Thread by @Katja_Thieme

Poignant question, good discussion in the comments.

Here's what I do. It's geared to my own beliefs and abilities while teaching. Other methods work for other people. 1/

#PublicPedagogy #WritingStudies #CdnWrds

https://twitter.com/jidebam/status/1387847790022254601

These days, reading drafts and commenting on them is time- and energy-consuming for me. There's burnout and loss of ability to focus at play. Also too much time sitting with screens looking at texts. So, I have to start from the premise that it costs me something to agree. 2/

My sense of equity in teaching dictates that if I agree to do it for one student, I have to present it as an offer for the other students as well. Not everyone thinks that way, others reward the initiative displayed by the students who request it. That's not my way, I guess. 3/

So, if I agree to it for one student, I should offer it to all in the course. That won't be manageable if many of them take me up on it. My courses are very scaffolded; it's impossible for students to write a paper the day before the deadline. They have drafts ready early on. 4/

To say yes to the one student while also following my protocol will soon be unsustainable. If some students ask me to look at a full draft, if they email it to me with the request to read it and write them back with feedback (which some do), I say no. 5/

My course already has an alternative for them, built in, previously advertised to all students in the class. It's my office hours. Actually, I explicitly reward coming to my office for advice on both the major assignments. It's a low-stakes assignment in itself, with credit. 6/

Because it's an assignment, it has a description: come with questions, with a draft, or with nothing but confusion. If you have a draft, I can look at about 1.5 pages in detail and give you hands-on on-the-spot feedback. However much we fit into the 15min we have together. 7/

Some students come several times. Some come so often, we get through the whole draft in the end. That's fine. As long as enough time slots are available for everyone to have the option of booking them. I enjoy the process, it feels fair, and it saves me email anxiety. 8/

That sense of equity I mentioned, it’s also the reason why I will be keeping Zoom office hours after the pandemic. Coming to my physical office for office hours can be a hurdle to many students, in more ways than one. It can also be fun. If I offer both, they have the choice. 9/

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