Sherry LAE 6339

SWAP Student Writing Analysis Project

Purpose
To use insights from professional teachers to practice responding to and evaluating
student writing
Big Questions: Who + What + When/Where + Why + How = Good ELA teaching?
Why/How should we assess student writing?

Rationale
As teachers, you will respond to and evaluate students performances
on a daily basis. How will you make clear comments that both support
and challenge students? How will you evaluate in ways that both
maintain standards and acknowledge individual achievement? How
will you use assessment to inform subsequent instruction?

Assignment

For this assignment, you will use the S.W.A.P. archive at http://23.21.225.52/: this is a collection of
student writing with and without teacher comments, with information about the students and the
school context provided by teachers at different grade levels in different parts of the country.

Each option below involves exploring a path through the archive for a particular purpose, and then
returning to student writing you collected in your field placement to apply what youve learned.

Step 1 Collect student writing at field placement

At your field placement, you will collect samples of student writing. These writing samples should
include something you collect BEFORE (as part of your case study) and AFTER your lead teaching (when
you record your lesson). Identify trends in this work that will inform
your inquiry (see next step).

Step 2 Choose a path

I have created several paths (a set of linked artifacts) to guide your
inquiry into the S.W.A.P. data. As you move along this path, each
page has a discussion forum for you to post comments as you go
(detailed versions of these paths appear on the S.W.A.P. homepage):

o Option 1 How can a teacher design and implement assignments that encourage students to meet
standardized criteria but avoid formulaic writing?

o Option 2 What are the advantages and disadvantages of computerized grading?

o Option 3 How can a teacher provide feedback that sensitively takes into account students' cultural
and linguistic backgrounds?

o Option 4 How can a teacher respond to students digital writing?

Step 3 Return to the student writing you collected

Use what you learned from your research into the archive to analyze and respond to the writing you
collected; include the samples with your comments in your final paper. If there is teacher feedback,
analyze those comments in addition to writing your own. After writing your own comments, explain
why you responded this way to the student. Your final reflection should:
1. Explain what you collected; 2. Draw on posts in archive; 3. Draw on scholarly sources (some are
included in archive steps) 3. Include student writing with comments; 4. Explain comments, insights

Sherry LAE 6339

Assessment

4.0

All parts of the project are included and on time (chose question, posted comments,
responded to at least three pieces; synthesized in a final paper)
Research question and path clearly align with student writing collected
Steps through the archive carefully scaffold understandings of student writing collected
Analysis uses relevant, thorough, specific evidence to justify teaching practices
from the archive
from student writing
from scholarly sources
Analysis fluently applies conventions appropriate to research writing in authors own way

3.0

Most parts of the project are included and on time

Research question and path align with student writing collected
Steps through the archive scaffold understandings of student writing collected
Analysis uses relevant, specific evidence to justify teaching practices
from the archive
from student writing
from scholarly sources
Analysis fluently applies conventions appropriate to research writing

2.0

Some parts of the project are included and on time

Research question and path align with student writing collected
Steps through the archive scaffold understandings of student writing collected
Analysis uses evidence to justify teaching practices
from the archive
from student writing
from scholarly sources
Analysis follows conventions appropriate to research writing

1.0

Few parts of the project are included and on time

Research question and/or path do not align with student writing collected
Steps through the archive do not scaffold understandings of student writing collected
Analysis uses little evidence to justify teaching practices
from the archive
from student writing
from scholarly sources
Analysis does not follow conventions of research writing in a way that seriously distracts

Criteria/Points
Relevance
Alignment
Scaffolding
Conventions

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0