12.2 Formative Writing Assessment

When and Where Did I Find It:   I found this term multiple times when re-reading Chapter 6 of the text, The Digital Writing Workshop, for my LTED 618 class, (HIcks, 2009,  pp. 104-109). The first time it appears is when the author was arguing the point that when assessing students' digital writing, the focus of the assessment still needs to be on the writing "rather than the tools themselves."  He says, "we need to begin thinking about what it means to assess the process and products of digital writing, using means that are both formative and summative" (Hicks, p. 104).    

Full citation 
Hicks, T. (2009).  The digital writing workshop.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.


What it means: The term formative assessment is a term Hicks uses to identify the judgements that are made on a piece of writing while the piece is being created (ie. during the process of writing).   At the same time he uses this description as a way to distinguish these judgements from those made on the final piece (or the product).   

"Formative writing assessments include 'commenting on drafts, soliciting peer response, and holding writing conferences' whereas summative writing assessments are 'a letter grade on a final essay or portfolio, or a standardized test score' (NCTE 2008)" 

                           (as cited in Hicks, 2009, pp. 105-106)

Level of Familiarity:  Assessment of process and product has been a part of my professional knowledge since the time of Masters Degree studies when I became a fellow in the National Writing Project.   However, understanding the ways in which formative (and summative assessment) are developed, discussed, and analyzed in a digital writing workshop has been a recent undertaking in my professional development.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   As a teacher of writing, I do believe I need to consider what Hicks offers here as a way to understand formative (and summative) writing assessment.   However, I was glad to see that Hicks notes that "it may be artificial to divide the two types of assessments in this manner...[and] one could argue that a final portfolio is just as much a formative assessment of the writer as it is a summative assessment of the writing itself" (p. 106) as I would also agree that this analogy does have it's limitations.  

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?   
Having a clear understanding of formative (and summative) assessment would teachers, parents, and dare I say....even students....to better interpret the results of the assessment data.  Content Literacy Teachers, in particular, need to have an understanding of how judgements are made on their students knowledge and abilities and the role that writing plays in demonstrating their competencies.

12.1 Summative Writing Assessment

When and Where Did I Find It:   I was doing some re-reading over the Thanksgiving Break in preparation for the Spring term and I came across the terms summative writing assessment and formative writing assessment (which I selected as my term to post for entry 12:2).  I found this term multiple times when reading Chapter 6 of the text, The Digital Writing Workshop, for my LTED 618 class, (HIcks, 2009,  pp. 104-109). The first time it appears is when the author was arguing the point that when assessing students' digital writing, the focus of the assessment still needs to be on the writing "rather than the tools themselves."  He says, "we need to begin thinking about what it means to assess the process and products of digital writing, using means that are both formative and summative" (Hicks, p. 104).    

Full citation 
Hicks, T. (2009).  The digital writing workshop.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.


What it means: The term summative writing assessment is a term Hicks uses to identify the judgements that are made on a piece of writing while the piece is being created (ie. during the process of writing).   At the same time he uses this description as a way to distinguish these judgements from those made on the final piece (or the product).   

"Formative writing assessments include 'commenting on drafts, soliciting peer response, and holding writing conferences' whereas summative writing assessments are 'a letter grade on a final essay or portfolio, or a standardized test score' (NCTE 2008)" 

                           (as cited in Hicks, 2009, pp. 105-106)

Level of Familiarity: Although I know this term well, it is only in the last three years that I have begun to carefully analyze how particular aspects of summative (and formative assessment) would change in a digital writing workshop.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   As a teacher of writing, I do believe I need to consider what Hicks offers here as a way to understand summative (and formative) writing assessment.   However, I was glad to see that Hicks notes that "it may be artificial to divide the two types of assessments in this manner...[and] one could argue that a final portfolio is just as much a formative assessment of the writer as it is a summative assessment of the writing itself" (p. 106) as I would also agree that this analogy does have it's limitations.

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?   
In our educational culture of high stakes assessments I certainly believe that all teachers need to have an understanding of how judgements are made on their students knowledge and abilities.   Having a clear understanding of summative writing assessments (and formative assessments) would help them to better interpret the results of the State Test data.   I also think this term (and formative writing assessment) are important for my LTED 625 students to know because they provide a richer description and rationale for assigning what Daniels, et.al. call "Public Writing."

10.1 Self-Efficacy

When and Where Did I Find It: I didn't really find this term, but it is one that came up in conversation recently and I wanted to remember where I found it.   I went back to my files to locate an article I remembered a student from a LTED 625 (back in 2008) brought to class for his Reciprocal Teaching discussion.  
Full citation
Walker, B.J. (2003).  The cultivation of student self-efficacy in reading and writing.  Reading and Writing Quarterly, 19, 173-187.

What It Means: "Self-efficacy refers to people's beliefs about their capabilities to carry out actions required to achieve a confident level of achievement (Bandura, 1993).  Specifically, they are beliefs that individuals have that they can do something like read a book, write a poem, or dance.  Self-efficacy beliefs refer to specific judgments rather than more global judgments like being a good reader, writer , or dancer.  In fact, self-efficacy often refers to specific situations within a learning environment based on learn goals" (as cited in Walker, 2003, pp. 174).  

Level of Familiarity: Even though I am familiar with this concept, I was glad to find the article so I could refresh my memory of the full meaning of the term.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? Yes. As Walker states, "Understanding the situational nature of self-efficacy can help teachers design classroom procedures that reinforce positive attributions for specific tasks" (p. 174). 

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?  I definitely think this is an important concept for teachers to understand.  Again, to quote Walker directly:  "...students who are efficacious are more likely to work hard, to persist, and seek help so they can complete a task.  These same students use cognitive and metacognitive strategies to increase their understanding. ... Self-efficacy is also linked to motivational beliefs like interest, value, and utility, as well s positive affective reactions.  Collectively these characteristics of self-efficacy demonstrate a relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance." (Walker, p. 174)

8.2 Digital Story

When and Where Did I Find It: I found this term in an article I recently reread for research project I am working on.  "A digital story is a multimedia text consisting of still images complemented by a narrated soundtrack to tell a story or present a documentary; sometimes video clips are embedded between images" (Sylvester & Greenidge, 2009, p. 284).     
Full citation:

Sylvester, R. & Greenidge, W. (2009). Digital storytelling:  Extending the potential for struggling writers.  The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 284-295. doi: 10.1598/RT.63.4.3.

What It Means: The term digital story is used to describe a specific type of digital or multimedia text which includes the following or a "combination of these seven elements:
1.  Point of View
2.  Dramatic question
3.  Emotional content
4.  Economy
5.  Pacing
6. The gift of voice
7. Sountrack.   (Sylvester & Greenidge, p. 287)

I found a very interesting web-based presentation on the concept of Digital Storytelling online:  http://pwoessner.wikispaces.com/Digital+Storytelling

Level of Familiarity: I had heard this term prior to reading the article, but honestly, it wasn't until I read this piece for the first time that if finally "clicked" for me how this particular type of story was very different from traditional stories or narrative texts.

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? I think this is such an important term to fully understand.   At first glance, one would assume this term implies we are talking about digital narratives (like a film); however, these digital narratives or digital stories that are most frequently created and published are NOT full narratives.  Instead, they are a mix of elements of biography and narrative.   It is important to be able to distinguish between this particular type of "story" and what a reader would expect to find given most people's traditional understanding of story/narrative.

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?  I think all teachers of writing should understand what is meant by this particular term.   Too often the term "story" is used when creating writing assignments, without much thought to what is expected.   If teachers were more careful and purposeful in how they talked about the genre of narrative, then perhaps students (K-12 and beyond) would develop a deeper and more principled understanding of the various types of works that can be produced under the very large umbrella term of "story."  

7.2 Content Literacy Inventory

When and Where Did I Find It:   I found this term on page 45 in the section of McKenna and Robinson's (2002) book which was shared with the class.  

Full citation:  McKenna, M.C., & Robinson,R.D. (2002).  Teaching through text:  Reading and writing in the content areas (2nd ed.), p. 45.  Boston, MA:  Allyn & Bacon.     

What it means: McKenna and Robinson (2002) state, "the content literacy inventory, at its core is a series of questions posed over a small section of the textbook.  The student's success at answering these questions after reading the section is used to predict probable performance on the text as a whole" (McKenna & Robinson, p. 45, emphasis added).

Level of Familiarity:  I have a well-developed understanding of this type of classroom based assessment tool.   Another example of this type of assessment tool would be the Strategic Content Literacy Assessment (SCLA) tool which is also used to predict probable performance on the text.  

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Yes, I do believe it is important to for me to understand the ways reading guides can be developed and utilized as assessment tools rather than instructional tools.   The key is the design.   What types of questions are included on the tool/guide and for what purpose.  

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?:   I certainly think my LTED 625 students (as well as all teachers) should understand the assessment goals which can be served by creating a tool which is very similar in design to an instructional reading guide.     

7.1 Point of View Reading Guide

When and Where Did I Find It:  I found this term in the Wood (1988) article that was an optional reading for our LTED 625 class readings.

Full citation:  Wood, K. D. (1988).  Guiding students through informational texts.  The Reading Teacher, 41(9), 912-920.

What it means:  This is a specific type of reading guide, designed and assigned by the teacher to aid students reading comprehension both during reading and after reading.  As Wood (1988) describes, 

The point of view reading guide uses questions in an interview format to allow students to experience events from alternative perspectives. Instead of just reading about a particular character, students actually become that individual...The interview questions elicit both text based and reader based contributions from the reader.  Because readers must essentially assume the schemata or more simply "get inside the head" of the character, their comprehension and subsequent recall are positively affected.  (Wood, p. 913)    

Level of Familiarity: I have a fairly well-developed understanding of this instructional strategy, although I rarely use it myself.  

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Yes. I guess what I want is to remember this type of guide.   I often consider creating anticipation guides, interactive guides, or QtA guides when designing instructional activities for my students, but I often forget about this particular type of guide Wood suggests. 

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?:   I think this is certainly another type of instructional strategy I want my LTED 625 students to know exists, but whether or not they need to know it well is highly dependent upon what their specific content literacy instructional goals are as well as who their students are.  They might find it a useful type of instructional strategy to include as a part of their Multigenre Project?