Comments on: Late work that actually works

By: Gail Martin

Gail Martin — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 20:36:57 +0000

I am in complete support of this approach to teaching with compassion. I do the same thing, realizing that this is a very challenging time for most of our students, and they will benefit from the lessons learned and pass it on to others, in their own lives.

By: Virginia Somes

Virginia Somes — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 22:04:19 +0000

Thanks for sharing your strategy. I do something similar with a due date and an end date in D2L. Instead of putting a zero in the gradebook, I use D2L’s Assignment folder feature that allows you to email all students who haven’t submitted an assignment. I do this just after the due date (the next morning if the assignment was due at 11:59pm). The email is just a short reminder that the assignment was due last night, but that they can still submit it within [time period] to get credit. I have had students email me back to thank me for the reminder, sometimes saying that they had completed the assignment by got side tracked and forgot to submit. So it has been very helpful. Of course, the email doesn’t do much in cases where students aren’t checking their PCC email accounts. I’ll consider trying your strategy of inserting a zero with a note in the gradebook as an attention grabber in the future in addition to the email.

By: Holly Cullom

Holly Cullom — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 03:22:01 +0000

This is a really interesting read. I have suggested (but not enforced) deadlines. Like you, I have noticed that a significant number of students often put off their work until the last minute, then struggle to catch up. One term this resulted in me having the majority of students submitting all their work for the term pretty much on the last day of class, which was a grading nightmare, and I also don’t think this provides a good learning experience for students. This has definitely given me some food for thought!

By: D. Ramirez

D. Ramirez — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 18:02:36 +0000

Ron, I use pretty much exactly the same approach, and it works really well! The zero gets people’s attention, but I stress that this is only until the assignment is submitted. I never remove points for lateness. There is a hard deadline of Friday Week 9 for submissions and revisions, though, to avoid the folks who try to do a term of work in the last week.

Jessica, you can’t automate it, but there is a fairly painless way to send out the “You have a temporary 0 because you haven’t submitted X yet” message: when you’re viewing the submissions in the Assignments tab, there is a “Email Users Without Submissions” button right on top. It takes a minute to compose and send, but you can contact all these students with a single email. I usually get “Thank you so much for reminding me!” responses and good follow-up.

I worked more than half-time all through university and grad school, and I was not raised to have any time management awareness. The few times my own instructors extended me this grace back then were really crucial to keeping me going. I *so* appreciate hearing my colleagues rethinking this issue.

By: Jessica Bernards

Jessica Bernards — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 21:40:32 +0000

Thanks for sharing. I really like the method you’re using and plan on starting to emulate it next term! I wonder if there is a way to have D2L automatically send students that message you’re putting in the comment section of the gradebook to students as well. That way they’re seeing it twice.

By: Morgan Chase

Morgan Chase — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 00:35:47 +0000

I do some similar things as well, deducting 10% or 20% for late work so that students can still get an A or B.

Here’s how I handle weekly discussions in D2L, which are time-sensitive. I set a hard due date of Wednesday night at 11:59PM so that it appears in the D2L calendar. Then on Thursday morning, I go through and score the posts that were on time. I then reopen the discussion and post feedback for students who didn’t post: “I am putting zeros in the gradebook but have reopened the discussion if you would like to post for half credit.”

I usually have a hard deadline around midterm (say, Monday of Week 6) for any late work from weeks 1-4, then an absolute hard deadline at the end of the term (say, Monday of Week 11) for any late work from Weeks 6-9. It helps compartmentalize things.

By: Ron Bekey

Ron Bekey — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 20:01:04 +0000

Thanks for sharing what works for you, Stacie! I’ve been doing something similar, but a bit differently, and it also seems to work fairly well. I advertise a due date and it shows as the due date on the Assignments page, but it isn’t enforced. They can still submit the assignment after the due date. I also put in a zero, which gets their attention, and in the comments I say that it is a temporary grade until I receive the assignment as well as encouraging them to contact me if they want help. I don’t actually block the assignment folders until a week before the end of the class. Most students submit the work on time, but some trickle in over a week or more afterwards. I haven’t tried a “no judgement given” message in the Syllabus and the grading comments, which I think is a good idea! I do think that some students feel embarrassed to contact the instructor if their work is late. I’m curious: what is your ‘creative (unadvertised) way for students to make up a missed discussion’?

By: Judi Armstrong

Judi Armstrong — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 18:54:34 +0000

We all fight the battle of “who’s getting trained” where homework is concerned.
Do students learn to turn it in by the due date or does the teacher use their personal time to review and give credit for late work.
My current policy for my remote classes is to have a due date with a 24 hour extension. If a student contacts me, I am happy to accept late assignments from them after that time, but there must be communication.
I do limit the homework to pre-midterm and post-midterm. I have spent too much time in my career going over a terms worth of homework at the end of the term. After the midterm I do not accept homework from the first half of the term.
The requests for submitting late homework come only from a few students each term. 80% submit their assignments on time but I believe homework is important and I don’t want my policy to hinder its submission. Students know that but respect my time as well.

By: Amanda Bird

Amanda Bird — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 18:04:16 +0000

Great post. I’d love to hear more about your creative way to make up discussion posts. Those are tricky as timely engagement is so important to the learning. Thanks for sharing!

By: Heather Griffo

Heather Griffo — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 17:35:50 +0000

Hi Stacie –
I have implemented a similar policy in my courses and have found a lot of success with it! I am passing along your post to our SAC as we are implementing and studying some grading policy changes next year!