EDU 4245 Writing

Think for a Moment… …about the most compelling book you ever read or the most provocative movie you have ever seen. After finishing the book or at the end of the movie, what was your first instinct?

Principles of Writing (from research and personal experience) Writing about a subject helps students learn more about that subject. All students can learn to write. Writing can be taught. All teachers are responsible for teaching writing. Learning to write takes a large amount of practice.

Principles of Writing (from research and personal experience) Students need to practice many forms of writing. For each writing assignment, students need to identify the purpose and the audience for their writing. Students should have opportunities to share what they write with people other than their teachers.

Principles of Writing (from research and personal experience) Evaluation should not always be based solely on the final product, but sometimes on the process. Not all writing needs to be graded! Not all writing needs to be graded! Reading and writing are like 2 best friends. They’re different, but they complement and enhance each other in powerful ways.

2002 NAEP Data: Writing At or below basic = 76% At or above proficient = 24% Below Basic 26% Basic 50% Proficient 22% Advanced 2%

NAEP subgroups The average scores of twelfth-grade male students declined in 2002, but no change was detected in the average scores of twelfth-grade female students. In 2002, Asian/Pacific Islander students and White students outperformed Black and Hispanic students at all three grades. At all three grades in 2002, students attending nonpublic schools had higher average writing scores than their peers attending public schools.

NAEP Subgroups The average writing scores of students in all three grades in urban fringe schools were higher in 2002 than for students in central city schools and rural schools. Average scores at all three grades were lower for students who were eligible for free/ reduced-price lunch than for students who were not eligible. Overall, there is a positive relationship between student-reported parental education and student performance in writing: for both eighth- and twelfth-graders: the higher the parental education level, the higher the average writing score.

Parents’ educational level Less than high school129 Less than high school129 Graduated high school139 Graduated high school139 Some education after high school 149 Some education after high school 149 Graduated college158 Graduated college158 Unknown114 Advanced = 230+Basic = Proficient = Below = 121-

Writing Continuum Exploration Class activity BriefPracticeProcess Ungraded/ Completion grade Clarification Take home assignment ExtendedPolishProductGraded Informal Formal

Why waste time on informal writing? Prior knowledge Scaffolding Reinforcing concepts Formative assessment Thinking on paper Leads to formal Metacognition

But Journals are touchy feely… ExamplePurpose Double entry journals Learning logs

Writing in Math? Read the stories What purposes does this assignment serve? How would you grade?

Questions to Consider How can you incorporate writing into your own content area? (Think purpose!) How will you grade student writing? –Holistic –Completion Grade –Rubric –Points

Rubrics on the web shtml shtml (This site shows how to build a rubric.) ssess.html ssess.html