Summary
The FAS Office of Educational Technology collaborated with Courant Mathematics and NYU’s Learning and Organizational Development team to design, develop, and produce a training module for the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences graders.
FAS Ed Tech created illustrative graphics, custom animations, and custom branching logic that allowed graders from four different course assignments (and any combination thereof) to use the same module for training, greatly streamlining the enrollment process.
Previously, graders attended their training in-person, which complicated the process of hiring additional and/or replacement graders, as well as preventing assessment of training impact. Moving grader training online allows Courant to provide grader training as needed through iLearn enrollments. Further, the module reports all results to the iLearn system, which can automatically confirm whether a grader successfully completes the training, as well as notify administration.
Additionally, Courant now has the opportunity to build upon the successes of the first iteration to include additional activities, content, and reporting features, using both data and learner feedback to guide future iterations.
Goals
- Develop online module to train Courant Mathematics graders in the following topics: grader roles, responsibilities, grading best practices, legal implications
- Include branching to allow training for any combination of the following course assignments:
- Algebra and Calculus
- Calculus/MFE I-III
- Discrete Mathematics/Upper-Level Courses
- Linear Algebra
- Ensure accurate reporting, compatibility with NYU iLearn platform
- Accessibility-compliant content: screen reader compatibility, speech-text for math examples
Outcomes
Courant Mathematics successfully implemented the training module (hosted on iLearn) for the Fall 2019 semester, and will require all graders to successfully complete training before hiring. Courant will be gathering feedback from this first iteration to inform changes and enhancements for the next version of the training. Results have been positive with faculty experiencing significantly fewer complaints and regrade requests from students.
“I found the orientation pretty helpful. It helped me understand the basic difference between algebraic and conceptual errors related to integration. And since it is online, it gave me a lot of flexibility time-wise. Also, since it is not too long, it’s easy to follow.”
Grader Trainee
Technology Resources
- Adobe Captivate + MathMagic (module authoring, math notation rendering)
- Adobe Creative Cloud (graphics and animations)
- VideoScribe (animation software)
- NYU Classes + SCORM Cloud (for hosting review drafts)
- NYU iLearn
