Hello everyone:

Two of the best ways to improve your grade is to read announcements and read the feedback from your instructor.

Two of the colleges where I currently teach make instructor announcements mandatory, telling me I must post something twice a week. So I do. Every week. Since this is a requirement, I try to be brief but I also try to include something that will reward my students by helping them to get a better grade on an upcoming assignment.

For example, my announcement might say something like, “I noticed in the past that some students do thus and such a thing as they are doing research but you can work smarter, not harder by doing this instead.”

Or I might remind them about some aspect of the assignment that they might have overlooked. By giving them little hints, or actual full-scale clarification, it pays the students to read what I have written.

Likewise, reading my feedback on one paper (and not making the same mistakes on the next assignments) will lead to a better overall grade in the future. One thing that is really irritating is when I take hours to go over papers for a class, only to find that only a few students read my feedback. (Yes, my computer screen tells me if you read what I wrote or not; I can also trace your activity in the class to see how much time you spent reading it. Aren’t computers amazing?)

So, for better grades, read the announcements to find that pearl that will lead to a better grade and take your instructor’s feedback to heart. Don’t be insulted- thank him or her for taking the time to help you improve your grade.

Best,

Dr. Sheri