Dedicated to my colleagues and friends in the same profession!
“Plan well, teach well, mark well and you can’t go far wrong.”
Nothing is more basic than our duty to carefully consider what we need to teach, deliver this to the best of our ability and then assess the learning that has taken place. As a result, despite all our other responsibilities, these three components continue to be the biggest contributors to both a teacher’s anxiety and their workload.
Marking comes with a teacher’s territory but, as the weather gets better, most of us would rather avoid spending our evenings with the obligatory set of books for company.
It’s that time of year that students and teachers are at breaking point! Unfortunately, the lead up to final year exams is the most tiring and pressurising time for both. Students need to give all they’ve got if they are to do well and teacher’s need to squeeze in a bit more time to stay on top of their heavy workload – marking! Ugh! The dreaded marking, the least enjoyable element of our job! It’s true, isn’t it? After 17 long years in the profession, I can, at least, be honest!
How many times have you carted those piles of books or assignments from the classroom to the car, into the house, back to the car, back to the classroom and still not completed the marking? It’s just like going to the supermarket, in out, in out of the trolley then in out of the car – you get the picture! No wonder we all end up with backaches!
Searching for a balance between home and work, marking strategies can give you more flexibility and time… time that could be better spent doing other things!
Why do we mark students work?
• To See if they understand the task
• To See if they have met the learning intention
• To Check that they have completed the task
• To Provide useful feedback
• To Motivate and engage students
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Some ideas to buy you a bit more you time.
1. Prioritise
Look for the pile you think you can get through quickest. Write a list of the order in which the corrections need to be done by and if it means working on a day to day basis, instead of weekly so be it! Plough through it, class by class, day by day.
2. Divide and dig into
Write down the time-slots you have available to mark and choose a realistic number of books or assignments you can get through within that time. Then physically divide the books into corresponding piles and stick a Post-it on top of each pile with the day and time that you’re going to mark them. You will find this brings a real sense of purpose to what otherwise can seem a never-ending problem. I find there is something very ‘doable’ about 6 books or assignments. In my case, I teach classes of 12, therefore splitting my workload into two loads per class seems less bleak!
3. Sit down and just do it!
I find that when I have no choice or no time ahead of me, I have to just put everything on hold and do it. The sense of accomplishment and relief that follows is worth the pressure.
4. Prevention is better than cure
If you are badly behind, you may need to give yourself breathing space. Consider whether written responses are needed or ask pupils to do their learning on a whiteboard. There are many creative ways of allowing pupils to demonstrate their learning in a meaningful way that doesn’t lead to the need for marking and it is worth considering these as you head towards busy times of the term, such as parents’ evening week. Then as you lose regular marking slots, that familiar avalanche won’t start tumbling.
The final thing to remember is that any honest staffroom conversation will make clear that every teacher gets into this position just as regularly as you do, especially during this time of year.
So breathe, stay calm and mark at the pace you can cope with, and find ways that suit your time management and temperament.
