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."

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."  

6.2 Classroom Workshop

When and Where Did I Find It:   This is a  an instructional strategy which is discussed throughout Chapter 8 in our LTED 625 text, Content Area Writing Instruction. 
Full citation Daniels, H., Zemelman, S. & Steineke, N. (2007).  Content-area writing:  Every teacher's guide.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.

What it means: The authors describe a classroom (writing) workshop as including the following:    

•  Building engagement (teacher takes time to introduce project, build student interest, and create purpose for their writing)
• Choice (students have the opportunity to make choices for the focus of their efforts)
• Individual Goal Setting (students set some of their own goals for learning the subject matter and developing their writing)
•  Students Working Independently in the Classroom (the teacher allows time for writing in class)
• Brief, Focused Teaching (teacher uses brief, focused, mini-lessons)
• Modeling (teacher helps students understand the task by demonstrating how its done)
• Teacher-student Conferences and Observations
• Conference Records
• Writing Folders
• Sharing the Results (Students have an immediate, real audience for their writing so that it contributes to everyone's learning)  

 (Daniels, Zemelman & Steineke, 2007, pp. 195-196).  

Level of Familiarity: I am very familiar with this concept; although I find what I need to do to set up the rules and routines for workshop changes with every class. 

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Yes, I think knowing what a workshop is as well as how to foster a workshop in any classroom learning experience is essential to a teacher educator's professional reportoire. As Daniels, Zemelman and Steineke suggest, it is through a workshop that " a teacher can individualize instruction so you can help, explain or teach a lesson to just the students who need it.  Just when their issues is on their minds."  (p. 188). 

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?:   Actually, it is my expectation that the students of LTED 625 will learn this concept fully through actively participating in a LTED 625 Classroom Workshop.

6.1 Write-Aloud

When and Where Did I Find It:   This is a label for an instructional strategy which is discussed in Chapter 6 (p. 123) of our LTED 625 text, Content Area Writing Instruction. 
Full citation Daniels, H., Zemelman, S. & Steineke, N. (2007).  Content-area writing:  Every teacher's guide.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann.

What it means: The authors describe a write-aloud as an instructional strategy in which the teacher "models the writing task by talking your thoughts aloud as you project your draft for students to see."( Daniels, Zemelman & Steineke, 2007, p. 123).  

Level of Familiarity: I am familiar type of instructional strategy; although in my professional training it was simply called modeling or a writing mini-lesson. 

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Yes, not only do I want to know this word well, I want to be able to use this strategy in my own practices. As Daniels, Zemelman and Steineke suggest, " modeling a writing task aloud....not only show the kind of thinking and organizing and explaining that smark writers use but also allows you to lead the way in taking some risks, yourself, just as you are asking the students to do." (p. 123). 

Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...if so WHO and WHY?:   I would hope my teacher of literacy would recognize the value in knowing how to use "think alouds" and "modeling" when teaching both writing and reading across the content areas.  

3.2 Word/Words

When and Where Did I Find It:   Although most people would think they know what the word, "words" means but I have no doubt it is a tacit understanding.   I found this word when revisiting an old version of the McKenna and Robinson text, Teaching Through Text (2002).  The authors state, "Words are symbols for concepts...a schema is all the information and experiences that an individual has learned in association with a given concept. ...The written symbol itself does not 'carry' meaning; rather, the reader bringsmeaning to the symbol (Smith, 1988)"  (as cited in McKenna & Robinson, 2002, p. 99).
Full citation McKenna, M. C. & Robinson, R.D. (2002).  Teaching through text:  Reading and writing in the content areas (3rd ed.).  Boston, MA:  Allyn and Bacon.  

What it means: The term is defined in the sentence above.  "Words are symbols for concepts; words themselves do not carry meaning, rather the reader brings the meaning to the symbol" (McKenna & Robinson).  To further detail this discussion the authors state:   


"Words therefore come to have many associations for us.  Those associations concerned with the word's general meaning and which are likely to be shared by most users of the word are said to be denotative. The word's dictionary definition is sometimes called its denotation.  Associations that are not directly connected to a word's denotative meaning are described as connotative.  Such associations vary with individuals because their experiences vary.  To some, the word golf might connote doctors, presidents, and country clubs.  To thers it might connote frustration, fatigue, and wasted hours...Both denotations and connotations are very much a part of a student's schema for a given word."  (McKenna & Robinson, p. 99).

Level of Familiarity: I am familiar with this concept, but I think it always good to be reminded of the symbolic nature of words.  

Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why?   Ha! I love that the word, "word" is in this prompt.  Yes, I want my schemata for this concept to be well developed.  I think understanding the symbolic nature of words is key to becoming a strategic teacher of vocabulary.  

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 have a deep and principled understanding of what words are -- as well as how best to learn them.