Will LewisGeorgia College MAT

Secondary English Education

“Writing Workshop in Secondary ELA”

How can we offer students a voice in the grading process?

How do you Grade a Student in Writing

Workshop?

Writing WorkshopRoles

TeacherModeratorChief Editor

StudentWriterCritical Audience

Set-UpSeminar-like

Students exchange pieces of writing

Discuss their writing as a group, offering feedback

Teacher runs the WorkshopProvides feedback to

individual students

I sought a way of grading that:

Offered Students an all-inclusive, organized overview of their progress.

Provided Students a medium through which to evaluate themselves, so as to encourage ownership of their work.

Background

Atwell, N. (1998). In the Middle: New Understandings About Writing, Reading, and Learning (2nd Ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Dueck, M. (November 2011). “How I Broke My Own Rule and Learned to Give Retests”. Educational Leadership. 72-75.

Hillocks Jr., G. (2007). Narrative Writing: Learning a New Model for Teaching. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Smagorinsky, P. (2008). Teaching English By Design. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Bibliography

“How I Broke My Own Rule and Learned to Give Retests”

Myron Dueck

“At the beginning of a unit, all students should be able to answer the question, Where are we going?

“After an assessment, they should be able to answer the question, Where am I?

“After answering both of these questions, the student should be able to answer, How do I close the gap?”

Methodology

The Tracking Sheet“I settled on

separating sections by learning outcomes/major topics and varying the type of questions within each section.” (Dueck, 2011)

Methodology

36 students at a Central Georgia High School.10th Grade

2 class periods~50% Male, 50% Female

ChallengesCurriculum ConstraintsAbsentees

IllnessSome students are aware that, by this point in the year,

they are mathematically incapable of passing the classMotivation and Volition was low for some students in both

class periods

Methodology

Six (6) students improved by at least one (1) letter grade.

Methodology

# of Students Who Retook at least one (1) Section

# of Students Who Did Not Retake any SectionImproved Did Not

Improve

13 3 20

This method of testing works.This particular student

originally scored a 61.The student’s self-

evaluation revealed that she was having a bad day the day of the test.

After retesting over 2 of the modified sections of the test, the student scored a 92 overall on her test.

My Experience

This method of testing works.This student

retook 3 modified sections and improved by 30% and 70% in two sections.

The student’s grade improved from a 44 to a 78.

My Experience

Strengths of the Tracking Sheet: Organization for Teacher and Student

It is an all inclusive info page. Works well for Portfolio based grading

Better Data Collection Set-up allows measurement of strength in standards/topics, not format of

questioning Sections and retakes show students and teachers where they are struggling in a

particular content area, not necessarily with a particular format (multiple choice, short answer, fill in the blank, etc.)

Retake sections are different in format

Promotes Student Ownership Gives students a choice to retake sections, to reflect upon their effort, and

to set goals for the future Gives Students a consistent, private voice through which to express themselves

to the teacher

Conclusions

How can the Tracking Sheet be applied to the Writing Workshop:1. Workshop is dependent

on writing, sharing, and revising

1. The Tracking Sheet was created for the sake of revision.

2. Next Year1. Implement a Unit long (2-

3 week) Writing Workshop, using the Tracking Sheet

Conclusions