I peeked into the team forums, and see some students complaining about the course. It’s not a big deal, but it kind of hurt my feelings. An example of something someone said was, “the instructor finally provided feedback on this assignment – it took forever!” The problem is that it did take me forever! When preparing feedback for the assignment, I read all of the students’ work and then created a starter response that was the same for each student. Then, I added comments particular to each student. It took so many hours, and I don’t know how to make students see that I really put a lot of time and effort into this. In a face-to-face class, I’d have a week for this. Ugh!
Frustrated Facilitator
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You should inform the students of your progress as you are completing their feedback. If you wait until you finished everything, the students are "left in the dark" as to what is going on and frustration is inevitable for some. Posting a few updates will at least let students know that you are working and that they will get the feedback when it's ready. As online students, I would hope they can appreciate the time and effort you put into the course as the instructor.
ReplyDeleteSome of the feedback details should have been worked out up front setting both class and instructor expectations. With a time line in place, then students will know when to expect feedback. If the feedback is going to take longer then a general email/announcement explaining the situation should suffice. Though one more thing for the instructor to do, having students follow the instructor on twitter as he/she comments on how each part of the course is facilitated may give them a better idea of just how differently an online course runs when compared to a traditional one.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous post. Established rules in the syllabus, and keeping the class updated. In a face to face the professor shares that they are working on papers and hope to get them back soon. Announcements would be a good place to share that you are working on them and they look great so far.
ReplyDeleteDear Frustrated Facilitator,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are very dedicated to your role as an online facilitator. You really put your heart and mind into every task you take on, the sign of a truly dedicated teacher. Although it can be hard to receive critical comments from others, you can also look at it as a new learning experience. Let’s look at what the students said – “the instructor finally provided feedback on this assignment – it took forever!” First let’s look at the positive. They weren’t complaining about the feedback you gave them at all. I am sure they would have mentioned this in the same conversation, since this seemed to be a section of venting, so you can be comfortable with the comments you are sending. The main complaint seems to be your timeliness. My first question, did you address this time frame from the beginning of the class, that is did you let students know how long it would be before you give feedback on an assignment? I also have a clarifying question about the word “assignment” Without being a member of your class, I do not know if this assignment is different from “discussion posts”. Hopefully it is. An assignment is an in depth project that students turn into a grade book type format. These types of activities do take a significant amount of time. You should at least give yourself a week to get these graded by stating upfront that this is your time line for grading assignments. “Discussion posts” are a different type of assignment that does involve a more immediate response. Within a discussion topic, students post their thoughts/answers within a forum type board and then comments are made by both students and facilitators. You should plan ahead how often you will post to student comments, whether it is to every student or to the majority of students (keeping track of the number of responses per student). These should be shorter, with a focus toward guidance and encouragement. You should keep in touch with this forum on a daily basis and be consistent with your original plan. Remember students online are more sensitive to a lack of feedback than those within a classroom. It can often be received as a sense of rejection. Be upfront with your students. Let them know how long they should plan on waiting for feedback. And finally, send out notices when grades/feedback is posted so they know to take a moment and check their box.
Good Luck,
Friendly Facilitator
As a facilitator in this position I would put together a short survey or activity asking students how they feel about feedback in any course. Ask about frequency, amount, type, etc., much like we have done in this course. This will allow for everything to be out on the table, especially if it is done anonymously students will be more honest about their opinions. As the instructor maybe taking a look at how much time and the way feedback is being completed and setting a more realistic and reachable goal for them.
ReplyDeleteJust my thoughts for now!
~Darla
Way to go, Ann! Very nicely stated. I would also have to agree to not take things personally, and use the comment as a learning experience. Occasionally, you may come across a participant that will complain for no particular reason-- I don't think that was the case with this student. I don't think this student was trying to be rude-- just relieved that they had received a grade. If the grading was taking longer than you expected, it would be a good idea in the future to just let your students know that you are running behind-- especially if you have posted a promise stating otherwise. Online classes are built on a blind trust. By providing feedback and grades in a professional and timely manner, you are helping to build trust with your students.
ReplyDeleteI agree with others who have mentioned the importance of establishing guidelines for feedback at the beginning of the course. Once you have established those guidelines and expectations it is important that you meet them. Just as we expect the students to meet our expectations for their assignments we too have a responsibility to meet the expectations we have set. Having said that I also acknowledge how difficult and time consuming providing specific feedback to students can be. Maybe if you are having trouble meeting the timelines that were originally set at the beginning of the course you need to revisit those guidelines with the class. I think they will value and respect that you want to provide them high quality, worthwhile and specific feedback and would be very willing to change the timeline.
ReplyDeletePatty
Ann - you have made excellent points."It sounds like you are very dedicated to your role as an online facilitator. You really put your heart and mind into every task you take on, the sign of a truly dedicated teacher. Although it can be hard to receive critical comments from others, you can also look at it as a new learning experience." The key word here is "heart". This facilitator is allowing emotions to dictate his/her response. The reaction was a defensive one stemming from a feeling of being attacked. As Patty stated, "Just as we expect the students to meet our expectations for their assignments we too have a responsibility to meet the expectations we have set." Courses are built on deadlines: first the teachers set assignment deadlines for the students and then the students (sometimes immediately) expect their grades/feedback. We've seen both sides of this coin and yet we fall into the same trap of wanting to see feedback right away. I think it's human nature to get praise for our efforts. Communication from the instructor, with brief updates regarding the grading process, would appease everyone and allow the instructor to keep working without feeling attacked. Yet another reason why communication in an online course is so vital.
ReplyDeleteMichelle,
ReplyDeleteI think you have really touched on an important aspect of the facilitation of online courses..plan ahead. Establishing grading expectations at the beginning of the course will set up the framework of established timelines. Also, it is important to do what you can ahead of time before adding individualized comments. Also, I would advise the instructor to keep the lines of communication open. The facilitator may not meet the expectations of each student specifically, however, communicating will help each student to feel that the pre-established timeframe needed to grade assignments is reasonable.
AG
Communication is key!
ReplyDeleteIf grading the assignments is going to take a while, let the students know and explain why. Most of the time if people know that the solution to their gripe is in the works, they become much more agreeable. They just need to be given the courtesy of being informed.
Barb
I agree with Barb about the importance of communicating with the class. Keeping the class is even more important when you don't meet f2f on a regular basis.
ReplyDelete