Podcast 30: How Common is Over-Marking?


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Marking

Joshua McGovern

Joshua McGovern has been working with Teacher Toolkit since March 2018. He is responsible for our Soundcloud and iTunes channels and is the production manager for podcasts. He has a degree in Music Production and is a graduate of Leeds Beckett University. Aside from working...
Read more about Joshua McGovern

How common is ‘over-marking’ for teachers?

Our 18th interview for the 100 Women Series is with Lola Ogutuga, a secondary school English and performing arts teacher.

Podcast Summary

In this episode, you can hear Lola and Teacher Toolkit founder, Ross McGill:Lola Ogutuga

  • explore what great teaching was to Lola as a student and is now as a teacher
  • the importance of building relationships
  • explains her largest burden as a teacher
  • define what Lola’s current priorities are around her career and why
  • discuss what books and audiobooks they are both about to begin.

Listen (10 Minutes)

Reduce marking workload

In a follow-up conversation with Lola we asked: You mention in the podcast you struggle with over-marking. Is there a strategy or marking approach you’ve tried out or implemented to help reduce your marking workload?

“I have used many strategies to try to decrease the time I spend marking books but in English, it sometimes seems like the marking of essays or creative pieces is never-ending. Two techniques that have really worked for me is live marking because it reduces the number of books I am marking and gives me a clearer idea of where students are in their learning in the lesson.

Additionally, yellow box marking, which is an idea I came across in Ross McGill’s book Mark. Plan. Teach. The concept of focusing my comments and feedback on one area of a student’s work is something I had never thought of. I used to think I had to mark everything and for a long time, I did. No one ever corrected me and soon it became an expectation I felt I had to meet. Yellow box marking has assisted me in providing clearer and more concise feedback to my students because I am zooming in on one area. This has reduced the time I spend marking and contributed to more effective responses from my students.”

You can find out more about Lola and follow her on Twitter.


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