Grades can be challenging for both prof and student. Here’s some help.

NOTE: CLICK the little triangles ▶ below ▶ to expand each point in the list

1. Create a rubric to help students understand what you’re evaluating 🎯三

Tell students exactly what you’re assessing. List the elements. Explain not just what you’re evaluating, but why. And how. Why are these particular aspects of a project or assignment so important? How will you assess them?

2. Here's a sample grading rubric

Here’s an example of a rubric provided by Prof Sandeep Junnarkar for a data journalism assignment. (email him

sandeep.junnarkar@journalism.cuny.edu

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if you have questions)

3. Grading template: I added a

grading spreadsheet template

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to the

J-School's Google Drive templates

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. Feel free to use it if you need a resource for tracking grades.

4. Submitting Grades in CUNY First

5. Consider recording video feedback to save time and add a personal touch.

6. Recording voice memo feedback is another option.

7. Here's how to record video feedback

8. Research supports the value of video and audio feedback

9. Focus on “feedforward” more than feedback

Provide "feedforward" comments. Focusing on how to strengthen something, with examples, can be more constructive than pointing out that something is ineffective. Some past J-School students have noted in course reviews when feedback highlighted weaknesses without guiding them toward making improvements.

Here are 10 Tips for Effective Live Teaching 👇

Reminders for Supportive, Inclusive Teaching

Schedule breaks if you’re teaching for more than an hour 🕕

- Teaching 60 minutes or less: If you’re teaching for 60 minutes or less you may not need a formal break, but it’s helpful to give people a bit of humor or some other change of pace to sustain their attention periodically.

- 90 minutes: Schedule at least one break. A five to 10-minute stretch break can work well.

- 120 minutes A 10-minute break in the middle can work well.

- 180 minutes For a three-hour session, two 10-minute breaks can work, or two mini breaks and one 15-minute break. These breaks ensure that people can focus during the rest of your time together.

Provide a safe space 👁

On any given day, some participants may be facing physical or mental challenges. Ask participants to let you know if there's something you can do to help strengthen their learning experience, like slowing down, or adjusting your camera or volume (if online). When relevant, mention a private channel they can use (such as your email, an anonymous form, or DM on Zoom/Slack) to share anything they'd prefer to communicate privately or anonymously.

Facilitate actively and with warmth 😃

Invite participation, including critiques or "devil's advocate" points. Some people may be reluctant to engage actively unless explicitly invited. When people do engage, make a point of welcoming that participation, regardless of whether it was what you were looking for or expecting.

Your reaction to participation will either open up or shut down subsequent engagement. If someone's engagement is so vigorous that it crowds out colleagues, thank them for their participation and then invite others to offer additional or alternative perspectives.

Aim for inclusiveness 🎁

To avoid making someone uncomfortable, provide an off-ramp in case they would prefer to engage in a different way or at a different moment. So to draw in those who haven't yet participated, rather than putting any one student on the spot, you can say something like "Jane, John, and Pat, I'm curious about how you see this issue, if you'd like to share a thought. Or anyone else who has thoughts on this, feel free to use the chat or un-mute and share out loud, whatever you prefer."

Here’s brief

background on the school

⁠

and on our

MA program

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.

Want to dig deeper? Some additional resources:

- Here’s a

helpful background reading

⁠

on leading engaging live sessions.

- A collection of

teaching-related tools

⁠

for engaging teaching