The document discusses a scenario where TAs are providing minimal feedback to students on draft assignments due to a quick turnaround time for grading. In the solutions proposed, it is recommended that: 1) TAs establish clear expectations and objectives for students and create a roadmap to divide assignments into sections to provide effective feedback while meeting deadlines. 2) TAs utilize small group and virtual discussion sessions to provide additional feedback to students in a collaborative environment. 3) Formative feedback plays a vital role in the learning process by helping students identify gaps and adjust their learning, which supports improvement in summative assessments like final projects. 4) Regular communication among the TA team is important to coordinate grading,

1. Teaching Assistantship
Training
Academic Year: 2023-2024 / Ceyda Başak Tekin
Assignment 2: Classroom Scenarios
Scenario 3: Grading and Feedback

2. Teaching Assistantship Training
Scenario 3: Grading and Feedback
You are the lead TA of a five member TA team in an online
course. The faculty for the course has assigned a major,
course-long cumulative project. Each TA, including you, is
responsible for grading a series of the student rough drafts
leading up to the final assignment. The faculty will grade the
final deliverable as this is the high stake grade being 40% of
the final course grade. There is a quick turnaround expected
for grading and you observe that some TAs are providing
minimal feedback on student drafts in order to get the grading
done in time.
At the end of the course, you notice that several of the
student’s final papers show less improvement than expected
from the first draft they submitted.

3. Teaching Assistantship Training
Main Issues
(a) What solutions can you think of to help the students
improve the quality of assignments?
(b) What approaches can you take to juggling deadlines and
feedback?
(c) Are there ways to provide feedback in addition to one-on-
one comments?
(d) What is the importance of formative assessment and
how does this apply to the summative?
(e) What strategies would you use to communicate with the
TA team?

4. The Possible Solutions
(a) Every student’s learning process and learning preferences are different.
• Within an objective, allow students to create assignments in a variety of equipment,
environments or formats that will build on their strengths, increase their motivation, sense of
responsibility and engagement with the assignment, and at the same time allow them to
process information creatively which is the highest level thinking skill in Bloom's Taxonomy.
4
'The highest forms of understanding we can achieve are
laughter and human compassion.’
— Richard P. Feynman

5. The Possible Solutions
(b) Leadership Skills to the Stage.
• Establish clear objectives and expectations with students, fellow TAs and faculty.
• Create a road map by dividing the assignment into certain periods before the deadline and give effective
feedbacks per section. So that, following the road map will increase time and content productivity while
setting students up for success by keeping assignments focused and structured, and encourage students
to connect course materials and assignments and following SMART guidelines for assessing learning
goals and objectives for TAs will be even easier.
5

6. The Possible Solutions
(c) Gather, Process, Enhance!
• Small Group Feedback Sessions: During pre-determined office hours or in the last 15-20 minutes of a
class, bring students together to brainstorm and discuss the ideas they have been working on for their
assignments, and give kind and supportive feedback and foster students’ improvement in the class
environment.
• Virtual Discussion Sessions: Organize forums about the focus of assignment, ask questions, share
content that will expand students' knowledge and skills about their assignment and increase their
engagement. Improve students' progress and assignment content with feedback.
• Video or Audio-Based Feedback: When providing feedback on a student assignment visual
contents play important role, it can be beneficial to utilize video feedback that involves the TAs
interacting with assignments. This type of feedback encompasses Zoom Recordings,
VoiceThread Recordings, etc.

7. The Possible Solutions
(d) Formative Assessment is a Step to the Success!
• Formative assessments are designed to measure learning progress and provide feedback to
students. This type of feedback is given throughout the course or assignment to foster growth
and improvement. It allows students to assess their understanding and communication of
course concepts, identify areas of improvement, and enhance their learning experience.
Thus, Formative feedback plays a vital role in the learning process and summative by helping
students identify knowledge gaps, determine necessary support resources, and adjust learning
strategies to meet course objectives. Without formative feedback, students may remain
unaware of their misunderstandings, leading to confusion and decreased motivation.
7

8. The Possible Solutions
(e) Coming Together is a Beginning. Keeping Together is Progress. Working Together is Success!
• Regular communication is important to cultivate constructive working relationships and facilitate
open communication among members of the teaching team. This practice will aid in
coordinating grading assignments, exchanging updates on the progress of sections and office
hours, and gaining insights from student feedback.
• Regular online or roundtable meetings allow the TAs to set expectations and norms, brainstorm
goals, and share resources, motivate each other these would also improve students learning
and assignment quality.
8

9. Thank you for listening