I must admit that anytime I read "GAME plan," I mentally do so as a Southern football enthusiast. I think it adds to the adventure.
However, with or without the accent, here is my own plan:
Goal: (1) To integrate more "mind-tools" to engage student learning. (2) To allow more time in class for collaborative learning.
Action: (1) Begin researching possible computer and technology-based options to integrate into the classroom to allow for more self-directed learning. (2) Research a new peer edit strategy that better incorporates collaborative learning.
Monitor: (1)Are these programs and items hard to get access to? If I introduce a certain mind-tool, will I have consistent access to computer to allow students to grow at its use? (2) How do I introduce new lessons about good writing into the peer editing system? How can I encourage these self-guided groups to teach themselves?
Evaluate and Extend: (1) Honestly, what do I want to focus on with these mind-tools? Will the newly acquired tools lend themselves to multiple tasks and lessons? Where do I find these mystical tools? (2) Does the collaborative learning stop when the papers are edited? How do I transition this new working skill into other parts of the class?
Football?
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Response posted by Megan Slocum
ReplyDeleteBecca,
First of all you crack me up with your wit:-) Second, if I can remember correctly, you teach remedial reading to high school students? I too struggle with offering beneficial and productive peer editing tools and activities to my students. I find the peer editing surveys to be worthless due to the fact that my ninth grade students rarely know what is correct in their own papers let alone someone else. That being said, I have begun to use peer editing not exactly for mechanics and grammar but more so for content. For instance, my students will be writing their own short story for our first unit. Instead of having another student peer edit for mistakes, they will trade papers and analyze each other's short story for the literary elements we covered during the unit. The students whose paper was analyzed will realize if they left anything out of their story, and it will also serve as a cumulative assessment for the students who are analyzing. Now obviously I understand that this could serve as an issue later on with other types of writing. Therefore, one of my own goals is to improve peer editing by giving students more practice before they actually peer edit another student's paper. Below is a website from ReadWriteThink that I believe could be very helpful! http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/peer-edit-with-perfection-786.html Good luck!
Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteI will agree that peer editing is a challenge. I work with students who struggle with writing and can barely recognize errors in their own writing, let along a peer's. Like Megan, I focus on content with my students. Last year I did a unit on memoirs with my Sophomores. I let them use laptops for their first drafts. I had them switch laptops with a partner to help each other with the content of their stories. If they were able to help with grammar and mechanics, that was great but it was not required. We discussed the elements of a memoir and I told the students to look for those elements as they read their peers' story. They typed directly into each others stories- made corrections, asked questions and highlighted parts they did not understand. It was quite successful. Microsoft Office has the comment feature as well as the tracking feature (under "REVIEW"; it allows people to type in suggestions and the owner of the work can keep the suggestions or delete them).
If you don't have access to laptops, I think this process would still work on paper. I used to give my students "grade school paper", with the red and blue lines, in order to force them to leave space between their sentences. They hated it, but it made editing so much easier!
I hope you find these suggestions helpful
Good luck with your GAME plan.
Linda