Teacher Resources:
About Folder Review
For many
new teachers, and even some experienced ones, Folder Review is a mysterious
(perhaps even ominous) process. There is, at times, a sense that Folder
Review serves a "Big Brother" function, allowing the Writing
Program to control and discipline its teachers.
Not really.
Keep in mind, first of all, that it's called "Folder Review,"
not "Teacher Review." The focus of Folder Review is not
you as a teacher but your class, and the problems and issues you're experiencing
as you teach. In other words it's intended to help you and your class
succeed. In this sense, it's actually a process of professional development,
where you're able to meet and consult with the Directors (who are experienced,
accomplished teachers) about what's going on in your classroom. Directors
are there to help you with problems as serious as students who may be
at risk of failing or as practical as generating classroom discussion.
We're not there to judge you; we're there to be a resource for you.
Yes, we do
also want to make sure that grading is consistent across the Program.
Our Program is both large and rigorous—the only way for us to be
fair to our students is to do what we can to ensure that their experience
is similar regardless of which section of a Writing Program class they
take. But if we review your grades, it's not to "check up on you."
It's because grading is at once central to our classes and also the hardest
part of teaching. The rigors of our grading criteria make the prcoess
even harder, and Folder Review is our opportunity to help you further
understand the criteria and the reasons behind them.
What to
Prepare
Remember, Folder Review is about what you need to succeed as a teacher.
So, to prepare for Folder Review, you should:
- Prioritize: pull out the folders of students who are doing
borderline work or who are at risk of failing. We can work together
to develop strategies that may help these students pull through. If
there are papers that seem "too close to call," we can help
you make that call. If you've had some particularly strong work as well,
keep that handy. We love to see great work in Folder Review, though
we may want to save that to the end of our meeting. If any students
have presented particular problems or challenges, we'll want to discuss
those as well.
- Reflect: think about your experience in the classroom. What's
been working, and what hasn't? Directors usually have a few tips and
tricks for things that work in the classroom; if you've done something
that worked well, we want to know! We're always looking for successful
practices and assignments so that we can share these with others in
the Program.
- Review: if you're concerned about grading, review the grading
criteria for the course you're teaching (you can find this on the Teacher
Resources for that course or in the Gradatorium of the Course Homepage).
If you're teaching 100, 101, or 201, take some time to go through the
Gradatoriums of those pages. Choose a typical C paper to share with
the Director during Folder Review. Often, just looking at a C will help
us imagine your entire grading scale, and, just as often, we think it's
right on target.
- Clarify: if you have questions about Writing Program policy
(on attendance, for example), come to Folder Review with those in mind.
We can answer your questions about the Program and clarify anything
that might not be clear.
Of course, there are also some practical guidelines for Folder Review:
- Have copies of all of your assignments. We like to keep these for
orientation purposes. If you have particularly strong assignments, we
may want to publish these on our website, too. On a practical note,
it's hard for us to understand the papers we're reading when we don't
have the assignments. You might also want to bring drafts of your next
assignments, or some ideas of what essays you want to use next; we'll
be happy to look at these with you.
- Bring all the folders from your class(es). Of course, we realize that
often times the students you most want to discuss are also the students
least likely to give you their folders. If a student at particular risk
doesn't give you a folder, try to bring in any work you might have from
her or him.
In order to get as many folders as possible, you should explain to your
class that Folder Review helps insure standard grading across all sections
. Often, students already think you grade too hard, so let them know
it's in their best interests to give you their folders, since it's the
only way the Program can review their grades.
- Bring in your grades and a roster. We'll want to look at these so
we can have a quick sense of how your class is doing overall and, of
course, we will want to look at the grades of particular students you're
concerned about. Having a roster with you, even if it's an initial roster,
can help us look up a student in the system.
- Bring in your attendance records. We'll want to see how many absences
the student has had in case there is a larger problem that needs to
be addressed.
What to Expect
Different Directors will have slightly different styles, but (in
general) Folder Review:
- Starts with some sort of overview. The Director might just ask how
your semester is going or what you think about teaching this particular
class. Or, we might ask to look at a solid C from your class, since
this can give us a quick overview of the class as a whole.
- Focuses on issues in your class. Generally speaking, we'll want to
spend a lot of time on students who aren't passing yet or those who
are doing borderline work. This is also an opportunity for us to discuss
strategies that have or have not worked with these students and the
class as a whole. The bulk of the time of Folder Review centers on this:
the most difficult cases or the ones you want the most advice on.
- Moves towards exceptional work. After we've discussed the most difficult
cases, we move towards recognizing the exceptional work in your class
and the exceptional teaching you've done to elicit that work. Directors
might ask for a mid-level C or B, but in general we also like to see
an A (if you have one).
- End with any questions you might have. After we've looked at the work
in your class, we might finish up by discussing any concerns you might
have with the class. Occasionally, Directors may schedule follow-up
appointments with teachers. That's because there really isn't
a lot of time in Folder Review, and we may want to make sure everything
is going well a week or two after we meet.
What to Get Out of It
Remember, Folder Review is as much for you as a professional as it
is for us as a Program. What you get out of it, then, has a lot to do
with what you want to get out of it. Teachers often leave Folder Review
with a confirmation of their skills as instructors, which is always a
good feeling. But you may also leave with new strategies to try in class,
or new approaches to handling the work load created by grading and commenting.
No matter what, we hope that what you get out of it is a greater sense
of yourself as a professional.
If you have questions about this page, or about Folder Review in general,
see one of the Directors on your campus (listed on the Directors
and Staff page). Our doors are open for all of you.
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