Blog Post Assignment 8: Make it Work; it Makes a Difference

Wrapping up Kittle has left me feeling like I need to go back and read through each chapter again, like the text is a mostly used tube of tooth paste and I want to squeeze out every last blob of information. I’ve flipped back through my book, eyeing the pages marked with sticky notes, and planned tutoring sessions around Kittle’s words. I know that I will revisit these pages often as I begin teaching.

The last couple chapters of the book answered some questions, or more honestly utter confusion, about how to respectfully and meaningfully provide both feedback and grades for students’ writing. I could relate to Kittle’s reaction to the “feedback” provided by someone in her writers group, and I’ve often felt intense trepidation before marking a student’s work in that usual, expected way. When I first began tutoring, I was trained to grade essays like that: red ink marking errors, never connecting with or acknowledging what the kids were trying to say. Through the feedback we’ve been giving each other in this class, I’ve learned how effective and valuable real feedback can be. Kittle reinforced that the voice of the writer needs to be heard, not just edited, and that harsh critique of surface things can inhibit the will to keep writing. What really stuck with me were Kittle’s thoughts about more helpful feedback she had received: “Terry gave me an invitation to work through what is troubling me as a writer by first saying she understands the purpose of my piece.”

I thought that the idea of end notes was really interesting, and probably something that I’ll use when I teach. Having students self evaluate their understanding of the unit and also giving them the opportunity to explain their process makes sense to me. Asking kids how they can improve their work, what confused them, and having them analyze their own work helps them to think about their writing in a different way. I also think that I will use portfolios in the same way that Kittle does. Asking the students to go back and look through their semester’s worth of writing to identify specific skills and reflect on those pieces is more meaningful than giving them a grade after each paper is submitted, and having that writing stashed away in the bottom of a locker. Honoring their work in that way shows them that it’s important, and that it matters to you too. “Final portfolio work should be a celebration: They’ve worked hard; it is time to take notice.”