Can Students Be Their Own Best Critics?
The Effects of Self Assessment
Meredith Boggs
RE 5040
Teacher as a Researcher
First Grade
Southwood Elementary
Action Research Project
Teacher as a Researcher 5040
Meredith Boggs
Nov. 15, 2005
Problem:
My students continuously have errors in their writing. Their errors include spacing, capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure and often lack understanding. Even after numerous lessons on these skills, the children continue to neglect the basic mechanics of writing. In first grade, in Davidson County, the children are assessed on these same areas and are required to be on grade level in writing by the end of the year. As the year progresses and writing expectations grow, the students are required to use transition words, combined and extended sentences, and descriptive language. Hence, the students must be proficient in using capitalization, punctuation, spacing and understanding appropriately before moving on. This problem led me to look at ways to have the children internalize the skills.
Literature Review
Yancey equated a busy unappreciated woman to today’s writers. Like a woman who needs external rewards to make herself feel worthy, writers need a teacher or professor to tell them that their writing is good or bad. Self assessment can help students reflect on their own writing and can open up a means of discussion for the teacher and student. Therefore, it is necessary to outline expectations the student and teacher can discuss. Having clear expectation can help the student to develop language that can encourage them to justify their work. The article also discussed also how students responded to their writing. There were 3 different responses. The first response was very general. The second student response stated more details about their work. But the third response was more task specific. The third responses were articulate and told why they wrote what they wrote and stated what expectations were met. The article also discussed four different ways of framing self assessment. Self Knowledge, Knowledge of the content, Task Knowledge and Judgment are the four ways that students can self assess themselves. Finally, the article stated ways to use self assessment as part of the grading system. Self assessment needs to be a way of life. In writing, it can help students reflect on their own ways of writing, their knowledge of the content they are writing on, their knowledge of mechanics, and pass judgment on their writing. It can bring the internal assessment and the external assessment together. (Yancey, 1998)
Andrade discussed instructional rubrics and self assessments. It promoted rubrics developed not only by the teacher but rubrics created by the student. This article discussed two groups who were assessed by quiz and by student/teacher created rubric. The students who graded themselves using a rubric learned more content instead of memorizing facts for the quiz. In addition, the article discussed using rubrics will help students to know what is expected. As they self assess their work, they can use their rubric as a check sheet which promotes good thinking skills. The students can see just what the teacher wants and can make an argument in their writing that completes that requirement. Self assessment through rubrics can help students check their work more carefully. (Andrade, 2000)
Spandel and Stiggins detailed how assessment, done correctly, could have a lasting effect on children’s writing. It states several suggestions in Chapter 4 of Creating Writersof how to teach the revision process using student assessment. A few ways to teach revision is to start small, model, revise in partners, and give students the freedom to start over if needed. Student revision can be like a discovery of strengths instead of weaknesses. In addition, the teacher teaches the children how to look at their own work critically and analytically. This helps the students to identify strengths and weaknesses in their own writing. While assessing and correcting, the student gains ownership of their writing and their grade. It is when a student can assess their own work they can begin to revise.
(Spandel and Stiggins, 1990)
Cramer refers to the evaluation of writing in chapter 8 of his book Creative Power. The author confesses that teaching children to assess or evaluate their own writing is a difficult process. It means that children have to become thinkers, revisers and editors of their own work. Students must be able to ask themselves the right questions and their writing will answer those questions. Writers must learn to talk to themselves about their writing and learn to critique it. But with the difficulties comes the reward of the students becoming their own best critic. Students who are able to critique their work will ultimately show the most growth. (Cramer, 2001)
In conclusion, just having a poster up in my room describing a good sentence wasn’t enough. Could the students learn to check their writing mechanics before ever turning in their paper? Can first graders assess themselves?
Therefore, the topic for my research project is:
How does guided self assessment improve writing in first grade?
Design:
Participants: I chose 10 first grade students to observe. They all scored a 1 (below grade level) on their writing assessment for Davidson County at the beginning of this year but were on grade level at the end of Kindergarten. These children were weak in all areas of the formal assessment given by the county. All of the students were Caucasian and of middle to lower socio-economic households. Five are girls and five are boys. All students were taught the same and given all the same materials as the other students but for analysis purposes I only kept data on these10. Instead of using names I chose to use numbers for my students. (1-10). The students chosen did not receive any special services outside of the room.
Setting: Public school of 1200 elementarystudents. I have an assistant 3 hours of the day. My classroom is set up in a pod formation so noise is always an issue. Writing is usually between 8:30-9:30. Students have approximately 30 minutes to write at their desks and all students are writing at the same time.
Procedure: Students were asked to write about a theme twice a week for 5 weeks. The first week the students wrote about Johnny Appleseed and apples. The second week they wrote about fire safety and Columbus. The third week they wrote about pig facts and their decorated pig. The fourth week the students wrote about pumpkin facts and sequenced how to grow a pumpkin. The fifth week the students wrote about scarecrows which was the post assessment. The themes were discussed using a thinking map prior to writing. Thinking maps included bubble maps and circle maps. All maps were led whole group and discussed with the students. Most assignments required the students to write their own bubble or circle map as part of their writing. Using a thinking map for each writing assignment was something constant I wanted for my research. I did not want the children to struggle over ideas for their writing during this research project. The ideas were thought of by all students together. This made it possible for the students to concentrate on their mechanics as well as making their sentences make sense. A self assessment sheet (Appendix B) was given to the students before they wrote half of the assignments. For Johnny Appleseed, fire safety, pig facts, and the pumpkin sequence writings the students were given the self assessment check sheet before they wrote. The other half of the assignments (apples, Columbus, decorated pig and pumpkin facts) did not have a self assessment sheet. This helped determine if the students needed the self assessment sheet to check their writing or did they internalized what was needed for a score of 10. When the self assessment sheet was used the expectations were discussed and labeled on the self assessment sheet whole group. Each question was read together to insure the students knew what it said. The self assessment sheet was on a scale of 1-10 points. When the self assessment sheet was not used by the student I checked it and gave each student a score between 1 and 10. Each student was conferenced with after the completion of their writing and assessed whether they checked it or I checked it. We went over each part of the self assessment sheet together and discussed any parts that were missing from their writing. The Davidson County writing assessment (Appendix C) was my baseline and was graded on the 10 point scale just like the self assessment. As my post assessment, I had the students write about scarecrows without a thinking map and without a self assessment sheet just like the Davidson County assessment I used for the pre-assessment.
Data Collection: Each student was given a number. I kept a check sheet recording the student’s self assessment scores and my assessment score of the same writing assignment. By keeping scores like this I was able to see if the student was able to score themselves somewhat the same as I would. Appendix A is a chart for the student’s number score for each writing assignment. Each student will be conferenced with after their writing is complete and those notes will help with my observation. Each writing assignment was stapled to the thinking map and on top was the self assessment sheet whether they checked it or I checked it. All assignments were kept in a folder.
Analysis: To determine if there was a significant difference between the pre and post test scores I added up the scores. For the pre test, all the scores added together were 56. Then I added up the scores from the post test and the total was 80. The scores were on a 10 point scale for 10 students. The students received 2pts for each area. The areas included capitalization, punctuation, number of sentences, coherency of sentences and sticking to the prompt. To compare if the self assessment sheet was helpful I compared the scores between the two writings within a week. For example, in the first week the students did not use the self assessment sheet properly because they scored better on the writing assignment apples in which they did not have a self assessment check sheet. But by the third week they scored better on the pumpkin sequence assignment because they used the self assessment sheet to revise their work before turning it in. Appendix F is a sample from student 6 from the second week. Student 6 does not have capital letters at the beginning of her sentences nor does she have periods. Her sentences do not make sense but she did write about the appropriate topic. She scored a 2 on this assignment. She did not have a self assessment sheet. The same student in the third week wrote a pumpkin sequence story. While observing, I noticed she read along with the group and checked her writing and made corrections with the self assessment sheet. She scored a 10 on this assignment.
Results:
Observations: I noticed when the students did not have the self assessment sheet; they wrote and turned it in carelessly. When we conferenced together using the self assessment sheet that I used to grade them, they caught their mistakes after I read the questions to them. “Do you have capital letters where you were supposed to?” “Oh I forgot to put a capital P there” or “Do you understand what you wrote?” “That doesn’t make sense.”
However, when I guided them through the self assessment sheet before they turned it in, I saw them erasing and fixing capital letter problems and adding periods where they had forgotten to put them. I saw them touching their sentences to make sure to read them carefully. The students would chime “I am going to catch my mistakes before Mrs. Boggs catches it.”
To compare if the self assessment sheet was helpful, I compared the scores between the two writings within a week. Because of its newness, scores in the first week showed that the self assessment sheet didn’t help their scores. For example student one scored a 4 using the self assessment sheet but when she did not have a self assessment, she scored higher, 8. But by the second week they scored better on the fire safety assignment because they used the self assessment sheet to revise their work before turning it in. While I observed the students, I noticed they began to change their letters that were lowercase and add period where needed. They did this while we were reading the self assessment sheet together whole group. They needed to be guided to do it but the self assessment sheet was a important visual reminder. By the forth week, students were not following along with me as I read the self assessment sheet. Some had already finished marking their paper. They did not need as much guidance as before. In the beginning, the average score was 6.6 but by the end of the last week the children scored an average of 8.6 on their writing.
The Pre and Post test scores were a clear sign that using a self assessment sheet helped the students to internalize some skills. Graph 2 will show the Pre test scores were an average of 5.6 but the post test scores were an average of 8.0. For the Post test the students were not given a thinking map or a self assessment sheet. It was given just like the Davidson County writing assessment I used as the pre test.
The following graphs detail the improvement in writing mechanics capitalization, punctuation, number of sentences and sentence understanding. In graph number one the light blue color represents the assignment with no self assessment check sheet. The dark blue represents the assignment included a self assessment sheet.
Pre and Post Test Scores
Graph 2
The following graph shows the individual growth of the students using the self assessment sheet. Seven out of the ten students showed consistent growth. But three student’s writing scores dropped on the last assignment. Since the same skills were assessed on the last assignment as on the first I am not sure why there was a drop for those three writing assignments. Variables may include the lack of time to finish or distractions in the room.
Discussion:
Using a self assessment sheet was a great way to remind the students of what is expected in their writing. They can have more ownership by having a hand in the scoring of their work. It can also open up discussion about their writing between the student and teacher. Along with using a self assessment sheet, conferencing with students played a major role in the improvement of the writing scores. The self assessment sheet helped us to discuss what was missing in their writing or what parts they remembered to include. Using the self assessment check sheet the students were able to actually touch the questions that they will someday ask themselves. “Do I have capital letters at the beginning of my sentences? Do I have a period at the end of my sentences? Do my sentences make sense?” The check sheet brings the “wall poster” that all teachers have up in their rooms down to the student’s level. By using a tool, such as a self assessment sheet, students can gain independence. If a student can self evaluate, they can then begin to revise their own writing. As teachers, we must teach our children to be lifelong writers who are able to critique their own work and not be too dependent on others to do it for them.
What does this mean to other teachers and to my school?
My school has recently been notified that it has the lowest writing scores in the county. We must find a way for our students to use good mechanics in their writing. Self assessment check sheets could be a way of teaching the children what the expectations are for writing. Self assessment sheets could be used in peer editing or revising sessions during conferencing. It opens up a dialog for the students to plead their case or for the teacher to have a mini lesson on skills. The self assessment check sheet could be a valuable tool for teaching and assessing many writing expectations and could be used in all grade levels.
In conclusion, can students be their own best critics? You bet! In my class the saying is “Catch it before Mrs. Boggs catches it!” My students worked hard to find their mistakes before I did. This self assessment tool helped. Guiding students to evaluate their writing is a difficult task. It needs to be repeated over and over. But there is hope. By holding students accountable and teaching them that everything that is written is meant to be read by someone, gives the assignment importance. If it has basic mistakes, the reader can not understand what is being read. Using a self assessment sheet can give students opportunities to fix their writing so that their writing can be exactly what they want it to be. Self assessment needs to be a way of life. In writing, it can help students to reflect on the message they are trying to convey and improve it. Guided self assessment affected my first grader’s by giving them a tool to check their writing therefore improving capitalization, punctuation, and understanding.