Sustainable Grading

1
Sustainable Grading

• Ralph Westfall, Ph.D. April 2010
• http/www.csupomona.edu/rdwestfall/grading/sustai
  ngrade.ppthttp/www.csupomona.edu/rdwestfall/gra
  ding/

2
What Is Sustainable Grading?

• Sustainable in terms of
• Reducing or eliminating paper usage
• Conserving the time and energy of the person
  doing the grading
• Increasing consistency, which could reduce grade
  disputes

3
Grading Problems

• Context computer programming and web development
  classes
• Issues
• Too many students (60 - 90 in CIS120!)
• Takes too long per student
• Inconsistencies in evaluations
• Hard to spot cheating
• Paper is inefficient, especially when using a
  learning management system (Blackboard)
• killing trees
• searching content is difficult

4
Computer Assisted Grading

• Things that I have tried in conjunction with
  learning management systems
• Multiple Word files
• Notepad files
• Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
• for sequencing grading as first-in/first out
• for recording detail and calculating scores
• Custom software I'm developing

5
Multiple Word Files

• Students submit all assignments into Blackboard
  in zip files that include
• individual programming code files for testing
• Word files that have pasted into them
• all relevant code
• images (including user interfaces when running
  code)
• outputs
• Grade files in order submitted (sort dates in
  Excel)
• turn on Track Changes
• mark comments with to make easy to find and
  total
• refer back to previously graded files for
  consistency (can copy comments)

6
Word Files Demonstration

• Ken (ASP.NET coding assignment in a Visual
  Basic.NET class)
• Most of comments placed around the image of the
  interface

7
Multiple Word Pros and Cons

• Pluses
• Increased consistency
• Easier to spot cheating
• Can provide relatively detailed feed back and
  corrections
• Can use Find to locate and help total deductions
  (all marked with )
• Minuses
• Time consuming
• High human memory demands

8
Notepad Files

• Paste frequently used comments into Notepad
• Including marker and scoring
• Paste them back into Word documents or Blackboard
  feedback

9
Notepad Demonstration

• CIS 120 Web Development for Non-Technical
  Students
• These are grading comments on term project at
  end of class

10
Notepad File Pros and Cons

• Pros
• simple
• consistent on common issues
• Cons
• Awkward
• Somewhat labor intensive
• Not comprehensive/not scalable
• No sorting capability

11
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet

• Rubrics in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
• 1st column points off
• 2nd column summary of grading issues
• After that, one column per student (in submission
  order determined with Excel )
• Totals for each column
• Split or Freeze Panes feature allows keeping
  first two columns visible while scrolling
  horizontally through users

12
Excel Demonstration

• Dummy class
• I havent done this for a long time, and couldnt
  find any examples, but theyre on my computer
  somewhere

13
Microsoft Excel Pros and Cons

• Pluses
• High consistency
• Very easy to spot cheating
• Minuses
• Feed back and corrections often must be
  compressed due to limitations of width of
  computer screen
• Copying comments from spreadsheet into users Word
  file is labor intensive
• Unwieldy to deal with more than one screen of
  grading items, which is not enough in many
  situations
• Sorting grading comments makes them easier to
  use, but takes extra effort

14
More Automation with Excel?

• Use Visual Basic for Applications to make the
  spreadsheet easier to use
• Could reduce labor but would still be limited in
  terms of comment detail
• Would require extra coding to make as fail-safe
  as a database application
• Less analytical possibilities than a database
  application

15
Stand-Alone Application

• Visual Basic plus a database
• Less coding than an Excel application would
  require
• Use existing database capabilities rather than
  adding them to Excel's capabilities
• Add, change, delete
• More extensible
• Easier to maintain
• Labor-saving functionalities
• Automate copying of comments rather than having
  to manually select and copy
• Built in sorting in combobox that holds all the
  comments

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Demonstration of System

• Download and extract files from GradeSQL.zip into
  a folder on your Desktop (or wherever)
• Double-click GradeSQL.exe file in Debug folder
• Or add a shortcut to file to start menu
• Use Set Up tab to load items from database
• Click item you want to use and in right combobox
  and then paste it (Ctrl V) into file you are
  grading
• Type new comment in left textbox and click Add to
  add it to combobox and database

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Future Plans

• Implement desirable enhancements identified
  through use
• Registered with Source Forge as an open source
  project, but hasnt attracted a team
• A student from India expressed interest in
  working with me, but didnt follow through on
  this project
• Publicize it
• MERLOT
• Forums and mailing lists
• Follow up publication in an academic outlet

18
Conclusions

• Not where I want it to be yet
• Still awkward to use
• Might be better to type short comments manually
  and just use it for long comments (how-to
  instructions for students who arent getting
  it)
• Interface design is critical - need ability to
• Show all comments at same time to make selection
  easier and also show all scoring to help make
  manually typed short comments more consistent,
  without taking up a lot of room on the screen?

19
Survey/Brainstorming

• Would you ever use something like this?
• Why/not?
• What would have to be done to this to make it
  something you might consider using (ideally,
  without any technical constraints?)
• Other possible, non-critical improvements?