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I have spent the past week grading 83 research papers. Some were outstanding, some good, and some needed more work. The assignment required students to research a problem and one solution for the problem and write a 5-page research paper. Students could choose any topic so long as they could find sufficient research.
Here are the most popular topics that students selected for their research papers. I suppose the list gives a glimpse into the interests of today’s teenagers.
12 Papers about Teen Issues (stress, overworked teens, suicide, laziness, pregnancy, problems with texting, tobacco use)
5 Papers about drugs (Alcoholism,
Methamphetamines, underage drinking, legalization of Marijuana)
5 Papers about eating disorders or obesity
4 Papers about poverty
4 Papers about Stereotyping (Including Model Asian profile)
3 Papers about Bullying (including cyber bullying and females)
4 Papers about New or Emerging Energy Sources
3 Papers about Financial Issues (US debt, tax code, Fair Tax)
3 Papers about Shortage of doctors (no topics on the current health care debate)
2 Papers about Gangs
2 Papers about Human Trafficking
2 Papers on Illegal Immigration
2 Papers on Procrastination (one submitted late; the other emailed because the student stayed home and slept)
Other interesting topics for individual papers Cheerleading Injuries, Decline of Newspapers, Disparity among Georgia Schools, Overcoming Creativity blocks, Current GPA Computation Problems, Old People in Florida (?), Problems Created by Rap Music, and the Venus Project.
"Before I collect your papers, please turn to the back and write me a note. Tell me how you think you did, how easy or difficult it was to write the paper, whether you allowed yourself enough time or if you waited until the last minute to finish the paper. What grade do you think you will make? Is there anything specific you want me to check?"
Why did it take me more than two decades inside a classroom to recognize the value of the simple act of having students reflect on their work BEFORE they turn in assignments? Many teachers have students reflect on assignments after they have been graded, but I find it is more enlightening to have kids reflect before I read or grade the assignment.
After I grade a paper, I turn to the back and read the student's note. I make sure to answer any questions that students pose or clarify information that they do not understand. Most of all, I read their reflection before I write my final comments on the paper. If I think the paper is really weak and the student indicates in the note that he waited until the last minute to write the paper and knows it isn't good, I don't need to berate him for his bad judgment. Instead, I can tell him to learn from the experience so it doesn't happen again.
If a student has a weak paper but tells me in his note that he is proud of the paper and thinks it's really good, I know I need to convey my comments in a way that hopefully will not upset the student and then offer to help the student individually on the next paper.
Often I will have students who write good papers, but in their notes they will tell me that they think their papers are dreadful. Some of these students are frustrated, or have impossibly high standards for their own work, or they are modest and have difficulty complimenting their own work.
Some students will write long notes and tell me how their papers might not be their best work but they enjoyed parts of the assignment and learned a great deal. A few students will share their exasperation of reading the paper and worrying because they know something is wrong with it, but they just aren't sure what it is. They want help.
Sometimes students write beautiful papers and when I read their notes, they apologize for waiting until the last minute to write their papers, papers they consider to be inferior. I always praise them and say they are among the lucky few who appear to work better under great stress.
Some students actually tell me that their papers are drivel and then apologize for making me read them.
Through the years I have been amazed at how often students are able to see the same strengths and weaknesses in their own papers that I see. While there are indeed times when students think they have excellent papers and I think the paper is weak, this is rare, particularly later in the semester when students are accustomed to my grading.
Student reflections on their own work helps students review their work and think about what they can do next time to improve. Student reflections also help me when I return their work because I have a better idea of how kids will react to my grading and whether or not I need to pull them aside to discuss the paper individually.
If you have kids who are frustrated with their grades or students who always challenge your grading, try giving them the chance to reflect on their writing or their assignments before they submit them. The process certainly would have helped me if I had known to do it when I first started teaching.
Mention the word "research" to most teachers, and we all think of research papers. We know we need to require our students to complete more research activities, but there is a limit to how many research papers we can actually grade. (Can you tell I spent the majority of my weekend grading research papers?)
I designed an extensive group research project several years ago that is one of my favorite assignments for students. Working in groups of 3 or 4, students must research both sides of a controversial issue and then create a portfolio of the research that they find and deliver a 20-minute presentation to the class. The purpose of the assignment is for students to complete extensive research, to annotate at least 20 sources, and to deliver an interesting and informative presentation over the information they learned.
Although I designed the assignment for accelerated high school seniors, the project could be altered and used with younger students or maybe even used as is so long as the teacher prepares students for each facet of the project.
The portfolio contains
While this group project requires hours and hours of work from students, most students enjoy working on the project because they are allowed to select their own topics and read and discuss the research with their peers. In essence, they do their best to become experts on their topic so they can teach the class. The assignment is valuable because it requires students to read critically, research, prepare an oral presentation, annotate sources, integrate technology, create visual aids (PowerPoint and brochure), work together as a group, and field questions from members of the class.
If you are interested in assigning a similar assignment, my course website includes the handouts and rubrics I use:
Panel Presentation Group Assignment
Last week one of my best students served time in In-School Suspension (ISS) for failure to follow proper check-out procedures. From what I can gather from the student and other teachers, one day during the previous week, the student had brought a note to check-out of school. The attendance clerk called home to verify the note and then gave the student a pass to return to the office to check-out later in the day.
The student attended her morning classes and then reported to my class where she delivered a 25-minute group presentation, the culmination of a long group project that the students had been working on for several weeks. Needless to say, group members were nervous and then delighted when they finished the presentation. At the end of the presentation, the jovial student left my room to check out.
Unfortunately, the student forgot to return to the attendance office to sign-out. Instead, she went immediately to her car and drove off campus.
Because she failed to sign-out officially, administrators assigned her 3 days in ISS.
The student was crestfallen. She had never been sent to an administrator for misbehavior before. In fact, she is a stellar student who volunteers her time to help teachers, administrators, and fellow students. Because she is so responsible and enthusiastic, she is well known and respected. Upon hearing of the discipline infraction, her teachers contacted administrators to explain that this is not a student who would ever knowingly break rules and asked that the administration rescind the ISS punishment. The administrators talked to the student once again and promised her that they would reduce her punishment from 3 days of ISS to 2 days if she behaved properly while she was in ISS.
Behaved properly? This is a student who always behaves properly, a student who unfortunately made a mistake on one day by not properly signing out.
In the end the student was given two days to serve, and teachers were frustrated because administrators appeared to care more about being consistent in enforcing rules instead of looking at the individual situation of a conscientious student. What is the intent of having students sign-out officially? The rule was established years ago to cover students who were skipping class and then trying to convince faculty members that they were really just checking out. Was this student skipping class? Absolutely not - everyone agrees that she just forgot to go by the office a second time.
Does she deserve punishment? Probably so - we have to have a record of who is on campus and who leaves. However, giving one, two, or three days of ISS for her first rule infraction in four years is heavy handed and certainly not in the best interest of the child.
On the first day the student served time in ISS, I sent her a note and told her how much I appreciated her positive attitude, enthusiasm, and interest in other people. I also emphasized that in life we all have bad things happen to us or things that appear unfair. As the student sat in ISS with so many other students who had skipped school, misbehaved, and interrupted classes, I wanted her to know just how much her teachers respect her. The following day she came by before school to thank me and to tell me how much my note meant to her.
We are all confronted with hundreds of situations during the day, situations where students make mistakes, misbehave, or act erratically. Sometimes it's difficult to determine what to do. When I'm trying to decide how to handle a situation, even when I am upset, angry, or frustrated, I always have to remind myself to
Err on the side of the student.
As a result, students may get away with a few transgressions, but I'm okay with that. I couldn't sleep at night if I thought that I had punished a student unfairly.
I promised myself yesterday morning before collecting research papers that I would grade 10 papers before going to bed.
I failed.
I graded five papers in almost three hours and gave up.
Why are research papers so difficult for students? Many of my best students who write beautifully on timed writings fall apart and often write incoherent phrases, sentences, and paragraphs in research papers. I understand that documentation is harder for students, but the major errors I am finding so far have little to do with documentation.
As I grade, I'm also completing the English teacher shuffle. If you have ever graded essays or research papers, you know what I mean,
First, I put the papers in stacks of 5 so I can keep a tally of how many papers I have.
Then I start debating whether or not I want to grade what I think will be my best papers first so I can move quickly and smile or if I want to grade the weak papers first since they take much more time.
While I'm debating, I re-stack my papers into groups of 10 so it will look as though I have fewer papers to grade.
Then I count how many papers I have graded in the hopes that maybe I miscounted the first time.
I didn't.
So far, I have graded papers randomly and have assigned one F, 2 Cs, and 2 Bs, not a good start. At this rate, I'll need 17 days to grade papers, and I have a new set of timed writings popping up on Monday.
Grading research papers is brutal.
We should receive combat pay.
Maybe today will be better. I'll start by counting the papers I have graded, and then I'll put the ungraded papers in new stacks. Every teacher who requires students to write research papers knows how much stress the process produces - FOR TEACHERS! Yes, research papers are nerve-wracking for students, but teachers who experience prolonged research-paper stress year after year know how many times we secretly wish we could lower our standards and omit this time-consuming paper that creates so much misery, hard work, and frustration.
I am typing this post on Tuesday, the night before I will actually upload it to the blog because I know I will not have time to type an entry tomorrow when I collect research papers.
Interruptions 1 & 2: I just stopped typing this post in order to answer two emails about how to cite sources.
I'm already worrying about collecting papers because I know each of the following will happen.
1 out of 83 students will show up at least an hour before school because he is worried sick about whether or not one of his sentences contains a comma splice.
1, 2, or 3 students will run into my classroom to print papers because their printers "died."
1 student will ask for extra time on the paper.
1 student will turn in a paper with no internal documentation and swear I did not tell students they needed to cite sources.
Interruption 3: "What's the password for Noodletools?"
1 student will cry.
1 or more students will swear the entire process is NOT FAIR!
1 student will turn in his paper and cheer.
1 or more students will not show up for class and will send me emails that they finished the paper so late that they are emailing it to me so they can sleep.
1 student will not show up for school and concoct an outrageous story of why he did not finish his paper - so outrageous that even he will not be able to keep a straight face.
Interruption 4: "What do I do if I submitted the wrong version of my paper to Turnitin?"
1 student will try to turn in a paper without a Works Cited page.
1 or more parents will email me chastising me for giving students only 2 days to write a research paper - as if any teacher in the history of the world assigned a research paper and only gave students two days to complete it. (Come on, Mom!)
1, 2 or 3 students will turn in papers with 2" margins in order to meet the length requirement.
1 student will claim that his mother, father, brother, sister, priest, or rabbi thinks this research assignment is "stupid."
1 student's paper will be printed on pastel paper or on the back of another assignment because the family had no clean white paper at home.
1 student will claim defiantly, "That's not the way we did it last year!"
Interruption 5: "What do I do if the article doesn't list an author?"
1 student wielding a jump drive will run into the classroom between classes begging for help in retrieving his paper, a paper he will claim is "the best paper I have ever written."
1, 2, or 3 students will fall asleep in class.
1 or 2 students will have only two sources and claim that those two are the only two sources available on the topic.
1 student will claim he didn't know the paper was due today.
1, 2, 3, or 4 students will boast that they wrote their papers at the last minute (and then will later claim that I graded unfairly when their papers receive low marks).
1 or more students will submit papers that contain plagiarism and later claim they don't know how that could have happened.
1 or 2 students (true Gifts from God) will tell me that they really enjoyed researching and writing their papers, and I'll smile.
Interruption Tally for the Night - over 35 emails
Most Common Question of the Night - "How do I cite . . . ?"
Most Annoying Question of the Night: "Do you have any suggestions for a research paper topic?!!"
And, finally,
1 student will leave the classroom and ask, "Do you think you'll have the papers graded by tomorrow?!!
And
1 teacher will contemplate losing weight and becoming a Phys. Ed. teacher!
Teachers across the country are frustrated with the seemingly constant tests that we require our students to take. My seniors seem to be trapped in a never-ending spiral of college admissions tests. This isn't new. In fact, most of their parents also spent at least one Saturday morning many years ago confined to a high school gym or another testing site so they could take the SAT or ACT.
While I may have complaints about these admissions tests, for the most part I just accept that they are a necessary evil for students who want to attend college, and I try to help prepare students to take the tests.
For the life of me, however, I cannot figure out the SAT Writing test, the test that was added to the SAT a few years ago.
The test should be easy for my students. They are presented with a quotation or prompt and given 25 minutes to write a 2-page paper. For Advanced Placement students who routinely write a 40-minute timed writing once each week, the SAT Writing test should be simple.
Simple!
So simple that after practicing AP timed writings for ten weeks, my students' SAT Writing scores are just as likely to go down as up.
How is this possible? How valid is a test when students who score 5s (highest score) on the AP English Language and Composition test make only average scores on the SAT Writing Test? What does it mean when many of my best writers make lower scores than some of my weaker writers?
When students have trouble with critical reading passages or vocabulary sections or grammar exercises, I know what to do.
I have no idea how to help students increase their SAT Writing scores.
Since students are not allowed to discuss their writing prompts or the papers they write, we can't even discuss what they could have done to improve.
In the end, all I can do is rely on the advice that my best students share with each other. These outstanding students have surmised that if they want to make high scores on the SAT Writing exam they need to write like ninth graders with a formulaic five-paragraph paper and make up facts and statistics. They are convinced that students are punished for creativity and rewarded for common papers completely devoid of style, personality, and voice.
Is this really what we want to teach students?
At the end of the semester, I like to give my students a special gift that will remind them of the class and the students. I modified this activity from a story I read in one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books several years ago. Here is how I create the gift.
When I talk with former students, they invariably bring up this special gift that means so much to them and often tell me that they still have their comments. If you would like to try this activity, I have just posted the assignment on my class website. Feel free to use it or modify it to use with your students.
Student Comments and Messages to Each Other
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