Hello! This is something new... blogging about my professional goal. But I opened my big mouth at our faculty meeting last week, and said I thought it might be a good idea, so now here goes!
Every trimester we ask our students to think about a goal that they would like to work on. The way I explain it to them, there are lots of things we are always working on, but by setting one specific goal, we commit to concentrating on it, getting feedback on it, and tracking our progress.
In the past, I have had goals to increase parent involvement and to incorporate technology in my classroom. (I must have had others, but I can't think of them right now! This is why I've decided to start a blog... documentation!)
My goal this year is to give students feedback on their writing that is effective (for them) and sustainable (for me). I'm so tired of spending hours and hours (weekends and weekend) scribbling on students' work, knowing that they will barely even give my comments a glance. Last year I shifted almost exclusively to rubrics, which certainly made my life easier, but I'm not sure how helpful it was for my students.
This year will be about experimenting with different methods and trying to figure out which are most effective and sustainable (in other words, which lead to better student writing and improved attitudes toward writing, while at the same time not eating up entire weekends).
Some things I know (or think I know) about myself as a feedback-giver:
- I do better when I type. My handwriting is terrible, it hurts my hand, and is hard for kids to read.
- It's important to me to focus on what's working in a student's piece. There is always something positive I can say, and I believe that students (like all of us) respond much better to positive feedback. The last thing I want to do is scare them away from writing.
- I am tempted to circle mechanical errors, but I also don't think this is helpful. I want to explore other ways to address mechanics that do not turn kids off writing.
- I'm wordy! (see above...) I want to focus on the feedback that will be most useful, and not feel that I have to say everything that might be on my mind.
- I want to respond to kids' work as a reader first and foremost. I don't have all the answers.
Inspiration/ resources:
Michael Armostrong ("Children Writing Stories," and others)
Andrea Lunsford
Rhoda Flaxman
Dixie Goswami
My fellow teachers at CP and other schools
... more on these folks in later posts.
I'd appreciate any thoughts that you might have. Thank you!
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Well you may have been my first friend in the parallel universe of Facebook walls, but I do think I am your first comment...?
ReplyDeleteThis will be a great goal for you and for you to share with others. I like kids writing, (but not the written feedback) and I think most of the time (or even all of the time) you do find something good about a student's writing.
An idea that I liked....
I love Atwell's mini lesson on "So What?" the words sound so harsh, but after the lesson they have a sense of humor about them. What is this about? and who cares? I don't! Where is the "So what?" The kids pick up the vocabulary, and it's no longer a criticism. It's to the point and a bit funny. "So What?" is a short feedback that ends up having a lot of meaning.
I'll blog on my goal which will concern thinking and problem solving. I tell the kids. "I made it half way through college without thinking..." they should start now.
Tamar: you are great for setting up this blog.
ReplyDeleteI find it difficult to assess student science writing because I'm just happy if what they've written is accurate and makes sense, but I still find myself circling mechanical errors, that I know they won't necessarily read or even pay attention to on their next writing assignment. The problem, I think, is that we don't write routinely enough for me to feel like I should penalize them for grammatical errors. I think next year I'd like to think a little more clearly about making science writing a part of my class.
I'm starting my blog on science assessments asap.
Your goal is one that I am very interested in myself, so I look forward to reading your discoveries throughout the year and stealing any helpful tips!
ReplyDeleteShow Don't Tell, a lesson I teach at the start of each school year, encourages students to paint a picture with words instead of telling the reader something that is too obvious. When students are familiar with this idea, I write "Show Don't Tell" on their papers where more development and sensory details are needed. It's a quick little note (good for us), and it shows students where to focus energy in the next revision (good for them).