Karen began Tuesday’s English 1550 class with an informal discussion of what constitutes “good writing.” Her students threw out some ideas — such as descriptive phrases, correct mechanics and clear transitions — and she wrote them on the board. I thought this was a good, easy way to involve her students in the discussion rather than just writing notes on the board or jumping immediately into the day’s lesson. Afterward, Karen pulled up on the screen a sample piece of student writing. The piece was rather short, and Karen wanted her students to read and evaluate it. Interestingly, she also asked that every student assign the work a letter grade (and write it down to signify some kind of commitment to the grade). She then spent most of class discussing the piece’s strengths and weaknesses. This portion of class was also helpful to me, as I’ve been somewhat concerned with how I will evaluate and grade student writing in the spring. I found it comforting, though, that even seasoned professionals don’t always see eye-to-eye on grading matters. This assignment also related to the reading that I’ve been doing for my Teaching of Writing class, which focuses on giving student writing feedback. I think that I’m definitely going to provide grading rubrics for my students, just so they have a clear idea of what I’m looking for. I particularly liked how, when asked what she grade she would assign the student’s writing, Karen replied that she would make all attempts to “bounce the essay back to the student” and provide the feedback necessary to make substantial revisions (primarily to find a more defined focus). It’s probably a good sign that I thought the same thing. The last 15 minutes of class were spent briefly talking about the day’s readings, one of which was Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” essay (which I’ll probably use in my class). Finally, Karen also made her students sign up for 10-minute conferences, scheduled for tonight, Thursday during class time and all day on Friday. I’ll be hosting a few conferences with Karen but doing the majority on my own (similar to my work at the Writing Center). I noticed, though, that because the class is so large, and because the sign-up sheet for Thursday began at one side of the room (and filled up quickly), that side got an unfair advantage. For my class, I might try another sign-up method (which has yet to be determined). Any suggestions?
COMMENTS:
* Guy Shebat: Conference sign-ups: Good question. If you are doing more than one set of conferences,then you can simply start the sign-up on the other side of the room the second time. Another thing would be to go alphabetically-- A-Z the first time then Z to A. Of course, then the M's and N's get the short end of the stick twice. Hmm. So I am not sure . . .tie sign ups to the completion of an assignment? [Well, then students would rush.] So I am not sure right off the top of my head how to work up a more fair sign up process -- someone is always going to be at the end, right?
* Lamar Salter: I too have been wondering about the grading standards when I teach in the spring and I also found the debate comforting as well. For conferences, I would suggest implementing Blackboard into the scheduling process. By unlocking an online feature after class (with fair warning, of course) and giving them a deadline, it would totally be up to the students to find a good time. Those that do not sign up will have to stick with whatever time is left. The idea would be that committed students would make sure to find a good time and slackers would be stuck in the rut!
* Emmalee Torisk: Lamar: I like your idea of using Blackboard for conference sign-ups. It seems pretty fair ... but one concern is whether students will complain about problems with computers, the Internet, Blackboard, etc. Also, in my 1550 class, quite a few students have to rush off to work immediately after class, so that might pose a problem in terms of when they can sign up for conferences. However, I really guess that it's up to the student and it is the student's responsibility ... maybe this will require some more thought.
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