How might using a student-composed rubric, providing feedback without a grade on formative writing assessments, and holding student/teacher writing conferences impact the writing skills of my 12th grade English and Composition students?

Lynn Krause


Seminar Title


How might using a student-composed rubric, providing feedback without a grade on formative writing assessments, and holding student/teacher writing conferences impact the writing skills of my 12th grade English and Composition students?


Concept/Strategy

Focus of the Research


Effective Feedback Strategies


Grade Level

Research Was Applied


High School


Relevant Grade Level

Connections


Middle School


Discipline

Where Research Was Applied


Language Arts


Additional Discipline Areas

I see Application to


All Disciplines


Invitation/Commercial


If you have ever felt frustrated returning student work that took you hours to assess only to watch your students glance at the grade and then toss it aside, you are not alone. The amount of time and effort that teachers typically spend on evaluating student work does not often equal the learning that students gain from the feedback. I often found myself asking why I sacrificed so much of my personal time when many of my students were no better off after receiving constructive criticism and positive reinforcement. It was this dissatisfaction that led me to research other ways of providing meaningful feedback to students which were more effective for the learner and more efficient for the teacher than the methods I was currently using. I soon came to realize that one significant factor in improving my students’ writing skills would be through more selective and deliberate feedback. This seminar will give participants the opportunity to reflect on their current methods of assessing student work while engaging in conversation around best practice. As professionals in the trenches of teaching, I invite you to join the conversation!


Abstract


Like many English teachers, I often feel overwhelmed with the amount of writing to be assessed and frustrated with the lack of student learning that comes from the feedback. I have frequently said to myself while staring at a stack of essays waiting to be graded, “There has to be a better way: one that is more effective for my students and one that is more efficient for me, their teacher.” This sensed need prompted me to delve into research around this topic and answer this question: How might using a student-composed rubric, providing feedback without a grade on formative writing assessments, and holding student/teacher writing conferences impact the writing skills of my 12th grade English and Composition students? Research shows that rubrics are an effective measure of assessing students’ work, but only if they understand them. Therefore, that became one of the first moves I made in my senior English and Composition class. After using a common core aligned rubric to assess the fall benchmark writing assignment, I prompted a class discussion to gauge whether or not my students really understood the rubric they had been given to guide their writing. It didn’t take me long to realize that the majority of my students had many questions about the rubric and were unclear about what was being asked of them. We took the time to decipher meaning from the rubric and rewrote it in student-friendly language. Another factor in providing effective feedback lies with grading. I was accustomed to putting a grade on every assignment and assessment that my students turned in. Research discourages this practice. Instead of grading all formative work, teachers are encouraged to respond with limited comments; noting areas of strength and asking questions which will provide clarification where it currently may be lacking. It took my students a while to get used to receiving ungraded papers but prompted them to pay closer attention to my comments and questions which ultimately led to higher quality work. The third component of my implementation plan is a strategy for improving student writing that I had occasionally practiced in the past but was validated through my research: student/teacher conferences. When surveyed about the effectiveness of various feedback strategies, students noted face to face conversation with the teacher as one of the most effective means of improving skills. I, too, recognize the gains made during these meetings. By implementing these three components into my writing curriculum in my English and Composition 12 class, both my students and I saw growth in their writing skills from the September benchmark assessment through the January post-assessment. I also recognized increased confidence among my students and a willingness to revise and rewrite, striving to meet personal writing goals set by the students themselves during their writing conferences with me.