Marking
often feels like a waste of time. The school marking policy wants
constructive feedback but does all the time you spend writing comments
actually have an effect on the pupils? Do you feel like you’re writing
the same comment over and over again. You need a feedback strategy. This
automated feedback system takes time to set up, but once it is up and
running it will do the work for you, generating the feedback comments
and prompts for action, saving your time.
choose the question
Choose
questions that are straightforward to mark and will be easy to give a
constructive comment on how to progress to the next level or grade.
Choose something that you will be able to use again to avoid having to
go through this process for every class every year.
set up spreadsheet
Add each question or section of marking criteria with the number of marks available into this spreadsheet or one like it.
comments
On
the comments tab of the spreadsheet, type a comment for a pupil who
achieves each possible mark. This part takes some time but will save you
writing similar comments over and over again. Notice on the example
that the same comment is used for more than one mark (eg same comment
for 0-3 marks)
action
To
increase the effect of your feedback (and to prove that to anyone
looking at your books!), make sure the comment includes something for
the pupil to do - find the correct answer, write down a definition,
apply knowledge to a different situation etc. Then allow 10 minutes
during the next lesson for the pupil to carry out those actions.
vlookup command
The example spreadsheet
is set up for 4 questions of 10 marks each. If your questions or
marking criteria are less than 10 marks, just leave the unnecessary
parts of the comments section blank. If you need more than 4 questions
or 10 marks, take a few minutes to learn how to use the VLOOKUP command in excel (tutorial).
If you need to change the number of marks available for each question
on the spreadsheet, you will need to adjust this formula.
feedback template
Set up your own version of this document. To merge the information from your own spreadsheet you will need to :
If you are new to mail merging - have a look at a more detailed guide here
This
document gives feedback for each question and something for the pupil
to act on, including a space for their response on the page. This is an
easy way to flag up progression to anyone flicking through your books.
Setting
this up the first time probably takes the same amount of time as it
would to write individual comments, but when you arte using it for
multiple classes or using it again for the second year you’ll really
notice the time saved.
For other examples of the same idea see the two links below (TES account needed):
