January 17th, 2012
A grading issue that I see for Mr. Fisher was mark distribution in relation to time allocation. The amount of time spent on certain projects did not fairly reflect the marking weight assigned to them. Lots of time was spent on side projects like mapping and family tree business, which didn't have considerable weight in the final grades. It sounded like he also strayed away from the curriculum, which caused marks to plummet in his class. It isn't always terrible to stray from the curriculum, but when it doesn't more damage than good, the question must be asked: is it worth it? If this stray from curriculum doesn't aid students' understanding of required topics, then it should be removed.
During my practicum, I was told many a time that if the activity or topic isn't closely related to the learning outcome, then it must go. It only serves to confuse the students, which in turn makes the job of the teacher more challenging.
I have had very little experience in marking. I aided our mentor teacher with some marking, but I had very little to do. I marked a test, which was terribly challenging. The first part was true and false, and fill in the blank. This section was a breeze to mark, but the next few posed great difficulty. There were several short answer questions, and I couldn't believe the wide range of competence that was displayed. Some students grasped each concept well and passed with a perfect mark. Others seemed to be floundering terribly. I had to come to my teacher many times to make sure my marking aligned with his. Our teacher had been teaching for 7 years, and he told us that in the beginning he marked everything he could. He told us that this wasn't entirely necessary, and it only served to make more work for him. He needed our help with very little of the marking while we were there, which honestly made me quite sad. I was excited to help him out and learn some things. I was still able to do that, but not in the region of marking.
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