By: Laura Weir, MA Public History
A large number of teaching assistant-ships on campus are based almost entirely on marking. While it may seem that you’ve lucked out on a lighter workload, you in fact face a more challenging form of teaching. Relying on assumptions that students will take interest in every grammatical correction or footnote restructuring that you take the time to correct is misguided. However, when TAs take the time to write questions and broader suggestions in the margins of their student’s assignments they may begin to see dialogue develop.
Commenting in the margin, writing out paragraphs of comments, as well as inviting students to discuss their work with you are all small ways in which markers are able to foster dialogue with their students. Each assignment has the potential to become another conversation between the marker and the student on how to develop the necessary skills to communicate clearly and effectively, analyze information and develop personal interest in a particular subject.
Students initiate this “conversation” by supplying TAs with assignments, it is then the responsibility for the TA to give constructive criticisms to their students through commentary, or a “conversation.”
- “This is a really interesting point! Perhaps you should focus on this for your next paper.”
- “Do you really think that this was the original intent of the author?”
- “How would you interpret this event?”
- “Can you offer a new perspective on the debate?”
Questions not only encourage students to think deeper within their research, but it also invokes the instinct to respond and consider how they could have done better. Students may wish to continue the conversation further by making a one-on-one appointment, or you may find that they carry your suggestion on to the next project. Markers must look closer when looking for the response to the conversation they are developing. While the content of the second assignment may not be the same, students will often show a reply to the questions posed to them by showing deeper engagement with their subject, a more thorough understanding of the assignment given, or developing a more advanced analysis of their sources.
These improvements are subtle yet distinctive signs that a conversation has occurred between TA and student. Marking therefore is not a chore of how many papers you can finish in an hour, but rather an opportunity to make an impact on students’ thinking and watch their academic growth. So the next time you sit down to mark another paper, think of the various ways you could engage your students to converse with you. You may be surprised by the responses you hear.