Hornet
A blog post comparing marking to a hornet: high-effort, low-impact.
Joe Kirby, a British school teacher and director of education at Athena Learning Trust, wrote a 2015 blog post titled "Marking is a Hornet". In it, he described teachers' marking of homework as "high-effort" and "low-impact" like a hornet, and recommended saving time by asking pupils to self-assess and quiz themselves using checklists or oral feedback.
Lore & Background
Kirby's 2015 blog post "Marking is a Hornet" was published on pragmaticreform.wordpress.com on 31 October 2015. In the post, Kirby argued that common marking practices result in heavy workload, high burnout, and very high levels of teacher turnover. He advised that the responsibility lies in self-improvement and a collective sense of working for better outcomes. The post recommended reducing teacher burnout by having pupils self-assess and quiz themselves using checklists or oral feedback, rather than teachers spending extensive time marking.
Reader's Guide
Kirby's blog post "Marking is a Hornet" was published on 31 October 2015 on pragmaticreform.wordpress.com. In the post, Kirby described teachers' marking of homework as "high-effort" and "low-impact" like a hornet. He recommended saving time by asking pupils to self-assess and quiz themselves using checklists or oral feedback. Kirby explained that the responsibility lies in self-improvement and a collective sense of working for better outcomes. At Michaela Community School, methods were adapted to reduce teacher burnout because "common practices result in heavy workload, high burnout, and very, very high levels of teacher turnover".
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