Last week we went over Robin Martin's essay as a model for form. Today you talked about the essay as a model content with Simone in terms of patterns for designing research. As set up in her introduction, Martin's essay asks the question: how does the form and content of teacher's written comments on student papers affect whether and how they revise their papers. She uses codes and categories from an earlier study done by Ferris.
After discussing Martin's paper and her system for coding comments - you put together a list of features/kinds of comments that students liked and disliked. The lists from the board are reproduced here.
Helpful comments
Direction/Content
Readable comments
Individualized comments (for the writer/not just writing problems)
Specific comments
Techniques
Asking questions rather than assuming
The other class suggested that useful comments included comments on:
flow - to help develop movement
on organization - to help plan overall arrangmente
clarity (to help know what needs to be there - if the point came across
point out if there is too much
connect to current ideas of what writing is
help with formal conventions
experessions of interest
encouragement
explanations
references
global suggestions
Hated comments
Appropriation
Labeling grammatically incorrect – stylistic choices – demanding a different style
Bloody paper – red marks
Rude comments – (NO, no explanation, etc.)
From the other class:
bigxes without explanation
unacceptable/you don't understand
very long comments
change => but not telling how
disagree + net getting something writer cares about
bloody paper
demanding different styles
As you created the lists of possible research questions, you started a conversation about what DIFFERENT kinds of questions researchers might ask about connections between students' development as writers - and the kinds of written comments teachers note on their papers.
Some possible questions researchers might ask include:
- what is the role of positive comments (comments that don't request change) in student response?
- how does the directness of the comment affect whether /how students revise? do different students need different levels of directness (groups should discuss the different questions among themselves)
- how (or do) comments build a relationship to the instructor? does this relationship influence whether or how students revise their paper?
- can comments increase students' engagement with their work? what kinds of comments contribute to increased engagement?
- what is the cut off between feeling like the teacher is committed to helping the writer - and feeling overwhelmed? what kinds of comments contribute the most to feeling overwhelmed? how much of feeling overwhelmed is about the students' situations - and not the commenting?
- how do negative coments affect willingness to advise?
- differences between talk and written comments
- why do teachers make "demanding" comment
- role of positive comments - can too many comments have a negative effect?
- what are the effects of harsh comments connect to teacher expectations
- which comments (what kinds of comments? what are their features?) do students tend to take personally - and is that good or bad?
- what kind of comments (or what features of comments) hurt student relationships to writing - why?
- what features of negative comments allow them to help (or not) writers to grow as writers/improve their writing?
- how do the writer's need shape the kind of comments a teacher should give?
Some of these questions still need some work before they would be a useful basis for a research project - but they all raise interesting ideas/problems.
Designing a question + using your question to explore data: You spent the second part of class working in groups to look at the two sample papers with teacher comments - and designing a research question that might tell you something useful about the way different students might respond to similar comments in different circumstances.
Designing a question + using your question to explore data: You spent the second part of class working in groups to look at the two sample papers with teacher comments - and designing a research question that might tell you something useful about the way different students might respond to similar comments in different circumstances.
You worked on this task by:
1. reviewing the data, noting general patterns + talking with the group about what the features of the comments suggested for how students might respond
2. forming a research question. In this step you moved from a general impression of the features of the comments - to deciding specifically which features you wanted to study.
3. coding + categorizing your data (the comments) in light of your research question
4. gathering data from your group on how/whether/why the features you are studying affect students in terms of the focus of your research question [ for example - how using different kinds of questions as part of a comment affect student relationships to writing, willingness to revise, images of themselves as a writer & relationships to their teachers).
5. posing an answer to your question that is supported by your analysis.
Groups = Joe, Tempie, Stephane, Antoinette, and Christine, Arlene, Jaylecia, Brian.
Your completed analysis of the comments + your group's responses to your comments (if needed for your question) should be posted for Blog 9. All 4 group members will post the same blog.
Where this class is going: After Simone & Josh wrapped up the conversation about research questions, we talked about where the class was going for the next couple of weeks.
Short Analysis Project: You are going to be working on polishing your skills for developing research questions and analyzing data by working on the Short Analysis Project. In that project you will develop your own research question with respect to one of the data sets we have worked on so far (Oral histories, Shaggy dog stories, literacy narratives, & teacher comments), and write up an analysis in the narrative form you will use in your Research Project. We will work out the criteria for this project - and spend some time developing appropriate research questions next week.
Laying the groundwork for your Research Project: At the same time you are nailing down how to form research questions + analyze data, you will be finalizing the focus of your essay, beginning on your background reading, choosing a site + participants for your study, and trying out versions of the particular research question you will work on. We will also continue to read model studies similar to the project you will do for this course. I am going to switch some of the readings so there is better representation for straight writing majors.
Conferences on your projects: You all signed up for conferences to talk about your research projects (Dee be in touch and we will arrange a time). All conferences will be held in CAS 324, my office. Here is the schedule.
Wednesday, October 3
1:30 = Jaylecia; 3:30 = Antionette
Thursday, October 4
1:45 =Christine, 2:15 = Joe; 3:00 = Stephane
Monday, October 8
10:00 = Tempie; 1:00 = Brian
Tuesday, October 9
12:30 Arlene
For next class:
Blog 9: Post your group analysis of some feature of the comments on the sample essays.
Blog 10: (posted after your conference) work on completing a draft for your research plan (see assignment sheet posted to the right)
Think about which of the four data sets (oral history, shaggy dog stories, literacy narratives, teacher comments) you want to use for your Short Analysis Project.
Read: (NOTE = the readings are not the same as on the calendar)
Where Teachers and Students Meet: Exploring Perceptions in First-Year Composition
Mary Elizabeth Pope's essay = Teacher
Training (this is a creative nonfiction piece). In class, we will look at the research essay she wrote to develop this piece. .
Short Analysis Project: You are going to be working on polishing your skills for developing research questions and analyzing data by working on the Short Analysis Project. In that project you will develop your own research question with respect to one of the data sets we have worked on so far (Oral histories, Shaggy dog stories, literacy narratives, & teacher comments), and write up an analysis in the narrative form you will use in your Research Project. We will work out the criteria for this project - and spend some time developing appropriate research questions next week.
Laying the groundwork for your Research Project: At the same time you are nailing down how to form research questions + analyze data, you will be finalizing the focus of your essay, beginning on your background reading, choosing a site + participants for your study, and trying out versions of the particular research question you will work on. We will also continue to read model studies similar to the project you will do for this course. I am going to switch some of the readings so there is better representation for straight writing majors.
Conferences on your projects: You all signed up for conferences to talk about your research projects (Dee be in touch and we will arrange a time). All conferences will be held in CAS 324, my office. Here is the schedule.
Wednesday, October 3
1:30 = Jaylecia; 3:30 = Antionette
Thursday, October 4
1:45 =Christine, 2:15 = Joe; 3:00 = Stephane
Monday, October 8
10:00 = Tempie; 1:00 = Brian
Tuesday, October 9
12:30 Arlene
For next class:
Blog 9: Post your group analysis of some feature of the comments on the sample essays.
Blog 10: (posted after your conference) work on completing a draft for your research plan (see assignment sheet posted to the right)
Think about which of the four data sets (oral history, shaggy dog stories, literacy narratives, teacher comments) you want to use for your Short Analysis Project.
Read: (NOTE = the readings are not the same as on the calendar)
Where Teachers and Students Meet: Exploring Perceptions in First-Year Composition
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