1 Chapter 1: Feedback as Conversation

Section 1.1 Rose Fryman: Student Researcher

Article Review to set the Scene for Conversational Feedback

In her article, “Beyond Checklists and Rubrics: Engaging Students in Authentic Conversations about Their Writing,” Christine Dawson discusses her experience with her own methods of teaching writing in order to look at one central research focus: the importance of and strategies for building authentic writing conversations amongst student writers. Although Dawson notes that research unfortunately shows that secondary school writing feedback is primarily written feedback, she says that her own experiences in advanced writing groups were “dialogic in nature, grounded in inquiry, and filled with observations, questions, clarifications, and responses” (66). Teachers must learn how to engage secondary students in authentic writing conversations that are not simply formed by supposed right or wrong answers to predetermined questions (Dawson 67). Dawson shares strategies for implementing these authentic writing conversations through discussing her findings in teaching an undergraduate poetry class workshop. She explains the “Quaker Share” activity where students got the opportunity to read their pieces out loud without pressure as the other students were instructed to withhold any sort of reaction, even a positive one (Dawson 68). The Quaker Shake activity proved to be a possible foundation for getting students to realize the value in authentic and genuine conversations about their writing. Dawson ultimately concludes that motivating students to gain the real-world skills of understanding a fellow writer’s purpose and intent while giving meaningful feedback can prepare students to succeed and interact as real writers “beyond the walls of our classrooms” (71).

The findings of Dawson’s experiences in her undergraduate classroom reflect the need for more authentic and conversational engagement of students at the secondary school level. As Dawson mentions, writers often do not receive respect for and interest in their writing from others until it is at the higher education or professional level. The article opens up the main point that secondary school writers are being forced into a box of predetermined questions and the pressure to supply “the right answer” when giving written feedback. These findings prove to greatly build on the findings of our teacher action research project on the best methods for providing writing feedback. Dawson concludes that authentic writing conversations may be generated through conversational feedback and teaching students to be interested in interacting with fellow writers. Interestingly, Dawson’s observations and strategies strongly connect to my findings on conversational feedback promoting student interest and desire to persevere.

Fostering Student Perseverance and Interest: A Possible Impact of Supplying Conversational Writing Feedback based on Teacher Engagement

In Angela Duckworth’s Ted Talk “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” Duckworth discusses Carol Dweck’s concept of “growth mindset,” the idea that student success is based on being intrinsically motivated through believing that abilities are not fixed and may improve through dedication and hardwork (Duckworth 4:58). According to Duckworth, instilling this sort of mindset is key to helping students become “grittier” as they persevere through challenges and are motivated by the belief that failure is not a permanent condition (5:30). However, Duckworth does not claim to have a secret formula on how to get students to hold this grit and effort as it is something that all teachers and educators must continue to work towards.

The concept of growth mindset and the importance of being intrinsically motivated and “gritty” has been at the front of my mind since the start of researching the best means for giving writing feedback to student writers. How can English teachers teach students to see failure as a way to grow through their own effort while constantly having to criticize the work of their students? Time and time again, I have seen students through field experience and my own high school education lose interest in their own growth with the simple excuse “I am too dumb,” something that seems to be impressed on them somehow and somewhere along their schooling. In order to see how writing feedback impacts this crucial quality of the perseverance of students in their work, I made it a priority to observe how students’ mindsets respond to different types of feedback.

At Rowan county high school, I worked with over ten students on editing their own TED Talk speech assignment under the instructions to give feedback on content rather than technical errors. The students had incredible stories and perspectives to share, ones that they were very proud and protective of. One student was set on the fact that her work was a complete disaster and that she was sure that I would find plenty of mistakes. What I found was a beautiful, heartfelt story told by a student who seemed to struggle with grammar and writing construction. I quickly asked more questions about the piece and praised her deep insight while encouraging her to brainstorm more ideas she could add on to the story. I used the momentum from the feedback and encouragement on the writing’s content to move into a teaching moment on some of the larger writing errors that could make her argument clearer. She left that table with not only a piece of writing she was proud of and a desire to improve, but also with an attitude that she could improve. I saw in the student that she may have just received something she never had before: an editor’s genuine interest in and respect for her as a valuable, meaningful, real writer.

Many students, beginning at an early age, have the idea ingrained in their minds that they are writing for an external reward, like a grade, and they often believe they simply do not hold the ability to reach a satisfactory reward in this way due to previous experiences with feedback. Through a short period of research and providing writing feedback, I quickly saw how students respond with energy, motivation, and, most clearly, perseverance in their education when a writing advisor provides authentic interest and feedback on the writing content rather than working to point out the mechanical errors. Creating a conversation with the student based on respect and genuine interest in the content seems to open up doors in the students mind that tell them “I am good enough. I wrote something meaningful and interesting to myself and others.” This shows the relationship between showing students that their effort is valuable and worthwhile through a growth mindset along with empowering students to be intrinsically motivated so that they can improve for their own fulfillment rather than external reward.

While there is no one answer on how to make students believe in the power of their own effort through passion and perseverance, English teachers can ask themselves how writing feedback can be used to get students passionate about their ability to grow rather than uncertain and ashamed of it. As educators, we must treat students as real, respectable writers with something valuable to say and accomplish. This dialogic approach to teaching writing built on being intrigued by students’ ideas and perspectives sets the stage for helping students to hold a deep desire to improve themselves, something that a teacher can not do for them. If English teachers can use this form of feedback to empower their students to believe in their ability to grow, teachers can push students to improve their writing without the barriers of lacking student engagement. It is through this genuine interest and respect given to young writers that students may come to truly desire to grow, share their work, create new pieces, and maybe even correct their comma splices.

Works Cited

Dawson, Christine M. “Beyond Checklists and Rubrics: Engaging Students in Authentic Conversations about Their  Writing.” The English Journal, vol. 98, no. 5, 2009, pp. 66–71. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40503301. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

Duckworth, Angela. “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.” Youtube, uploaded by TED Talk. 2014.          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8&t=11s

Section 1.2 Gwen Akers: Student Researcher 

Article Review to Understand Conversational Feedback and the Confidence it Inspires

Keri Franklin, in her article “Thank you For Sharing: Developing Students’ Social Skills to Improve Peer Writing Conferences,” Franklin discusses how important having a conversation with your students can be from her observations as a peer tutor. Franklin describes working with students of various grade levels and writing levels on different topics, and how different her appointments would go when she recognized and connected with the student on an even level. Franklin states that it is important that we recognize the reasoning behind “small talk,” and that by creating a conversation with our students and allowing both them and ourselves to form a connection, we are allowing their writing to grow. Her article argues that socialization is also a key part of a student’s education, and we can help foster comfortable and productive socialization through our feedback sessions with our students. (Franklin)

As she continues, Franklin notes that it is important that we develop norms and expectations for the actual sharing and “talking” part of feedback, and that by allowing the student to enter the meeting with expectations in mind, we are able to keep the student on task and engaged throughout the meeting. Overall, Franklin finds that it is important that we meet our students on the same level, and address them as the writers that they are. (Franklin)

Recognizing and Talking to Students as a Writer: Conversation Model Feedback from Field Experience 

Over the course of the semester, I have had the opportunity to work with students and give them feedback in many different facets. Whether it was online through conservative journaling activities, more rigid argumentative papers, or even on speeches–one truth emerged: students work the best when they are given feedback as if it is a conversation. Students work better when they feel engaged, and on the same level as their advisor, rather than just someone that is being talked to.

This became particularly evident when I did some in-person field experience at Rowan County High School. The students were working on drafting a TedTalk, which was meant to be argumentative but could be about any topic that they wanted. Students were sent out individually, and I was given the chance to read over what the student had and talk to the student about their project offering them suggestions.

One girl in particular was extremely introverted when she first came out to meet with me. Initially, she suggested I just read her work silently and leave her comments, but I suggested instead that we talk about her work. After skimming her speech, I asked her to tell me a little about the background of her topic–why she chose it, and if it was something that was personal to her. Instantly, I started to see this once shy girl bloom, as she began to explain to me how the practice of horse racing and the gambling and breeding practices that are behind it are detrimental to both the horses, riders, and trainers involved.

Coming into the conference, I had little to no background information on this phenomenon, but the girl was able to quickly explain this to me, as well as show me her own passion for the subject and fighting against the awful practices and abuses that horses are subject to in the industry. After reading through her speech, I gave her some suggestions of places to fill out with research, and areas where she needed to explain more. Instead of shutting down and accepting these comments, however, I asked her if she knew of anything she could add in these sections–and she did. The girl was so passionate about this topic that she had done plenty of extra research and had not included it within the draft of the speech because she thought it would not be necessary. The girl also had a personal connection and story about the horse racing industry–one that would not have been included in the speech if she had not opened up to meet about her writing and her passions.

The girl left our meeting that day feeling inspired about her TedTalk, but also confident about it. With some suggestions and a pair of fresh eyes the girl was able to correct any grammatical and citation errors, as well as add in some important personal details and research (including a short video she asked me to watch) that truly brought her assignment to the next level.

Overall, this was a very important moment for me as an educator, as I was able to see a student who was shy and reserved open up with passion and excitement for writing. This also just proved to me that it is important that we treat our feedback sessions more like a conversation, rather than a one-sided suggestion mark. I hope that in the future I can keep these ideas in mind, and that I can work to create a safe and welcoming place for my students to confide in me about their writing and be confident enough in their own skills to be excited about it.

Works Cited

Franklin, Keri. “Thank You for Sharing: Developing Students’ Social Skills to Improve Peer Writing Conferences.” The English Journal, vol. 99, no. 5, 2010, pp. 79–84. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27807198. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.