Grading Discussion Boards
Grading discussion boards took up the majority of my work as a teaching assistant. Every week (except for test weeks), I would go through and grade everyone’s responses to the prompts. My goal that I strived to meet through the semester was to have everyone’s grade posted before the next discussion was due. This makes it so that the students can adjust their responses for the next week based on the previous week’s feedback. I enjoyed grading these, as they are practical applications of the concepts learnt in class. Because of this, I saw so many different interpretations and applications of the material I had not considered before. My horizons for what the content covers and can be applied to expanded greatly.
Above is one of many discussion boards I graded over the course of the spring 2021 semester. I chose to show this one in particular, as the student received full credit. The grading system used has five categories, each worth two points, to add up to ten points for full credit. The categories are development of ideas, clarity and mechanics, response to others, content contribution, and timeliness. The student’s original post is a great example of critical thinking and applying concepts to the real world. I particularly enjoyed the ‘mixed signals’ portion of their response, as the portrayal of sex and sexuality though the media can be very permissive, but yet the general attitude of society is to not discuss it; the student clearly put a lot of thought into their classification of the United States and a semi-permissive society. This was a unique take that I enjoyed reading greatly and is the type of material I loved seeing from students. Their responses to the other students reflected their ideas in their post, and provided the opportunity for a good discussion between peers.
Similarly, during the summer semester I also spent the majority of my time grading discussion boards. They had the same criteria as the last semesters. I enjoyed reading these a lot, as when I took this class I had most of the same prompts. And as mentioned, I enjoy seeing what everyone has to say. Below is another student who received full credit for their work.
Their comparison of Bandura and Skinner is well done and obviously thought through, but their comments however are also definitely deserving of the full credit. The student uses direct quotes from the other students discussion board to better make their point on the subject. They also appear to be enthusiastic in their comments, and earnestly attempting to engage in a conversation with their fellow students. I believe this is the gold standard for discussion board comments that everyone should strive for.
Office Hours
Office hours fall directly in line with my values as a teaching assistant. Providing a couple of constant times a week in which I can give fast responses to people with questions is the epitome of open and honest communication (at least by online course standards). During this time in the summer 2021 semester, I made sure to have my email notifications on so I wouldn’t miss anyone, and was doing my own school work so that I had something I could easily stop if someone needed me. There were a few emails I received during this time, mostly for questions on grading that I was more than happy to answer.
In the image above is a selection of a few email titles that I received/ sent (names blacked out for privacy). The one at the bottom was my introduction to the class, as well as explaining my grading and office hour schedules, and an invitation to email me anytime if they had questions. The other two emails are from students asking about the grades that they received. In both of these instances, we had a conversation about the grading rubric, which I believe clarified things.
Myself as a Resource
During the spring 2021 semester, I opened my email up to students with questions. Near the start of the semester, I introduced myself to everyone as their undergrad teaching assistant. I explained my primary job of grading their discussions and gave them an easy ‘in’ to talk with me. As I mentioned, a few students emailed me back asking for help with various things.
Above is the first email I sent out to the class near the start of the semester. This being an online course, the ability to communicate with one’s instructors is already limited. That said, through the COVID-19 pandemic, we all became a bit more familiar with online modes of communication. While this is hardly a replacement for face-to-face interaction, it likely helped to fill the gaps. Introducing myself and allowing the students an opportunity to talk and get to know me may help them become more invested in the class and the material. Emailing students like this about the course helped my own communication abilities and taught me how to better my online communication.