Suggestion 159. Give a nongraded assignment during the first week

IF YOU WANT TO:

• Motivate students to do their best work

• Get to know your students

• Give students written analyses of their strengths and weaknesses

Giving a nongraded assignment during the first week of class.

A faculty member in history asks students to write a one page paper on the following topic, "What book has had the greatest impact on your thinking and why?"

"I enjoy reading their papers," he says. "It's a way for me to get to know the students and to look at their writing skills. I can identify students who have weak composition skills and refer them right away to appropriate campus resources."

Limitations on Use of Suggestion

  Discipline:  None
Course Level:  None
 Course Size:  None
        Mode:  None

Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California

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