always indicate I sincerely just want them to do well.
I find mostly that this promotes an open line of communication between me and shy students, and also allows them to feel comfortable enough to ask for extensions and help on assignments. Additionally, I always allow one “freebie” late assignment with no explanation attached, so long as they request
I have dysgraphia so frequently transpose numbers when distracted, which I discovered upon correction, and also learned a lot about my other math misconceptions in the process
I had a teacher who encouraged us to chose a random person in the class ask the question if we didn't want to take credit. So for example 'Prof. McMahon, it seems like Joe is having a really hard time with this concept, can you give another example?'
generally, i tell mine that i would rather they turn in something late (and they are always welcome to ask for extensions except for finals) than total slop
i haven’t had a professor willing to bite on this but an old friend who taught course pedagogy recommended allowing for revisions (again, within reason and as long as an actual attempt was made). it also helps cut down on potential complaints about teaching. but they have to demonstrate why they
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generally, i tell mine that i would rather they turn in something late (and they are always welcome to ask for extensions except for finals) than total slop