Blackboard Reminders, Spring, 2005

Fast but Fair Methods to Grade Writing

Mark your calendars for a workshop with Clemson University's Linda Nilson, January 21, 2005. Linda is founding director of the Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation at Clemson University and the author of Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors.

What you will learn in this workshop will save you time doing what is probably your least favorite teaching task, grading written work, without sacrificing accuracy of fairness to your students. You may even be able to add more writing assignments and essay tests in your courses. If you now grade this kind of written work using an atomist or analytical grading key, you are probably taking more time than you have to. By using one of two holistic grading methods, you can radically reduce your grading time. In fact, a chemistry professor who published a journal article on using one holistic method slashed his report grading time by 80%. This workshop will most benefit instructors who are not familiar or comfortable with holistic grading.

Library Corner
By Michael Lorenzen and Julie Garrison

The CMU Libraries offer assistance to faculty both on and off-campus.  This includes assistance with instruction, document delivery, plagiarism, and databases searching.

Instruction:

Reference librarians help to educate patrons in many ways.  In addition to reference assistance, librarians are available to assist on and off-campus faculty in teaching students library skills.  Faculty can schedule a library instruction session where a librarian will speak to the class about library research.   For on-campus assistance contact Michael Lorenzen at 774-1858.  Faculty teaching off-campus can either contact their area's off-campus librarian or call 800-274-3838 and ask to speak with a reference librarian.   (MORE)

The First Days of Class
By Lisa Nienkark

The tone an instructor sets the first day of class will set the tone for the entire semester.  While some instructors either lecture or dismiss class after handing out the syllabus, much can be done to establish rapport, prepare students for the semester, and create a positive learning environment.  On the first day, students are making decisions about whether or not to stay in classes.  If the course is required and they must stay in the course, they are drawing conclusions about whether or not they will enjoy the class.  They will want to know as much about the nature and scope of the course as possible and will also be curious about the instructor. (MORE)