Test results
When dealing with the Gen Y students, I find they continually want instant feedback when it comes to testing. I have many students, and it takes time to correct all the tests we take on a weekly basis. Students are continually asking, "Can I get my results today?" or "Can I know whether I passed my test by the end of the day." I have no problem letting them know that it will take some time to grade all the papers and that I will get back with them as soon as I can. However, it does make the student and/or students appear to be very me-centered and at times can be very frustrating.
Kathy,
I agree & have to check myself that I don't lose my patience with them.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Yes, they want things done right now. This can really wear me out!
What I have done to keep from being pestered by the grade hounds is when I give an assignment or test, I will tell them I will have your grades to you by a certain date and time (usually within a day or two). Just as we give them due dates for things, I give myself a due date for getting their work graded and back to them.
Gen Y is very needy when it comes to "how am I doing?" They need constant feedback. I use machine-scored tests a lot, so that is one way to get instant feedback. I also use ExamView for tests, which are taken online and they see their scores immediately. When I'm lecturing with PowerPoint slides, I insert "quick quizzes" where the slide requires the student to use their response devices (we call them "clickers") to respond to the quick quiz. They love it!
Kenny,
I like this idea & have recently incorporated it as well. I find it keeps them at peace & puts accountability on me.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I also have the same thing. And it is hard to get them back to them that fast. They want to know right away.
Sometimes instant feedback can be a negative
rather than a positive. For example early in
the term they tend to place too much emphsis
on their grade when only one or two assignments
have been turned in. I always explain that the
portion that has been completed may only be
3 0r 4 percent of their total grade but still
this does not convince some of them.
J. E. Wright
J,
I too have experienced this unfortunate reality. There seems to be a tendency to either give up too early or if they are successful to sit back & rest on their laurels.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
this need to know their grades instantly seem to be a lack of confidence in themselves. They are not confident in what they are learning.quite a few of them are top students I don't understand this.maybe they try to move too fast through the course material.
I have that same problem. However, we do have the option for scantrons and I try as much as possible to correct the test once done. Meanwhile, if I am not able to do so, I inform them to check the portal were we enter grades by the end of the week. This make my job less stressful and the students are not as anxious.
Vatina,
I too have learned that if I give them a definite & relatively soon time when the grades will be posted or returned, typically I don't have them asking. It's usually if I'm late or I don't tell them a date that I get the questions.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I think it is a good thing for them to want to know how they are doing. I have some students who have no idea how they are doing and wait until the end and struggle to raise their grades.
The need for instant feedback is understandable. This generation has instant gratification through technology. I've incorporated showing "soft" test results, no grade, just how many right & wrong. This satisfies even the most "I need to know right now" student. I've come to enjoy discussing the tests with the students and hearing them learn from each other through this process.
I have also noticed that my Gen Y students want their grades almost immediately after a test or assignment is due. One announcement I make in my classes the first day is that "if I give you time to do the assignment, you have to give me time to grade it." If an assignment is due in a day or a week, I then have the same amount of time to grade it. Once I give them that grading policy, student stop requesting their grades from me.
I also find that as long as I take the time to put the grade up on the online classroom, students will no longer need that instant feedback from you. An online gradebook is Gen Y'ers best friend!
Alicia,
this is so true & this is a great approach. I also try to make my grading as easy as possible to follow so they can track their own progress.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I also tell my students that I will notify them as a group when I have finished grading their exams. I also work to make them understand that 30 students continually asking when there grades will be posted is only going to take time away from me actually grading those exams. Most students see that pretty quickly and settle down.....but not all of them.
I use scantrons so I do give them instant feedback, but I do like to remind them that instant feed-back is not always possible and not to have the same expectations from every instructor.
One thing I've done is to make sure that while a test must accurately evaluate a student, it shouldn't be difficult or time-consuming to grade. I think that multiple choice questions, if skillfully written, can be just as challenging as short-answer. They're quick to grade, and you can get back to the students faster with results.
As related to student test,knowing that this generation is so self centered and obsessed with instant gratification students who are confident within themselves do not really need to know instantly if they have passed or not and the students who are unsure of the information of the class and test are the ones that need to know instantly,On many occasions I have let the students grade their papers right away to give them their answers, and many are either happy to see what they got or disappointed. But this gives them the opportunity to see where their mistakes are and get a better understanding of the directions of future test, which if they pass increase their confidence levels
