Paper Piles

I just got done doing some work for another class I am taking and I had a few moments to pause and reflect on what I need to do this weekend while I'm not slaving at the local grocery store. At first it didn't seem like I had a lot to do. My classes where taken care of for the most part. A few things due next week, but nothing too much. Then it hit me. Monday. Ah, Monday. I TA on Monday mid-mornings, and it is this class that I must prep for.

The class is twenty-two students and they are divided into five groups of four or five. They have three unit papers due, and for each of these papers, the students exchange their drafts with the other members of their groups as well as the Professor and I. There is a sheet that was given to everyone with a list of questions meant to help the students read each others drafts critically and come back with some useful tips. The Professor and I act as facilitators, leading the discussion and giveing the students our critique as well as some pointers for the final draft.

As there are five groups and two facilitators, if you will, one of us gets three groups, while the other gets two. Since I'm only the TA, I got two groups the first time, which means I have three groups this time. This weekend on my fifteen minute break from beeping groceries, I will be assessing rough drafts and making notes for fourteen students. It's not too much of a daunting task, just a time consuming one. We kept student response papers that these drafts were meant to partially stem from. With these response papers we will be comparing drafts and the errors that were in both so we have a little bit more of an idea of where particular students are having problems.