Paper!

I have a pile of things to grade, seemingly unlimited committee work to complete, and major decisions to make. I am having a bit of a stressful week. But you know what I just did that made me so happy that it's worth taking the time to write a blog post?

I graded something on paper.

My new coworker Travis Faas shared with me a format he uses for peer critiques during his game programming class. It's something I want to draw into that class. Today, in CS222 Advanced Programming, my students were to showcase their two-week project submissions. I've traditionally done this in an unstructured way, something like an academic poster session. Just a few minutes before class, I thought to myself, "What if I tried out that crit format here?" I literally did not have time to lay out even the simplest of templates, so I just grabbed a stack of blank white paper and headed downstairs to class.

I told the students that, during their showcase, they had to write at least three outcomes from their discussions. I suggested (following Travis) that these could take the form, "I learned X," or, "Y is something I want to learn more about." I also foreshadowed that there would be a secret final step.

As always, they walked around with real interest in what each other had done. This time, however, they paused after each station and jotted little notes on their paper. What might otherwise be fleeting thoughts were tracked, held on to.

Once we were done—and gave out the Audience Choice award, of course—I gave them the final step: to write down some action that they plan to take next that relates to the outcomes of their discussion. I gave them two or three minutes to do this before collecting their papers.

Both of my Tuesday/Thursday classes had major deadlines today, so it was quiet during office hours. I sat down in my chair, grabbed my favorite pen, picked up the stack of papers, and read through them. On each, I gave a little, hand-written affirmation, encouraging students or providing tips on how they might move toward their goals.

Paper! Wonderful paper!

I am looking forward to turning back their papers on Thursday. I wonder when the last time was for them that they had such a human experience as handing a teacher their ideas and then waiting, waiting without a chance of hearing from me about them before our next meeting. No anxiety about checking grades. No notifications. Quiet, from which comes a chance for peace. 

Paper!