In my opinion, the best feature and the worst feature of TOPIC are one and the same: students are required to take initiative for their own learning, a fact that forces DIs to become better facilitators.
On one hand, I love that students are expected to read the comments given by graders on each assignment and, from those comments, find their own ways to make improvements in their writing. However, I also feel that TOPIC seriously hinders the face-to-face, individualized feedback that can be given by an instructor grading his/her students' papers.
So...getting to the topic at hand...
I feel that TOPIC/ICON forces us to become better facilitators. Instead of spending tons of time giving specific suggestions/improvements to each student, we must learn to direct students to resources that will help them find their own answers. In much the same way that a Writing Center tutor helps a student find his/her way to a better piece of writing, so too must DIs put the responsibility back on the writer. We no longer mark through sentences on an essay and suggest specific rewrites. We no longer circle every missed comma. With the onslaught of online grading, we instead have to give the student a general idea of what his/her specific issue is and then suggest texts/activities/exercises that will help the student improve upon those issues. Our job is to facilitate the student in finding his/her own way to better writing.
Dr. Rickly: I thought you might enjoy a picture of our newest family member. Isn't he adorable? :)
