Posts Tagged Giving feedback

Comments codes for mathematics

This list of common comments on mathematics papers, with comment codes, can be used to avoid rewriting the same comment on several papers. The codes are useful for de-emphasizing less important comments so students will focus on more important written-out comments. Tex and doc files are included both so the list can be modified and to enable copy/paste of comments onto student papers. This list is intended for short papers; a list for longer papers would need more comments focused on structure. The “grader” versions are designed to help educators quickly skim to find the code for a desired comment.

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On teaching math communication

This 18-page resource for math instructors addresses questions of how to teach communication in an undergraduate math seminar. Most of the document focuses on questions of grading and providing feedback to students on their writing. It was written for a workshop with M.I.T. math instructors preparing to teach communication-intensive undergraduate math seminars.

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Sample coded comments

Educators who find themselves writing the same comments on multiple students’ papers may find it to be helpful to use comment codes to simplify giving feedback and to de-emphasize less important comments so more important comments will receive more attention from students. This two-page pdf presents an example of such coded comments from a course on Micro/Nano Processing Technology. Some students also appreciate having the code list to use as an editing checklist.

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On giving helpful feedback

This two-page note provides guidance for commenting on mathematics papers. Suggestions are given for instructors who feel that most or all errors should be marked, and for instructors who comment primarily on small-scale errors such as wording. Suggestions include directing the student to develop a personalized editing checklist, encouraging the student to identify his or her own solutions to writing problems whenever possible, and using a commenting checklist as a reminder to consider larger-scale issues such as structure and to look for possible honest praise to provide.

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Dimensions of Commenting

This one-page note raises questions about how to comment effectively on student writing. The note describes various issues to consider when writing comments, such as the focus of the comment (the paper vs the student), whether the comment indicates problems or solutions, whether the comment describes the form of the writing or the effect of the writing, the level of detail of the comment, the quantity of comments, and whether some comments are given greater emphasis than others. Based in part on an article by Kerry Walk.

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