Sharing and Responding: Elbow and Belanoff
As a teacher, I think it's super important that we familiarize ourselves with different ways and ideas when teaching and grading. One of the most interesting sections of this reading is the "Procedures for Giving and Receiving Responses".
As a creative writer, I am very familiar with giving and receiving responses to work. I've spent many times reading and responding to other's work, and also reading the responses that others have given me on my work. I for one take comments and suggestions seriously, and I think it's a useful tool to use in the classroom.
When discussing early or late drafts, I think it's helpful to give and get feedback on both. While there are times when the writers as no intention of changing a specific piece, and there will be times a student thinks their writing piece is great and should earn them an "A", I think that there's always a spot for responses. I'm not saying there will always be bad responses, but there should be responses. That's kind of what we are here for when teaching writing.
Pairs and groups? Absolutely. I love working with one other person to review our writing, and I think it could be very helpful to use that technique in the classroom. Breaking my students into pairs of two makes it more focused, and they can really dive in and absorb the content and the responses. I'm also a fan of larger groups. Like the reading said, "the more eyes the better". I'd let just about anyone read my work. That's how we did it in my creative writing classes- we discussed a piece of work one at a time, and talked about everything from character development to formatting. It was helpful, but might not be possible to do in a classroom with 20+ students. I'd love to try it at least once, though.
Share out loud or give readers response on paper? AND Responding out loud or on paper? Both and both. My CW professor would participate in the verbal group discussions of our papers, and I'd always take notes. However, she was great at giving detailed responses on the actual piece. Sometimes, it was the same, but most of the time she's verbally say things she didn't write down. That could have been something big I missed, and it could have totally changed the piece I was working on. This is why I'm a really big fan of the larger group review and response sessions.
How much response to give? As a teacher I think it's necessary to be thorough but I don't want to overwhelm them, AND I don't want to write it for them. That's a teacher skill I'm currently working on. I'm trying not to GIVE them the answer, but rather help direct them to how to find it. With writing, I don't want them to just write what I say. I can help direct them into the right direction, but they need to do the work. I think that's worth mentioning. Be constructive and helpful with grading and responding, but don't give it to them.
I plan to create a GUIDE TO MS. H's GRADING for writing. I'll break down what different responses mean, so they have an idea what I mean. Naturally, SP means spelling. WC is word choice. Basically, change the word for one reason or another. RW is re-word. It sounds awkward or weird and just needs to be fixed. RP is repetitive. If something is said or mentioned more than twice, it's too much. I'll get my own lingo going, and I'll help them be able to follow me along better.
It's interesting how much a constructive response to someone's writing can be so helpful in getting the writer to the final product, and I love giving and getting responses. I want to make sure when I give a response as the teacher, it 's as helpful as possible for my students.
As a creative writer, I am very familiar with giving and receiving responses to work. I've spent many times reading and responding to other's work, and also reading the responses that others have given me on my work. I for one take comments and suggestions seriously, and I think it's a useful tool to use in the classroom.
When discussing early or late drafts, I think it's helpful to give and get feedback on both. While there are times when the writers as no intention of changing a specific piece, and there will be times a student thinks their writing piece is great and should earn them an "A", I think that there's always a spot for responses. I'm not saying there will always be bad responses, but there should be responses. That's kind of what we are here for when teaching writing.
Pairs and groups? Absolutely. I love working with one other person to review our writing, and I think it could be very helpful to use that technique in the classroom. Breaking my students into pairs of two makes it more focused, and they can really dive in and absorb the content and the responses. I'm also a fan of larger groups. Like the reading said, "the more eyes the better". I'd let just about anyone read my work. That's how we did it in my creative writing classes- we discussed a piece of work one at a time, and talked about everything from character development to formatting. It was helpful, but might not be possible to do in a classroom with 20+ students. I'd love to try it at least once, though.
Share out loud or give readers response on paper? AND Responding out loud or on paper? Both and both. My CW professor would participate in the verbal group discussions of our papers, and I'd always take notes. However, she was great at giving detailed responses on the actual piece. Sometimes, it was the same, but most of the time she's verbally say things she didn't write down. That could have been something big I missed, and it could have totally changed the piece I was working on. This is why I'm a really big fan of the larger group review and response sessions.
How much response to give? As a teacher I think it's necessary to be thorough but I don't want to overwhelm them, AND I don't want to write it for them. That's a teacher skill I'm currently working on. I'm trying not to GIVE them the answer, but rather help direct them to how to find it. With writing, I don't want them to just write what I say. I can help direct them into the right direction, but they need to do the work. I think that's worth mentioning. Be constructive and helpful with grading and responding, but don't give it to them.
I plan to create a GUIDE TO MS. H's GRADING for writing. I'll break down what different responses mean, so they have an idea what I mean. Naturally, SP means spelling. WC is word choice. Basically, change the word for one reason or another. RW is re-word. It sounds awkward or weird and just needs to be fixed. RP is repetitive. If something is said or mentioned more than twice, it's too much. I'll get my own lingo going, and I'll help them be able to follow me along better.
It's interesting how much a constructive response to someone's writing can be so helpful in getting the writer to the final product, and I love giving and getting responses. I want to make sure when I give a response as the teacher, it 's as helpful as possible for my students.
Hi Lila,
ReplyDeleteI think it is so awesome that you are super comfortable giving and getting feedback. Personally, this is an area I could use some work in. I tend to get awkward when I need to give someone feedback, and, I have to admit, at times I have not fully enjoyed getting feedback on my writing. However, you are so right– It's necessary!
I think you bring an interesting perspective to receiving feedback because of your history with creative writing. I think that is such a useful background to come from! I think your students will benefit a lot from your "Guide to Mrs. H's Grading" :)
Lila, I look forward to your Guide to Ms. H's Grading. Seeing that you are a creative writer, can I ask what did you learn in CW class? Does the teacher give tools toward creative writing? Is it more about better word choices? Grammar structures? I have been thinking about taking the course, but I was not too sure if it fits me.
ReplyDeleteYour confidence in giving and getting feedback is something I am working on for myself. I certainly hope one day I will finally feel super comfortable.
Hi Lila,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you incorporated your personal experience as a creative writer! I never found myself to be someone who is a 'creative writer' simply because I find it difficult. I can imagine having those group discussions were very valuable to your own work. As you mentioned, I can agree that applying a large group discussion may be difficult with 20+ students which would most likely result in chaos! Pairs are great and I feel create a low stakes environment amongst friends! I also enjoyed how you added your concern of what is enough feedback and what is too much! I also find this to be challenging considering we are practicing our writing skills tremendously as an undergrad that we already have a great foundation of skills and understanding. Whereas, students may need you to break down sentence structure and basic foundational skills that we take for granted because we have it down! Overall great insights!
Hey Lila,
ReplyDeleteI thought what you had to say about coding systems was very important. I think that every teacher should consider having a guide for certain markings that are for general feedback so that the student knows what you're focusing on, but then that also leaves more time and space to give richer feedback on the areas that need it. An example of that would be if the student makes a really good argument, a strong statement, or just nails a description in a very unique way. I think that those are the areas that require the most amount of attention because it undermine's the student's confidence if the attention is all on things that need to be fixed.
I also thought it was interesting when you said you like working with two-partner groups. While I completely understand that for time reasons it has to be that way depending on the size of the class, from the work I've done in creative writing coursework I find that the bigger and bolder the group is the better. I want all the eyes and voices trained in on what I can do to improve the work.