A primary concern for instructors in large classes is having sufficient time to provide specific, timely feedback to students. This concern is well-founded since instructor feedback is one of the most impactful factors in student learning (Wisniewski et al., 2020). In addition to the leveraging the valuable support of TAs, the strategies below provides ways to manage the feedback load in large classes.

• Use efficient feedback strategies such as:
  • random sampling, a technique in which you sample student work to give substantive feedback on, ensuring that each student get a certain amount of times per semester.
  • automated grading of Canvas quizzes
  • comment banks in which you copy and paste common pieces of feedback
  • all class feedback in which you highlight themes and trends in students' work and share via an announcement or other mechanism
  • audio feedback that lessens the writing burden while also creating a personal touch
• Prioritize key assignments for individualized feedback. Identify a few high-impact assignments where detailed, personalized feedback will most benefit student learning, rather than attempting to give in-depth feedback for all assignments.
• Incorporate self-assessment opportunities. Build in structured self-assessments for formative feedback, using a rubric or checklist to guide students. These can lighten your workload and help students reflect and build metacognitive skills.
• Redesign assessments for efficiency. If instructional team capacity is limited, consider revising assignments to be more concise (reducing maximum word counts) or multi-modal.
• Stagger or offer flexible submission options. To avoid a grading bottleneck, allow students to select from a set of assignments with varied due dates (e.g., submit 1 of 3 essays or 3 of 5 discussion posts). This distributes grading more evenly over time.
• Design assessments you want to grade. Choose prompts or formats that encourage diverse, creative responses that are less repetitive and more interesting to grade.

• Digital Learning and Design. (2023). The Sheridan Center. Efficient grading: strategies and tools.
• Wisniewski, B., Zierer, K., & Hattie, J. (2020). The power of feedback revisited: A meta-analysis of educational feedback research. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 487662.