Grades In, Semester Over

My office where I spent much of the semester meeting w/ students and grading papers

Yesterday and today were my last two classes of the semester.  Last night I finished reading and grading 15, 5-page papers (which took place over a 36 hour period), entered all of my final grades into the online system, and even had enough time to bake some delicious cookies to share with my students.  I can't believe how fast the semester went, and to be honest, how accomplished I feel at the end of it.  Before this semester I had never taught a full course; only guest lectured, conducted workshops, and guided discussions.  I almost surprised myself with how comfortable, confident and prepared I felt each week.  I never thought I was very good at improvising and deviating from the 'plan' (because we all know I love to plan), but to be honest, 'improvising' was probably what I did best this semester, and I didn't really have to think about it, it just kinda happened (I guess that's how you improvise....less thinking, more doing).

The two classes I taught were very different.  For my Language Development class I would spend about 1-2 hours per week to prepare, while my academic writing class I would spend about 1-2 hours to prepare, and then about 5-7 hours in addition, giving feedback on writing assignments. In Academic Writing I required 11 writing assignments (including a final research paper), one test, and then participation points. In Language Development I had no writing assignments (except writing a cover letter and resume), three tests which were an in-class 'meeting,' mock-interview, and a 'quick-preparation' presentation, and then participation points.  There was a higher percentage of top grades in the Language Development course than in Academic Writing, and to be honest, I'm pretty sure I was more liked in my Language Development course (surprise, surprise).

I think both groups of students learned and improved a lot though; but the rate at which they realize the value in what they learned I think will come at a very different pace.  The Language Development students are one semester away from graduation; many of them looking for jobs where they will be required to speak English, so the focus of the class was very useful to them, and they felt the practice will directly benefit them in the near future (the class focused on communication in professional environments).  The Academic Writing students are just finishing their first semester of their second year at university.  I know some appreciate now that I made them write every week and gave a lot of feedback and comments on their papers, while on the other hand I know some found this too be too much or thought I pointed out too many flaws in their writing.  I saw them all struggle, and from that struggle I saw continual improvement. This steady, incremental improvement that I saw not only in their writing, but in their research and ability to think and write critically, is what makes me confident that at some point, whether it be next semester, or next year, that they will see the value in this class, and be happy that I pushed them.

ELTE, the university I teach at