Part Five of Practical Mid-Career Teaching Reflections: Grading and Further Reading | Educational Assessment - Faculty Focus

Justin Robertson, PhD argues, Before discussing grading, let me return to assignments and a key point.  

Person grading papers with coffee on desk
Photo: Faculty Focus

My students are frequently uncertain about how to write an introduction and a conclusion in a written assignment.  Given the powerful role that these parts play in setting the context and leaving the reader with a final impression, I clearly set out what I believe a strong introduction and conclusion should accomplish.  I draw especially on Van Evera (1997).  In writing an introduction, Van Evera notes that “it can work better to first frame the facts that stir your questions, then frame the questions these facts inspire.”  It is also essential for students to introduce any real-world, scholarly debates and controversies on the subject and explain how the research approach connects with these issues.  For the conclusion, instructors must underline that it is more than just a summary.  I ask students to summarize the central findings and then go further by addressing one or more of the following three points raised by Van Evera.

• What policy implications follow from your discoveries?
• What further research is called for by your discoveries?
• What broader historical questions does your research raise or settle?

The last possibility for the conclusion I explain, could be setting out future scenarios that would either confirm or undermine the student’s argument...

To return to the starting point of this series, Lang’s work is an invaluable guide to teaching.  His analysis is matter of fact yet theoretically informed; it draws out practices found in classrooms from many disciplines and demonstrates that they can be applied universally.  Lang’s (2008) week-by-week structure is informative and his 2016 book, Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning, is full of engaging theory, including the relationship of concepts to individual life.  This series in Faculty Focus follows in the footsteps of Lang and contributes a set of practical suggestions for new faculty members as they seek to define their teaching philosophy and techniques.

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Source: Faculty Focus