Thursday's discussion of the Workshop Outcomes of 1950 v the WPA Outcomes of 2000 was very enlightening. I thought as a class we were able to touch on a lot of the important points but there were a few I would love to open up and see if anyone would like to have a discussion about. I think one of the most interesting points in the 1950's outcomes was the ideas regarding grading of student composition. I was very torn about this issue. I agreed with several of the points that were made - specifically (within Workshop No. 7) Point No. I 5 & 7, Point No. II 3, Point No. III 1 & 5, (I had comments about the other points, but I'll wait to see if anyone actually wants to engage in a discussion before I type all of my comments. Point I, subpoint 5, - the idea that papers written at the end of a course should be more heavily weighted than papers written at the beginning. I believe one of the most important goals of a first-year composition would be improvement. If a paper at the beginning of a semester is average, and then after an entire semester of instruction a student turns in a phenomenal work, it shows that the student has in fact learned from the instruction that he/she was provided. To go along with that, subpoint 7, I personally think that anytime a composition professor grades a work, whether it be a passing grade or a failing grade, that comments should be provided so the student is able to see the flaws within a paper, or on the other side of that, the strong points of his or her writing. I would love to hear feedback; do you agree with this idea? Is it essential for teachers to put comments on student work or is the simple letter grade enough? Continuing with this; Point II, subpoint 3, I personally think that a student should be able to ask a professor/the professor should provide the student with an example of what an “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, or “F” paper actually is. If an example can’t be provided, then a very, very clear explanation of what is required to achieve a specified grade would be great. Finally, Point III, subpoints 1 and 5, the idea that revision is ESSENTIAL to good writing. I think that a student, upon earning ANY grade on a piece of composition should meet with a professor and discuss ways that the writing can be improved. I realize this is not always possible with some classes due to size, however, I think that the idea of revision is absolutely required to help develop better writing practices. Like I said earlier, I would love to hear other’s points of view on these topics or any other ones that you want to discuss!!! If you want to kick around ideas here that’s fine or I am also available on Facebook (My full name is Adam Knatz) or by AIM Instant Messenger (if that is a better communication medium for you) at aknatz04.
Hoping to engage in some discussion!!!
2 comments:
hahaha!!! Late night worker as well, Adam? Nice to see that one is not the only person who loves night to work! :)
Ok, I strongly agree with the fact that any student, at any level, deserves teacher's comments. It's a matter of fairness. And I think on the teacher's side it's being realistic and more professional: we are humans and the grades we assign will ALWAYS be subjective. Human nature I guess it's called. And this was also mentioned in the Workshop outcomes of the 50s. I also recognize the fact that when you have 30 students and you have to grade, sometimes you go for short. It happens to me nowadays. But despite everything I try to put my best, and add one comment or other. Another thing that I found is that when a teacher gives feedback, that's writing, my friend. And as any kind of writing: audience influences you when producing the text. And I notice that sometimes even unconsciously if a text written by a student is more appealing to me, I feel more predisposed to give feedback. On the other hand, since we are not only holding a conversation with students with papers coming and going, my professional side leads me to try to balance the fact of how much feedback I give to students. And as I said in class: these guys in the 50s were more down to Earth (is that expression correct in English?).
Regarding the revision idea: well, my personal opinion is that it was idealized based on a research corpus centered on successful writers... I never believe in recipes because I love human diversity. But again, I have to balance that with my professional reality and find middle grounds. I am still working on that!
Violeta
Adam,
In your recent blog, you ask whether it is "essential for teachers to put comments on student work or is the simple letter grade enough ..."
I believe that graded comp assignments do need written comments to supplement the letter grade/points earned. This is especially true in first-year comp because I've found that many of those students are not yet able to edit their own work and adequately locate their own problems. With this being said, though, I believe that as the semester progresses, written comments can become less prominent. That is, I hope my students, by the end of the semester, are better able to see a vague mark and understand for themselves why the mark is there and/or why the deduction was necessary. Does this make sense? It is what I strive for in my classes, and it seems to have been working so far. :)
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