Teaching Assistants' Training Program

Michael Dick, TATP Social Sciences Trainer
Mike Kasprzak, TATP Curriculum Developer

Where did I lose marks?” “Why did you give me this grade?” “What did I do wrong?” “Can’t you just increase my grade by a few marks?” These are just some of the questions you often field from students when they receive grades and feedback on their tests, exams, and assignments. As Teaching Assistants, our goal is to evaluate work according to defined standards and to use grades and commentary as quantitative and qualitative measures of the extent to which our students have demonstrated a mastery of the course and assignment learning outcomes. Students tend to centre on the right answer, and perceive grades as something punitive, indicative of their weaknesses. How can we better help students understand the objectives of learning? How can we efficiently mark and provide effective feedback? This workshop is designed to assist TAs to maximize their contribution to students’ success and their own efficiency and productivity during the grading process. Topics covered will include types of feedback, effective feedback, talking to students about grades, grading disputes, communication and marking rubric design. We will share and develop strategies to re-frame grading as “coaching” and to demonstrably show our investment to our students in this respect.