In a recent workshop, Brad Zukovic, Kate Navickas, and I talked with FWS instructors about the pedagogical questions we ask ourselves when we read through a stack of student papers, especially those questions prompted by a paper that falls short of our expectations: How do I respond to an essay that is so laden with error that I find it difficult to read and understand; that is syntactically garbled, unclear, and/or unfocused; that lacks complexity on the micro- and/or macro-levels; that does not fully or at all address the prompt; that reflects significant misunderstanding or misrepresentation of course material; that I find offensive or that I worry may offend other members of the class?
We found that, often, a strong response to a paper that falls short of expectations is to address concerns by revising lesson plans so that all students can benefit from the teaching and learning that happens between a student and instructor in the margins of a paper. Follow this link to a real time GoogleDoc | FWS Instructor Workshop | Reading & Responding to Challenging Students Writing Idea Swap to see strategies for:
- helping students stay more focused on text/course materials
- deepening classroom engagement
- motivating students
- grading
- responding to specific writing challenges, like garbled syntax and papers that lack focus
Join other FWS instructors to post additional ideas for responding to the issues that emerge when we read student writing.
