When my students are completing a writing assignment, really any writing assignment, I try to have them get feedback from both their peers and me. I find that this can be a bit daunting, depending on how much they know about giving feedback, how much knowledge they have around grammar, punctuation, structure, and topic. I feel like to have the students give worthwhile feedback I would have to spend quite a bit of time coaching them on just how to do that, which I do not always have.
When the students give peer feedback I have them focus on specific aspects of writing depending on what type of writing they are doing. If it is a research paper they look at amount of evidence and organization. If it is a poem I have them write about its meaning and word choices. That gives me freedom to work on other things - grammar, punctuation, organization, etc. I typically sit down with the hard copies of their writing and mark it up. I find, though, that I still need to conference with each student to explain what I was trying to say. I liked the idea of having the students send me their papers electronically so that I can just insert the comments right into the paper. It would give me more room to type comments and explain them further. Also, I could them demonstrate the correct way to attribute a quote or where a comma should or shouldn't be inserted.
As I was talking in class the other day, I may be interested in using ToonDoo as one of technologies within a poetry class. I would have the students read and analyze a poem. Then, I would have them use ToonDoo to illustrate the poem, and hopefully provide more meaning and show a deeper understanding of the poem. I would also have them defend their choices. they would have to write a paragraph or two detailing why they made the illustrative choices they did and how that helps explain the meaning of the poem.
When providing feedback for this assignment I would have a portion of it come from their peers. I would have the students look at a comic that was not their own and try to decipher the meaning from the illustration. I would have them complete a survey or write a paragraph about what the illustration conveyed. If the student did not like the illustration or it made them more confused, they would have to explain why. The "artist" would them be able to sit down with their peer and receive the feedback and talk about where the disconnect was. Then, the "artist" could take the constructive criticism and modify their original comic.
I think I would look more at the structure, length of comic, and the students' defense of their comic to grade their work.
I made a very rudimentary rubric for a collaborative writing project that I may have them complete in a creative writing class that I am teaching now. Any comments or suggestions would be welcome.
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