Recently, a student in an online class asked me “What is this rubric thing?” Well, what purpose does a rubric serve? As I tried to explain it to her–and realizing that the vocabulary was already getting in the way–I posited
Preparing For A New Year
If you’re in higher education, the “New Year” probably feels more like August than January. Nevertheless, we should be preparing for a new year. The year 2016 has concluded. To many it was a hard year (look at some Tweets on
Additional Thoughts on Exams
In a previous post, I detailed my process for actually grading mathematics exams. Here are some additional thoughts that I’ve learned to build into my courses (before any exam), some commentary for after the exam, and then a few other
How to Grade a Math Exam
I have been an educator in higher ed now, in some form or fashion, for fifteen years. One of the hardest parts of this job is still the grading, but it gets easier. I’ve made this grueling process more efficient
You Think You Want to Earn a PhD?
You may be nearing the end of your undergraduate career and think that you want to earn your PhD (or Ph.D.) in the same or a related discipline. But, probably admittedly, you have no idea what to expect. Let me