Grading Software Offers Professors a Break By John Markoff, New York Times

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post with Answer Key.

Robotic grading is not really new. There are already automated grading systems for multiple-choice and true-false tests  used in schools everywhere in the U.S.  Teachers spending hours correcting written essays is also nothing new. What is different is having essays corrected by an automated software program. The idea of using artificial intelligence in place of teachers to grade essays has not been accepted by everyone, especially those in the teaching profession. Will this type of program benefit teachers and students? The following article offers the pros and cons of robotic essay grading.

Robert Pearce.

Excerpt:

“Imagine taking a college exam, and, instead of handing in a blue book and getting a grade from a professor a few weeks later, clicking the “send” button when you are done and receiving a grade back instantly, your essay scored by a software program. And then, instead of being done with that exam, imagine that the system would immediately let you rewrite the test to try to improve your grade.

EdX, the nonprofit enterprise founded by Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to offer courses on the Internet, has just introduced such a system and will make its automated software available free on the Web to any institution that wants to use it. The software uses artificial intelligence to grade student essays and short written answers, freeing professors for other tasks. The new service will bring the educational consortium into a growing conflict over the role of automation in education.

Grading Bot photo- School of Doubt.

Although automated grading systems for multiple-choice and true-false tests are now widespread, the use of artificial intelligence technology to grade essay answers has not yet received widespread endorsement by educators and has many critics.

Anant Agarwal, an electrical engineer who is president of EdX, predicted that the instant-grading software would be a useful pedagogical tool, enabling students to take tests and write essays over and over and improve the quality of their answers…

Photo- Reuters.

But skeptics say the automated system is no match for live teachers. One longtime critic, Les Perelman…a retired director of writing and a current researcher at M.I.T.  has drawn national attention several times for putting together nonsense essays that have fooled software grading programs into giving high marks. He has also been highly critical of studies that purport to show that the software compares well to human graders.

He is among a group of educators who last month began circulating a petition opposing automated assessment software. The group, which calls itself Professionals Against Machine Scoring of Student Essays in High-Stakes Assessment, has collected nearly 2,000 signatures, including some from luminaries like Noam Chomsky…

Avram Noam Chomsky. Photo Wikipedia.

The group’s statement reads in part: “Computers cannot ‘read. Let’s face the realities of automatic essay scoring… They cannot measure the essentials of effective written communication: accuracy, reasoning, adequacy of evidence, good sense, ethical stance, convincing argument, meaningful organization, clarity, and veracity, among others.

Harvard joins MIT in EdX platform. Photo- Inside Higher ED.

But EdX expects its software to be adopted widely by schools and universities. EdX offers free online classes from Harvard, M.I.T. and the University of California, Berkeley; this fall, it will add classes from Wellesley, Georgetown and the University of Texas. In all, 12 universities participate in EdX, which offers certificates for course completion and has said that it plans to continue to expand next year, including adding international schools.

Mark D. Shermis, a professor at the University of Akron in Ohio, supervised the Hewlett Foundation’s contest on automated essay scoring and wrote a paper about the experiment. In his view, the technology — though imperfect — has a place in educational settings. With increasingly large classes, it is impossible for most teachers to give students meaningful feedback on writing assignments.” Read more…

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

Level: Intermediate -Advanced

Language Skills: Reading, writing, speaking and listening. Vocabulary and grammar activities are included.

Time: Approximately 2 hours.

Materials: Student handouts (from this lesson) access to news article, and video.

Objective: Students will read the article with a focus on improving reading comprehension and learning new vocabulary. At the end of the lesson students will express their personal views on the topic of automated grading software through discussions, debates, and writing activities.

I. Pre-Reading

 Predictions

Analyzing headings and photos

Directions:  Place students in groups and ask  each group to read the title of the post and of  the article.  Then, have them  examine the photos. Based on these sources,  ask students to create a list of  words and  ideas  that they think might be related to this article.

II. While Reading

Vocabulary

Synonyms

Directions: have students choose the synonyms (the words closest in meaning) for the  words in bold. Students will find this great Vocabulary Cluster Map By Learnnc.org a useful tool.

1. Imagine taking a college exam and receiving a grade back instantly.

Synonym   ___________.

a. at once

b. later

c. eventually

2. EdX is a  nonprofit enterprise. Synonym   ___________.

a. space ship

b. business

c. prize

3.  The use of artificial intelligence technology to grade essay answers has not yet received widespread endorsement. Synonym   ___________.

a. real

b. synthetic

c.  genuine

4. He said the technology would offer distinct advantages over the traditional classroom system.  Synonym   ___________.

a. latest

b. unestablished

c. long established

5. EdX predicted that the instant-grading software would be a useful pedagogical tool.  Synonym   ___________.

a. game

b. non-teaching

c. teaching

6. But skeptics say the automated system is no match for live teachers.

Synonym   ___________.

a. believers

b. doubters

c. faithful

7. The challenge is that this requires human graders. Synonym___.

a. answer

b. solution

c. problem

8. With increasingly large classes, it is impossible for most teachers to give students meaningful feedback. Synonym   ___________.

a. non-comments

b. silence

c. response

9. Critics of the technology have tended to come from the nation’s best universities. Synonym   ___________.

a. judges

b. contestants

c.  artists

10. They often come from very prestigious institutions. Synonym___.

a. minor

b. distinguished

c. unimportant

Reading Comprehension

True / False

Directions:  The following statements were taken from the article.  If  a statement is true, students write (T) if  a statement is false they  write (F)  and  provide the correct answer from the article.

1. EdX the nonprofit enterprise was founded by Stanford  and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
2. The software uses artificial intelligence to grade student essays.
3. Automated grading systems for multiple-choice and true-false tests are new in the education system.
4. The use of artificial intelligence technology to grade essay answers has received widespread endorsement.
5. Agarwal Agarwal is a professor and  volunteer at EdX.
6. According to Agarwal,  the technology would offer distinct advantages over the traditional classroom system, where students often wait days or weeks for grades.
7.  Les Perelman is  a retired director of writing and a current researcher at M.I.T. who has  put together nonsense essays that have fooled software grading programs into giving high marks.
8. Perelman’s  greatest objection to the research was that they did not have any robots writing essays.
9. There is now a range of companies offering commercial programs to grade written test answers.
10. According to Mark D. Shermis with increasingly large classes, it is impossible for most teachers to give students meaningful feedback on writing assignments.

 Grammar Focus

Structure and Usage

Directions: The following groups of sentences are from the article (some may be abbreviated versions). One sentence in each group contains a grammatical  error. Students are to identify the sentence (1, 2, or 3) from each group that contains the grammatical error and make the correction.

I. 

1. The software uses artificial intelligence to grade student essays.
2. The new service will brings the educational consortium into a growing conflict.
3. The use of artificial intelligence technology to grade essay answers has not yet received widespread endorsement.

II.

1. The EdX assessment tool requires human teachers,  to first grade 100 essay questions.
2. The software will assign a grade depending on the scoring system created by the teacher.
3. It will also provided general feedback.

III.

1. This is machine learning and there is a long way to go.
2. We found that the quality of the grading is similar to the variation you find from instructors.
3. EdX is not the first to used automated assessment technology.

III. Post Reading

Reading Comprehension Check

WH-How Questions

Directions: Have students use the  WH-question format to discuss or to write the main points from the article.

Who or What is the article about?

Where does the action/event take place?

When does the action/event take place?

Why did the action/event occur?

How did the action/event occur?

Directions:  An option is to have students use this advanced organizer from Enchanted Learning to assist them with  discussing  or writing about  the main points from the article.

Discussion/Writing 

Directions: Place students in groups and have them answer the following questions. After, have the groups share their thoughts as a class. To reinforce the ideas, students can write an essay on one of the topics.

1. Anant Agarwal, stated that “the instant-grading software would be a useful pedagogical tool, enabling students to take tests and write essays over and over and improve the quality of their answers.” Do you think that a machine can “improve” a student’s quality of writing? Explain why or why not.
2. Restate the following comment into your own words. “The EdX assessment tool requires human teachers, or graders, to first grade 100 essays or essay questions. The system then uses a variety of machine-learning techniques to train itself to be able to grade any number of essays or answers automatically and almost instantaneously.”
3. “Computers cannot ‘read.’ They cannot measure the essentials of effective written communication: accuracy, reasoning, or meaningful organization.”  Provide reasons to support or to refute this statement.
4. What are your thoughts on having a computer grade your essay?  Do you think that you gain more by having your teacher grade your writing? Provide reasons for your answers.

 Group Project

Team Debate

Directions: Divide students into  two teams for this debate. Both teams will use the article as their source of information.

Team A will list five reasons for automated essay checking.

Team  B will list  five reasons against automated essay checking.

For organization, have students use this great Pros and Cons Scale organizer  from Freeology .

IV. Listening Activity 

Video Clip: Japanese School Tests Robot Teacher

Students at the Kudan Elementary School in downtown Tokyo were told a special teacher would help them with their science class. They had a big surprise!

 While Listening

True  /False/NA statements

Directions: Review the statements with students before the watching the video.  As students listen to the video if  a statement is true they mark it T  if the statement is  false they  mark  it F and provide the correct answer. If there is no information available for a statement then students write NA.

According to the video:

1. The robot teacher needed 2 men to carry her up to the podium.
2. She was built by a student from Tokyo University of Science.
3. The robot teacher has been used at other Japanese schools.
4. She’s not meant to take jobs away from teachers.
5. The main reason for  building the robot  was to use new technology to teach children about technology.
6. The robot may be able to help in schools where there is  an  abundance of teachers.
7. There are 2 more robots like this one.
8. Scientists want to develop the robot to be controlled remotely to teach these classes.
9. The children liked the robot.
10. The  professor didn’t think that the robot was ready to teach a class.

 Post Listening

Directions:Place students in groups and have them discuss the following questions.

1. Based on the article, your discusions, debate, and this video,  discuss the pros and cons of  providing robot teachers in classrooms.
2. Would you like to experience working with a robot teacher? Provide reasons why or why not.
3. With your group members, make up questions that you would like to ask the  professor (who created the robot),  the students, or the teacher.

ANSWER KEY: Computers Grading Essays

Related:
That Dastardly Computer Gave My Essay a D!  New York Times Opinion Page (4/11/13)

Tags: EdX Grading Robots, Harvard, MIT

Born to Not Get Bullied, By Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

Lady GaGa and Oprah Photo: eurweb

Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey have joined forces with Harvard University to help victims of bullying. Gaga has created her Born This Way Foundation which empowers kids and provides an environment that is safe during and after school. Excerpts:

“When she was in high school, Lady Gaga says, she was thrown into a trash can. The culprits were boys down the block… I was called really horrible, profane names very loudly in front of huge crowds of people, and my schoolwork suffered at one point…I didn’t want to go to class. And I was a straight-A student…Lady Gaga came to Harvard University on Wednesday for the formal unveiling of her Born This Way Foundation, meant to empower kids and nurture a more congenial environment in and out of schools… A recent study from the University of Virginia suggests that when a school has a climate of bullying, it’s not just the targeted kids who suffer — the entire school lags academically.  A British scholar found that children who simply witness bullying are more likely to skip school or abuse alcohol. American studies have found that children who are bullied are much more likely to contemplate suicide and to skip school…Oprah Winfrey showed up as well, along with Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services. Kathleen McCartney, dean of the Graduate School of Education here at Harvard, said that she and her colleagues invited Lady Gaga because they had been searching for ways to address bullying as a neglected area of education — and as a human rights issue. As many as one-fifth of children feel bullied, she said, adding: “If you don’t feel safe as a child, you can’t learn.”

Bullying is an issue that concerns us all. Read the article in its entirety and share your thoughts.

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

Level: Intermediate -Advanced

Language Skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening, and vocabulary  practice.

Time: approximately 2 hours.

Materials: student handouts (from this lesson) access to news article, and video.

Objective: Students will discuss the  positive aspects of celebrities  helping to create a  non-violent movement to stop bullying. Students will practice reading, speaking, writing and listening skills

I. Pre-Reading Tasks

• Prediction

Analyze headings and photos

Directions: Have students read the title of the post, the title of the  article, and analyze the photo.  Next, have them  make a list of  words, and phrases they might find in this article.

• Stimulating Background Knowledge

Brainstorm

Directions: have students generate ideas that may be connected to the article.

KWL  Chart

Directions: Have students fill out the KWL Chart concerning the issue of bullying.

Advanced KWL Chart-Credit MSU

II. While Reading Tasks

• Vocabulary

 Word Inference

Directions: Students are to infer the meanings of the words in bold (taken from the article) and use a dictionary or thesaurus for assistance.

1. The culprits were boys down the block…
2. I was called really horrible, profane names very loudly…
3. Searching for ways to ease the trauma of adolescence for other kids…
4. American studies have found that children who are bullied are much more likely to contemplate suicide and to skip school.
5. Any self-doubt Lady Gaga harbors should have been erased by the huge throngs that greeted her at Harvard
6. they had been searching for ways to address bullying as a neglected area of education-
7. Exceptionally articulate, she seemed for the first time at a loss for words.
8. Her aim is a far broader movement to change the culture and create a more supportive and tolerant environment.
9. “The Born This Way Foundation is not restitution or revenge for my experiences…
10. Yes, that sounds grandiose and utopian, but I’m reluctant to bet against one of the world’s top pop stars…

• Reading Comprehension

 Questions for Comprehension True / False

Directions: If  the statement is true, students write (T) if  the statement is false they  write (F)  and  provide the correct answer from the article.

1. When she was in high school, Lady Gaga  was thrown into a trash can by a group of girls.
2. She was called names.
3. Lady Gaga was a poor student in school.
4. The name of her foundation is Born to Be Wild Foundation.
5. More focus needs to be placed on bullying because of the high suicide rates and because bullying is an impediment to education.
6. Research suggests that although the victims of bullying suffer, the rest of the school does fine.
7. Children who are bullied are much more likely to contemplate suicide and to skip school.
8. Oprah Winfrey has not joined lady Gaga.
9. The Born This Way Foundation is  a way for Lady Gaga to get revenge for  her experiences.
10. Bullying is not only physical, but can also be mental and emotional.

III. Post Reading Tasks

• Reading Comprehension Check

IV. Listening Activity

Title of Video Clip: The The Gayle King Show: Lady Gaga On Being Bullied – Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)

Gayle King Interviews Lady Gaga.

 Pre-listening Tasks

Directions: Based on the title of the video, students are to make a list of words and phrases that they think they’ll hear during the video. As students listen, they are to  check off the words and phrases predicted by their group.

 While Listening Tasks

•  True / /False statements

Directions: Review the statements with students before the watching the video.  As students listen to the video if  a statement is true they mark it T if the statement is  false they  mark  it F and provide the correct answer.

1. In high school, Lady Gaga was bullied.
2. She had many friends in school.
3. Gaga attended a coed school.
4. The school she attended required that students wear a uniform.
5. During the interview there was someone backstage waiting for Gaga.
6. Lady Gaga described this person in detail.
7. Her new single is entitled Born This Way.
8. Her new single received very little reaction from people.
9. There are 3 versions of this video.
10. The videos will be released on iTunes.
11. A portion of the proceeds from the new video will go towards an anti-bullying charity.

Post-Listening Tasks

•  Questions for Discussion

Directions: In groups,  have students make up questions they would like to ask Lady Gaga.

There is no answer key for this lesson.

Related Sites and  Articles

It Gets Better Project “We started this movement with the goal of letting all LGBT youth know, that despite the tough times, it gets better…”

We Stop Hate “Building a movement of ‘Boppers’ – teens around the world dedicated to ending bullying through raising self-esteem. Join us!”

Harvard Gazette Lady Gaga, Winfrey target bullying “Pop icon Lady Gaga, talk show host Oprah Winfrey, and others visited Harvard yesterday to launch the Born This Way Foundation, a youth-empowerment initiative that will target bullying…”

Tags: bullying, Harvard, Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey

Looking For Lin In All The Wrong Places By Frank Deford  NPR

*1992 movie “White Men Can’t Jump”

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

Jeremy Lin: USA Today

Jeremy Lin was lucky, unforeseen circumstances made it so that he was called in to play a game…and play he did!  But what if he never got that opportunity to play? We would have missed a terrific “Linsanity “ basketball star. In this article Frank Deford explores the problem of talented people who are being overlooked because of stereotyping. Excerpt:

“By now, most everybody knows Michael Lewis’ story of Moneyball — best-selling book or Oscar-nominated film — about the poor little franchise in Oakland that learned how to compete against the big-city rich teams by discovering overlooked players…The villains in Moneyball are not the fat-cat franchises, but the copycat scouts who are all on the same page, addicted to the same physical ingredients that make up their model prospect. It is the truly courageous judge of young talent — in any sport — who dares predict success for a player because of qualities that can’t be quantified…And the fact is that nobody — nobody in basketball — had the perception or the guts to say: You know, I don’t care what anybody else thinks, this kid Jeremy Lin has it. Whatever it is…t’s not like he was tucked away in Bulgaria. Lin was hidden in plain sight. He led his high school at Palo Alto to the California championship…Now it’s wonderful for Jeremy Lin that he finally got his chance. It’s wonderful for fans that we got a lovely surprise. It’s wonderful for Asian-Americans that they’ve got a new athletic hero. It’s even wonderful for the Knicks, who don’t deserve it, because their owner is the biggest creep in professional sports…But what is so disappointing is that Lin finally was given his opportunity only because about a half-dozen weird happenstances happened to occur…” Read the entire article by Frank Deford.

Jeremy Lin admirer The Christian Science Monitor

"Linsanity" photo Google Images

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

Level: Intermediate -Advanced

Language Skills:

reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Vocabulary and grammar activities are included.

Time: approximately 2 hours.

Materials: student handouts (from this lesson) access to news article, and video.

Objective: Students will  examine the methods used by recruiters to find new sports talent. Students will practice reading, speaking, writing and listening skills

I. Pre-Reading Tasks

A. Prediction

1. Analyze headings and photos.

Directions: Have students read the title of the post, and the title of the  article. Next have them  analyze the photos to see if  they can predict what  information the article will discuss.  Then based on this information,   direct students to make a list of ideas, words and phrases they might find in this article.

B.  Stimulating Background Knowledge

1.  Pre-reading Discussion Questions

Directions: Have students discuss the following questions regarding sports figures in their countries.

1. How are sports players discovered in your country? For example, are they discovered by accident, or do recruiters go to colleges, and  high schools to find the best players?

1. Are there special qualifications recruiters look for in players? For example, what makes a person a good Soccer player?  Answer the same for Basketball, Baseball players.

1. Does a person’s ethnicity play a role in how well or how poorly they may do in a particular sport?

    

1. How are the best players treated, are they revered by many, and paid large sums of money?  Are they allowed special privileges?

2. Graphic Organizers

Directions: Have students  use a KWL  to help organize their ideas.

Advanced K-W-L chart-MSU

Visit ESL Voices Graphic Organizers

II. While Reading Tasks

A. Vocabulary

1.  Word Inference

Directions: Students are to infer the meanings of the words in bold (taken from the article) and use a dictionary or thesaurus for assistance.

1. By now, most everybody knows Michael Lewis’ story of Moneyball… about the poor little franchise in Oakland…
2. The maestro of this policy, Billy Beane, is an endearing character…
3. …he was right, but it was like rooting for a guy at the blackjack tables who counts cards.
4. The villains in Moneyball are not the fat-cat franchises, but the copycat scouts…
5. …who are all… addicted to the same physical ingredients that make up their model prospect.
6. It is the truly courageous judge of young talent — in any sport — who dares predict success for a player…
7. And the fact is that… nobody in basketball — had the perception or the guts to say: ..this kid Jeremy Lin has it.
8. None of the people paid to envision, could envision.
9. It’s just the usual common stupidity of stereotyping.
10. …because their owner is the biggest creep in professional sports.
11. Lin finally was given his opportunity…because about a half-dozen weird happenstances happened to occur
12. Talk about divine intervention.
13. But, in counterpoint, what is so dispiriting is to contemplate not only how many basketball players, but how many other athletes…never get fulfilled…

B. Reading Comprehension  True / False

Directions: If  the statement is true, students write (T) if  the statement is false they  write (F)  and  provide the correct answer from the article.

1. Moneyball  is a new basketball game.
2. …about the poor little franchise in Los Angeles that learned how to compete against the big-city rich teams by discovering overlooked players.
3. The villains in Moneyball are scouts.
4. When it came to Jeremy Lin, people saw his talent immediately.
5. Lin led his high school at Palo Alto to the California championship.
6. According to this article, basketball people are prejudiced against Asian-Americans.
7. Asian-Americans now have a new athletic hero.
8. The Knicks are still losing games.
9. Jeremy Lin was given his opportunity to play because people believed in him first.
10. Unfortunately, there are many creative talents that go undiscovered because experts don’t look in the right places.

A. Reading Comprehension Check

1. KWL chart- Have students fill in the last column of this chart.

2. Have students fill in a topic chart for the article.

Topic organizer-By Enchanted Learning

 

 

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

Have students discuss the following:

1. In the article Frank states” It’s not like he was tucked away in Bulgaria. Lin was hidden in plain sight. He led his high school at Palo Alto to the California championship… he was on display for four years in Division 1…” Explain what he means by this statement.
2. He continues, “…It wasn’t just a matter of race. Scouts tend to be uncomfortable with anything different.”  Do you agree or disagree with this idea. What are some things that scouts might be uncomfortable with?
3. The statement, “Jeremy Lin is a success… but his example tells us that there are, surely, so many more brilliant might-have-beens in our midst who never get a chance.”  Explain what  “might-have-beens”  means.

B. Writing-Essay

Directions: Students are to choose one of the following to write an essay.

1. Write an essay in which you describe the best method to use for choosing  the best athletes to play in any sport.
2. Write an essay in which you describe a sport that you actually play, or would like to play. If you play for example Soccer, how were you chosen for the team?
3. Write an essay where you describe Jeremy Lin.  Include information such as, where is his family originally from, at what age did he begin playing basketball, did his parents want him to play this game? Does he have siblings? Do any of them play basketball?

Review ESL Voices Essay Writing

IV. Listening Activity

Title of Video Clip: Jeremy Lin, The buzz from Asian Americans, NBC Bay Area News

“The NBC Bay Area News coverage on Jeremy Lin.
Creating inspiration in the Asian American community.
Interviews from Jeremy Lin, his high school coach Peter Diepenbrock.”
Story by George Kiriyama-

Jeremy Lin interview NBC

A. Pre-listening Tasks

1. Listening for New Vocabulary  or Listening for New Terms

Directions: Based on the title of the video, students are to make a list of words and phrases that they think they’ll hear during the video. As students listen, they are to  check off the words and phrases predicted by their group.

B. While Listening Tasks

1. True / False statements

1. Jeremy Lin is originally from Palo Alto
2. At the time of this interview,  Lin had signed on with the Bulls.
3. During high school Lin was  adored as an athlete.
4. Lin doesn’t think about being Asian-American on the court  but about playing the game.
5. Asian-American websites were excited when they first heard about Lin.
6. Lin  doesn’t  have time to acknowledge the support from the Asian community.
7. Little kids look up to Jeremy Lin as a role-model.
8. Bryce Ogata is a colleague.
9. Many articles on the Asian-American websites feel Lin was overlooked by teams from the NBA because of his Asian background.
10. Lin doesn’t agree with this, and his focus is on getting better at his game.
11. Peter Diepenbrock coached Lin at  Palo Alto college.
12. Peter feels that Lin is a humble, and down to earth guy.
13. Jeremy Lin will be the third Asian-American to play at the NBA level.

Tags: Asian-American, Basketball, Harvard, Jeremy Lin, NBA