Responding to Student Writing
I am writing this as a list:
Our comments affect how our students write. Are we supportive, encouraging, challenging, and helpful? Do we give just enough feedback, too little or too much?
I guess my question is this: Is there a place for improvement in the grade?
I think feedback from the teacher can be taken better when there is a lot of nonevaluative feedback in the beginning of the semester. Elbow mentions this too, and I felt like it changed how students responded to feedback that I gave. It helps build community when I do this.
I don't write a number in the margin that can be referenced in the handbook. A teacher I observed did that. My first thought about that is not positive. But maybe it is a good idea.
I have comments concerning the second sample of comments for the Instructor Manual. I stay away from "you" sentences. Instead of "After a very strong start, your paper rant into trouble..." I would probably say "I noticed that the paper started running into trouble..." The second sentence could be framed as an I-statement, or I might frame it as a question. He/She said, "You weren't selective enough..." I would say, "Can you select details and episodes that help to prove your point more? Which episodes would do that?"
On #5 she/he writes, "I appreciate"--would it matter or change the comment if the instructor said, "I noticed you knit your points together." Maybe it's the same.
I also like to mark the sentence that has an error rather than correct the problem. The reasoning that I give students is that it is more effective and helpful to them if they can identify the problem. I help to narrow it down for them. If they can't figure it out, then we talk about it.
In section 4-2 of the Instructor Manual, I thought that this was interesting word choice. #4 uses the phrase "the kind of probabilistic, contingent thought you expect your students to engage in." What does that mean? I get it, but I think it is funny and pretentious.
I was just reading Donna's blog and she mentioned something about hating the feeling of being a superior being to students. I hope I didn't butcher that paraphrase too much. I don't like the first sentence in #4. "An oversimple way of describing the immature writing of some freshman..." Is "immature" the best word here? Could the perception be more like looking at these students as developing writers. This makes me wonder about the expectations of the comp class. Are they supposed to be fabulous writers when they walk in? Is this class about learning to write better? That questions takes me back to my question about the place of improvement in the grade.
What did the class think about the average GPA's of the courses. 2.2 and 3.2 are considered to be normal. Will this affect how you grade? At the end of the semester, will you curve the grades?
Sorry this is choppy.
Our comments affect how our students write. Are we supportive, encouraging, challenging, and helpful? Do we give just enough feedback, too little or too much?
I guess my question is this: Is there a place for improvement in the grade?
I think feedback from the teacher can be taken better when there is a lot of nonevaluative feedback in the beginning of the semester. Elbow mentions this too, and I felt like it changed how students responded to feedback that I gave. It helps build community when I do this.
I don't write a number in the margin that can be referenced in the handbook. A teacher I observed did that. My first thought about that is not positive. But maybe it is a good idea.
I have comments concerning the second sample of comments for the Instructor Manual. I stay away from "you" sentences. Instead of "After a very strong start, your paper rant into trouble..." I would probably say "I noticed that the paper started running into trouble..." The second sentence could be framed as an I-statement, or I might frame it as a question. He/She said, "You weren't selective enough..." I would say, "Can you select details and episodes that help to prove your point more? Which episodes would do that?"
On #5 she/he writes, "I appreciate"--would it matter or change the comment if the instructor said, "I noticed you knit your points together." Maybe it's the same.
I also like to mark the sentence that has an error rather than correct the problem. The reasoning that I give students is that it is more effective and helpful to them if they can identify the problem. I help to narrow it down for them. If they can't figure it out, then we talk about it.
In section 4-2 of the Instructor Manual, I thought that this was interesting word choice. #4 uses the phrase "the kind of probabilistic, contingent thought you expect your students to engage in." What does that mean? I get it, but I think it is funny and pretentious.
I was just reading Donna's blog and she mentioned something about hating the feeling of being a superior being to students. I hope I didn't butcher that paraphrase too much. I don't like the first sentence in #4. "An oversimple way of describing the immature writing of some freshman..." Is "immature" the best word here? Could the perception be more like looking at these students as developing writers. This makes me wonder about the expectations of the comp class. Are they supposed to be fabulous writers when they walk in? Is this class about learning to write better? That questions takes me back to my question about the place of improvement in the grade.
What did the class think about the average GPA's of the courses. 2.2 and 3.2 are considered to be normal. Will this affect how you grade? At the end of the semester, will you curve the grades?
Sorry this is choppy.
posted by Keri | 12:51 PM
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