Finally!

It only took me twenty minutes to finish compiling the last of the workshop comments! Yet, it took me two months of procrastination to actually sit down and do it! So silly! But, I'm glad I can now check that off my to-do list. I still need to print the data, and then I think triangulate it? Hhhmmm...now what other data was I going to look at? I think -- surveys, postings on Moodle, and the workshop comments. [must review previous blog posts!] More about that later...

On to the Outline of my Deadline Draft...
Initial Question: How Can I help students provide constructive feedback to their writing group?

How I Became Interested in Writing Groups
I can't remember when writing groups weren't on my radar. Now in my twelfth year of teaching, I have always been fussing, fidgeting, finagling, fighting, focused on writing groups. From middle school to post-secondary, writing groups can provide valuable insights to writers -- readers providing immediate commentary, sharing the written word, multiple perspectives. Yet, they can also be frustrating -- lack of comments, time commitment, groupings, front loading of expectations and purpose.

I'm curious when writing groups first came onto the teaching scene. As I've stated before, it has been a long journey for me to finally find the group of people who are my writing group. In high school and junior high, I never experienced writing groups. Many of my papers have teacher writing on them -- often times these comments are nothing more than editing. Revising meant having my mom look at my papers. I never thought to ask a peer.

In college, I had one or two people who read my papers, but again it was never for ideas or content or to truly revise a paper. It was strictly editing. I don't recall visiting the writing lab to get help with my papers, but I did tutor a few students on their writing. Grad school is when I began trusting a few more people to read my writing. Discussing my writing became more comfortable as I began learning more about writing theory. Participating in CSU Writing Project was where I crossed the threshold and decided that I needed and wanted to participate in a functioning writing group with thoughts of publishing on my mind.

Additionally, I focused my research on writing groups when I was in grad school. I conducted mini-lessons on how to set up writing groups with grad students as facilitators. [Honors students proved to be a challenging group when setting up writing groups. Consider their First draft, last draft, mentality. argh! :)]

Up next week...what I did in the classroom surveys, compiling data, moodle, and a student interview.

Blogging...

Blogging….the long lost art of communicating online. If I reach far back into the recesses of my brain, I can faintly remember when I blogged daily. Ahh, yes, the lazy days of summer are now replaced with the insanity of the school year.

I’m not that far off from my timeline. I had wanted to get permission to quote forms to my two sections of creative writing students. That has been done. I have not surveyed students about their writing group experience, but I did ask students approximately ten questions about their thoughts about the class, and I did ask them to comment on their writing group experience. Groups have been finalized and are underway; students will meet for the second time on Monday. Additionally, students have set up norms within their writing groups. I have a signed copy of the groups’ norms as does each member of the writing group.

Resources…Steph just mentioned an article that I’d like to see as well as an activity she did with her students. Other than that, I suppose I need to decide on a functional group to observe and begin taking field notes.

I have yet to create a connection between students’ personal experiences outside the classroom and writing groups. Honestly, I’m not sure how to go about this. Maybe that is the question for my inquiry group. Maybe not...  I also wrote up the interview from the student who helped create my “Aha Moment” of connecting writing groups to personal experiences. However…

I started team teaching two sections of remediation this year. And I LOVE it! While I did create a blog in hopes of posting observations there, my teammate and I have really just been writing in our notebooks. While not blogging, I’m still ecstatic that we’re writing about what we’re doing. I think there is much to say about teaming at the high school level. Amy has her MA in Reading, mine’s in writing. We gathered data to ensure placement of students; we have a baseline for reading scores, and students are just finishing up a writing sample. Also, we’ve created Readers as Leaders – our high school students go to the local elementary once a week to read. It’s been amazing to see high school students exited about reading, to be in a leadership role where they usually struggle.

Sooo….I’m torn. Continue with my writing group stuff or forge into uncharted water with the teaming aspect. During the blissful days this summer I ambitiously thought I could actually keep both projects afloat. My dream bubble has been popped, and I have my feet firmly grounded, and now I’m just not sure which way to start walking.

To quote Sandra Cisneros...

I'm not dead; I was in New Braunsfels.

Ok, well I wasn't in New Braunsfels -- which think she means New Braunfels which is in Texas, but I'm only guessing. I've really just been absorbed in the day-to-day job we all have and enjoy so much that we become obsessive about getting everything going. While the beginning of the school year is exciting, it also poses some challenges: every class needs everything -- rules, procedures, copies, books. Agh! It can be a bit overwhelming. Such is our job.

However, in my Slackerville state--or daydreaming according to Joyce Carol Oats -- I have not forgotten about my data. Yes, I still need to finish compiling the data from last spring (I only have six more papers to go through. I mean seriously, what am I talking about? An hour tops! I think this goes into the slacker column, but I really do appreciate everyone's support. The next SA [Slackers Anonymous] meeting will meet at my house!)

However, I have two classes of creative writing this semester, and I've done a few things different with my writing groups. First, I sent out permission to quote slips! :) I still had students write about their writing group experience as well as categorize their writing [if your writing were a color, what would it be and why? type of questions], do "speed dating" according to writing characteristics, three sets of possible writing group.

But I think the most powerful thing has been having them define norms for their perfect writing group situation and have them share with potential writing groups. I asked questions such as how will you handle unprepared writers? heavy critical participants? sugary sweet comments with no substance? what about hurt feelings? I’m allowing them to test each other out. Tomorrow I'm telling them their final assignments.

I also discussed with them the scale of writing groups: dysfunction junction, semi-autonomous, and autonomous. Not only did I scare them with big words, :) but I also informed them of the two things already working against them: it's still school, and the mix of students. I'm hoping my conversation will help them take ownership of the group.

Since students aren't in set groups yet, I'm still mulling over the whole idea of past experiences that the writer brings to the group and how that influences constructive criticism. I'm waiting to see who surfaces as the shining stars of writing groups then I'll dig back in.