Instructor's Reflections on Assessment
Deann (math):
Grading and assessing the assignments in this class was a challenge. I found it difficult to give a score or grade for their writing since I am not familiar with the expectations for student writing at the English 100 level. I can find the mistakes in spelling and grammar, but it's difficult to judge what level of fluency in writing an "A" student (or "C" student) in English 100 should have. I also found it very time consuming to grade these pieces of writings--especially those that were hand-written (the in-class writings). Sometimes I had to read the essay over and over, trying to follow what the student was saying. The essays I struggled with most were not mathematically incorrect; I struggled because the writing was convoluted and not logical.
On the bigger writing assignments, Nancy and I would each read it and then usually discuss the grade before assigning a numeric score. We also found that this process of assessing an assignment from two different disciplines was easier if we had a rubric or outline of the grading breakdown. I highly recommend these be used when more than one person is assessing an assignment.
I believe that this experience will help me when I give writing assignments in my regular Math classes. I now feel that I know more about teaching basic writing skills and more about the writing level of our students.
Nancy (English):