Are you receiving sufficient feedback on your academic work?

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤? Here one of our tutors explores the nature of marking and the benefits of one-to-one tuition in providing personalised feedback.

𝐃𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤? Marking is a controversial subject in schools. Teachers usually claim that they spend too much time marking whilst pupils frequently state that they receive too little feedback after they have invested time in producing a piece of work.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠? At the most basic level marking is a check that pupils have completed the work, based on the assumption that completing the work will aid their educational progression. Teachers often state that pupils are only interested in the mark and take little notice of the subsequent comment. In fact, the statistical marks, both for attainment and effort, may be contributing to an overall assessment for the term or academic year. Ideally, marking should give both pupil and teacher an indication of a pupil’s progress. The assessment should direct future learning.

𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 In a class situation, where a teacher may have 15 or more books to mark, there simply is not the time to mark in detail. Consequently, teachers summarise trends, common errors and strengths, verbally during the next lesson. Inevitably, the weakest pupils in the set will require more extensive, individual help, whilst the general comments will not stretch the most able pupils.

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 When a teacher has just one piece of work to mark the marking is more analytical and detailed. The teacher assesses the pupil’s learning profile and adapts the planned work accordingly. In a one-to-one situation, the pupil is able to ask for clarification on the teacher’s comments, whilst the teacher can develop written comments further. Furthermore, the teacher is able to set further tasks based on the pupil’s individual needs.

𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚 𝐓𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐈𝐆𝐂𝐒𝐄, 𝐀 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 / 𝐈𝐁𝐃𝐏 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲-𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝. For details of how we can help your child, please contact Valerie Weston on: Email: valerie.weston@minervatuition.com Phone: +852 6156 5705. We would be delighted to hear from you.