You're Finished Already? Are Your Sure You Want to Turn It in Just Yet?

Some of the problems we experience in class may be all too easy to overlook, but doing so will only harm students in the long run. Problem 2 is just one of these. Most of us will have students with this poor work habit at one time or another in the course of our professional lives. Fortunately, with a bit of time and effort, we can usually redirect our students' energies in a positive direction to stop this bad habit.

Problem 2: Some of Your Students Rush Through Their Work

Some of your students are always the first to finish every homework or classwork assignment, every quiz, and even every test. These students do not take the time to check for accuracy or careless errors in their rush to get their work over with. Often these students do not misbehave when they finish their work, but quietly go to work on the next assignment. The problem lies not in their efficiency, but in the poor quality of the completed work.

Your Goals

• To help these students understand the importance of taking the time to complete assignments well
• To work with students to improve their task management skills
• To encourage students to continue to work efficiently
• To help students manage their anxiety at not completing their work on time

Mistakes to Avoid:

• Not working with students to help them understand the importance of checking their work before turning it in
• Not honoring the students’ legitimate attempts to complete work quickly and efficiently
• Not addressing this issue quickly when it first appears to be a negative work habit
• Not helping students develop their own methods of making sure their work is of good quality
• Arbitrarily refusing to accept work that appears to be done in haste
• Confronting or embarrassing students in front of the rest of the class
• Not having an accurate clock in your classroom so that students can learn to time themselves
• Discouraging students from working quickly and efficiently when they are confident that they know the material

Strategies to Consider

• Provide checklists for all students to complete and staple to their work when they turn it in. (See Sample Checklists You Can Adapt for Your Students below.)
• Hold a conference with speedy students to discuss their task management skills. Focus on showing them how to use their strengths at working efficiently to improve the overall quality of their work. Praise them for the techniques that appear to be working well and work with them to overcome the ones that are not as positive. (See Suggested Conference Talking Points below.)
• Be sure to provide feedback on assignments as quickly as you can so that students can understand the negative effects of their haste.

Sample Checklists You Can Adapt for Your Students

One of the most productive ways to manage this issue is to help students learn how to double check their work before turning it in. Just advising them to “look it over” will not work as well as giving them more specific help in the form of checklists. One of the advantages of a simple checklist is that you can easily adapt it to meet the needs of your students. Another even more important advantage is that using a checklist will encourage students to develop the habit of checking their work before turning it in. Finally, checklists appeal to those students who like to work quickly and efficiently because they provide specific and concrete directions.

Provide this checklist for all students to complete before turning in a test with an answer sheet to be bubbled in.

1. ­____     Did I put my name on my paper?
2. ____     Did I put my papers in the correct order so that they can be graded easily?
3. ____     Did I check my answer sheet for bubbles that may not be correctly filled in?
4. ____     Did I use the correct side of the answer sheet to answer questions?
5. ____     Did I check to make sure that I did not skip any questions?
6. ____     Did I erase all stray marks that could confuse the scoring machine?
7. ____     Did I reread all of the directions for each section of the test?
8. ____     Did I double check any question that I may have found confusing?
9. ____     Did I write and sign the honor code on my paper?

Provide this checklist for all students to complete before turning in an assignment to be completed and turned in during a class period.

1. ____     Did I put my name on my paper?
2. ____     Did I put my papers in the correct order so that they can be graded easily?
3. ____     Did I check the directions one more time?
4. ____     Did I make sure that my paper is neat and easy to read?
5. ____     Did I follow the directions for formatting my paper correctly?
6. ____     Did I check for misspelled words and grammatical mistakes?
7. ____     Did I check for careless errors by skimming each part of the assignment again?

Provide this checklist for all students to complete before turning in homework assignments.

1. ____     Did I put my name on my paper?
2. ____     Did I put my papers in the correct order so that they can be graded easily?
3. ____     Did I check the directions one more time?
4. ____     Did I make sure that my paper is neat and easy to read?
5. ____     Did I follow the directions for formatting my paper correctly?
6. ____     Did I check for misspelled words and grammatical mistakes?
7. ____     Did I check for careless errors by skimming each part of the assignment again?
8. ­­____     Did I make sure not to leave any papers in the printer?
9. ____     Did I make sure that I packed this assignment so that I won’t leave it at home?

Suggested Conference Talking Points

When you begin talking with those students who are inclined to rush through their assignments, consider these talking points. You should allow about ten minutes for this conference.

• Ask students to tell you how they approach their assignments so that they finish so quickly. Be positive about the efficient techniques that they use. Their productive efforts should be honored and not discouraged.
• Ask students to tell you some of the negative effects that they have experienced from turning in their work hastily.
• Ask students to tell you some of the ways that they could improve the quality of their work. Work together on creating a list of suggested ways to improve so that students can learn to manage this for themselves.
• Show students how to time their work in sections so that they allot enough time for each part. Be aware that some students work quickly because they are afraid that they will not finish on time.
• Discuss the importance of double checking work before turning it in.
• Show students how to use a checklist or how to develop one for themselves.
• Be sure to recap by discussing the positive techniques that they are using wisely and the techniques that they can use to improve their papers.