Marking is a task that has to be completed, and as all good teachers and educators know, the feedback given whilst marking can develop student skills and help motivation – for both teachers and students. Even so, anyone who has to mark work will sometimes find it very difficult to actually sit down and start. The following expert tips give some ideas on how to start and how to keep going.
Motivate by Rewarding Step Completion
Start by breaking the job down into lots of steps.
Example steps
- read through the question paper and marking guide to make sure it is all clear
- create a short marking guide which has the question number, key points and marks available, to be used as a quick glance reference guide
- mark 1 piece of work (the first one always takes longest)
- mark 5 pieces of work
Then write down "rewards", for example: have a cup of tea, walk the dog, a biscuit, a complete break.
To start marking, work out which step to take first (at this stage, it doesn’t matter which step, whether it’s "mark 5 scripts" or "complete the remaining scripts") and decide on a corresponding reward; have it ready and keep focus on the reward whilst marking.
Marking Tips
- Start by making a short marking guide, showing just the question numbers (and part numbers if appropriate) and marks available. This can be used as a quick reference and saves time continually searching through a marking guide to check how many marks are allocated to each question.
- Set up a "notes" document – either on a computer or just on a notepad and keep a copy of all the feedback given. The same comments can then be re-used when the same problem occurs.
- Only do 10 minutes – this is usually enough time to get started and once started it’s easier to continue.
- If a difficult piece of work is causing a loss of motivation, then put it to one side and continue with another one. Come back to it later. This will help keep motivation high and will keep the marking flow going.
- Remember that the first few items take the longest and once these first ones are done, the others will take less time.
It’s very important to work out a personal method (everyone is different) for tackling marking and then use it every time.
In summary, teachers, educators and examiners can review the above tips to tackle marking, keep them handy and use them regularly. It’s also important to work out an individual method. Finally, to keep motivated, remember why this work is being done – to help another person to learn - that means making a huge difference to someone’s life.
Dawn Brewer - I have a portfolio career - as a writer, management consultant, instructor and coach - after twenty years in the corporate world. My ...
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