My GAME plan was to use a blog to improve student essays. My school’s computer lab is still not ready. All of the computers have been set up, but we are awaiting a server; so my project is on hold until then. However, I have planned out the format and laid the groundwork for the project. I am going to begin by posting a sample essay on a blog space and having the students post comments. I will then use the Smartboard to review and discuss the process of peer-editing and critiquing. This meets the NETS of “modeling collaborative knowledge construction” and will set the groundwork to promote student collaboration on the internet (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).
This is a modification to my original action plan, which will, I believe, make it run more smoothly when the students post their own papers for peer-review. One new question that came to mind with this is how to ensure that every student paper receives at least one peer-response. I would also like to figure out if I can make my comments stand out more from the students. I suppose simply using bold type would help.
I think this project will be a great way to provide cognitive feedback for my students. Cennamo et al (2009) describe cognitive feedback as “feedback that helps students develop a better understanding of what is expected for performance, how their current understanding or skill levels compare to those expectations, and how they might improve their performances” (p. 139). The students will be receiving cognitive feedback from both their teacher and their peers, and this should be a valuable learning experience that, while possible without technology, is definitely enhanced and improved by technology.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
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Have you considered assigning colors for peer-reviews? You could have the first reviewer be green, second be blue, etc. Then you could just choose which color you want to be dedicated as "yours". Another thing you could do is have students use the edit function within a program like Word and have each one leave their initials at the end of each comment; this would also allow you to monitor who is saying what as they review. Hope your computers are up and running soon!
ReplyDeleteTim, I like the idea of posting student writing on blogs to facilitate student to student feedback. For some students having their work become ‘public’ will feel very risky. What have you done to prepare students for this? I’m also curious what kind of ground work you’ve down with your students to prepare them to provide quality feedback about their writing. Evaluating, critiquing, and offering supportive constructive feedback are all different skills. From my experience not very many students have experience in offering meaningful feedback. So I’m curious how you help them build this skill set.
ReplyDeleteTimothy,
ReplyDeleteTo ensure that every student does receive a peer response you could just simply make it a requirement without exceptions. You could have students pair-up, similar to completing a writing assignment on paper. After completing the initial peer response, they could then be allowed to review and respond to everyone elses paper, using a teacher/student generated rubric for guidance and constructive criticism. Hopefully your lab will be in operation soon. Good Luck!