I am always a little worried when I go to the assignment section for grading. I hope they understood the assignment, the deadline, the technology and procedures required and are even still "with me" in the class. I was delighted to see that almost all of the completed assignments were there (the remainders trickled in over the afternoon).
I am always very vigilant in assessing how accurately the students understood and delivered what I wanted. This is how I grade my own work. I learned in my education classes the importance of analyzing your assignments, test questions, etc. after the fact for "good" and "bad/confusing" requirements. After all, what seems perfectly clear to me, might not appear clear to the students. In an "in person" class, I have the opportunity to clarify or explain if necessary. In an online class, I really don't have that option. The standards I must meet for the assignments and work must be much higher, in my opinion.
I also have students from other countries, educational backgrounds and native languages. This creates an even greater need for complete clarity. Believe me, I have dealt in the past with the late night frantic emails from students seeking clarification before the next day's assignment. While sometimes unavoidable, this is NOT a situation I like to repeat.
I was really delighted with the students' introspection and responses to their strengths, evidence and branding plans. I was amused, but not really surprised, at the wide variety of strengths my accounting students bring. Most people tend to think of accountants as a certain "type". It is wonderful to see how all of their varied strengths can supplement each other to form great teams.
I am always humbled by the honesty of their responses and what they choose to share with me. One of the strengths reflections asked them to compile phrases from the strengths feedback that really resonated with them. One student reflected on his combination of competition, and achiever strengths. He somewhat ruefully talked about his belief that even if he did his best, and the results were outstanding, it was still hollow if it wasn't THE best (the "winning isn't everything - it is the only thing" concept).
I was reminded of my oldest daughter's same combination that has helped her achieve things even beyond my wildest expectations. When she was younger, I remember consoling her after she lost a competition with how well she had done, how wonderful to have placed, she would likely be the victor next time, etc. She stopped me cold with "Mom, I know you are trying to help and I will be okay... but THERE IS NO SECOND PLACE."
I also had one student email me with her concerns. She worried that the strengths she possessed weren't the best strengths for accountants and wanted to know how she could instead generate those strengths. One of her strengths she discounted was positivity. Her email was delightfully positive and respectful - she ended with how much she was enjoying the class and how much she was learning. I immediately emailed her back as to what a wonderful quality that was, how important to her teams, bosses and colleagues. I also scheduled a meeting with her so that we could discuss this further in person.
I always try to carefully read through their assignments (even though the real "grade" is only complete/incomplete) and offer individual feedback. I try to use a combination of "I really like your ******* example. Can you go on to quantify, expand, further discuss the results, etc. Here are some suggestions for your **** strength..."
I find that if I work pretty diligently, I can complete each student in 10-15 minutes. So about 5 hours later, I still had time to run to the gym!
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