Lisa Chen

The Challenge: Drowning in Essays

With 150 students across five English classes, Lisa Chen found herself spending nearly every weekend grading papers. Each student submitted multiple essays per month, and providing thoughtful feedback on structure, content, grammar, and style was taking an enormous toll.

"I was spending 20-25 hours every weekend just grading papers. I'd start Friday evening and often wouldn't finish until late Sunday night. It was affecting my family life, my mental health, and ironically, my ability to actually plan engaging lessons."

Lisa's desk before implementing TeachSmart - stacks of essays waiting to be graded

The Breaking Point

In the fall semester of 2022, Lisa assigned a major research paper to her AP Language students. With 32 students in the class and papers averaging 8-10 pages each, she was looking at over 250 pages to grade. Each paper required approximately 30 minutes to review thoroughly.

The Impact on Teaching Quality

The overwhelming grading workload was affecting more than just Lisa's personal time. It was impacting her effectiveness as an educator:

• Delayed feedback to students, sometimes taking 2-3 weeks to return major assignments
• Less time for lesson planning and creating engaging activities
• Reduced energy and enthusiasm in the classroom due to exhaustion
• Inconsistent grading as fatigue set in during marathon grading sessions
• Limited ability to provide detailed, personalized feedback

The Solution: Discovering TeachSmart

During a professional development workshop in January 2023, Lisa learned about TeachSmart's AI-assisted grading platform. Initially skeptical about AI's ability to understand nuanced writing, she decided to try it with a small assignment first.

Implementation Process

Lisa started with a controlled experiment:

1. She selected one class of 30 students for the initial trial
2. Created a detailed rubric in TeachSmart for a comparative essay assignment
3. Uploaded student submissions to the platform
4. Reviewed the AI's initial assessment and made adjustments where needed
5. Compared the time spent versus her traditional grading process

Key Features That Made the Difference

The Results: Transformation Beyond Time Savings

After fully implementing TeachSmart across all her classes, Lisa experienced benefits that went far beyond just saving time:

For Students

• Faster feedback: Students received detailed comments within 2-3 days instead of 2-3 weeks
• More consistent assessment: AI-assisted grading eliminated the "grading mood" factor
• Improved writing: Quicker feedback loops allowed students to apply suggestions to subsequent assignments
• Higher engagement: 23% increase in student participation in writing assignments

For Lisa

• Reclaimed weekends: Grading time reduced by 70%, from 25+ hours to 7-8 hours weekly
• Better teaching: More time and energy for creating engaging, innovative lessons
• Reduced burnout: Significant improvement in job satisfaction and mental wellbeing
• Professional growth: Time to participate in professional development opportunities

With grading time reduced, Lisa now leads more interactive classroom activities

"TeachSmart hasn't just saved me time—it's given me my passion for teaching back. I'm no longer exhausted and resentful about the endless grading. I can focus on what matters: connecting with my students and creating meaningful learning experiences."

Looking Forward

One year after implementing TeachSmart, Lisa has become an advocate for AI-assisted grading at her school. She has helped train 14 other English teachers on the platform and is working with the district technology coordinator to expand access to more departments, including History and Social Studies.

Lisa is now using her reclaimed time to develop a creative writing program at Westlake High School and has started a student literary magazine—projects she says would have been "absolutely impossible" with her previous workload.

"The biggest misconception is that AI will replace teachers," Lisa notes. "What I've found is exactly the opposite—it's made me a better, more present teacher by handling the mechanical aspects of grading so I can focus on the human elements of education that truly matter."