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Google Classroom has the the potential to dramatically improve how teachers give feedback on student writing.
I was able to observe student writers for 5 years as a teacher.
Synthesizing that data and crosschecking it against literature on best practices would support better decision making about how to revise the existing interface.
What are the key criteria for features that will help make writing feedback effective?
Where in the writing process do students most need support?
At what stage in the writing process is feedback most effective?
Based on my observations of student writers throughout 5 years of teaching 7th grade language arts
An alternative to text is needed to make feedback more accessible to low readers.
Students should be able to write and receive support without having to switch interfaces.
Students need outside support to seek feedback while writing.
Features should store and provide access to past feedback.
Features should help students understand how the rubric connects to their growth as writers.
An alternative to email is needed for important student communication.
Feedback tools should focus on allowing teachers to provide descriptive feedback and avoid using scores whenever possible.
“Students are less likely to pay attention to descriptive feedback if it is accompanied by judgments, such as a grade or an evaluative comment. Some students will even hear ‘judgment’ when you intended description. Some unsuccessful learners have been so frustrated by their school experiences that they might see even an attempt to help them as just another declaration that they are ‘stupid.’”
“...strategies that help students reflect on their learning are better motivators than grades while those who proposed the resolution acknowledged the difficulty of using more personal forms of assessment, they stated that giving grades in writing courses risk objectifying both students and their writing without regard to the individual goals and backgrounds.”
Students need easy access to learning criteria and should be prompted to reflect on the feedback they receive.
“Whenever a technological tool is implemented as part of course instruction (as a means of improving academic writing), instructors need to effectively communicate a) the value of the tool to the students, b) its connection to positive learning outcomes and coursework, and c) best practices that can assist students as they engage with the technology. If not done effectively, the potential for the technology to assist students in the writing process is often negated.”
New features will not matter if students do not understand what they are for or how to use them.
“I hate writing.
Actually, I don’t hate it so much as I find it, well, probably the most accurate word is agonizing.
And not ‘Should I buy the white iPhone or the black iPhone?’ agonizing. More like red-hot-pokers-in-your-eyes agonizing. I’ve always said that writing is the hardest work I know of and that I can’t understand why anyone would do it unless someone was holding a gun to their head (which, of course, is what deadlines are all about).”
“Some element of student control is critical; otherwise, blended learning is no different from a teacher beaming online curriculum to a classroom of students through an electronic whiteboard.”
Students need multiple meaningful opportunities to influence the feedback process.
“From the student’s point of view, the formative assessment ‘script’ reads like this: ‘What knowledge or skills do I aim to develop? How close am I now? What do I need to do next?’”
All features should help students to answer these three questions throughout the writing process.
Steps that students were frequently observed skipping are highlighted in
red
What understandings came out of this research that could inform decision making about how to better help students improve their writing?
What are the key criteria for features that will help make writing feedback effective?
Is descriptive, helping the student understand where the writing is now and where to focus next.
Can be accessed without interrupting the writing process.
Is accessible regardless of reading level.
Where in the writing process do students most need support?
Evaluating their progress towards learning objectives.
Understanding how writing tools work and how they can help.
Using feedback to decide priorities and next steps.
At what stage in the writing process is feedback most effective?
While the student is still writing and can use to improve their writing.
When a student is stuck in the writing process.