Sherry TCSS14

SWAP Student Writing Archive Project

Purpose
To use insights from professional teachers to practice responding to and evaluating
student writing
Big Questions: What makes good ELA instruction?
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 some point during your field placement, you will collect a class set of student writing. You should do
this BEFORE you teach your own lesson (as a way to learn more about the students).

Step 2 Come up with a research question
Generate a question that will guide your inquiry into the S.W.A.P.
data: what do you want to know about responding to student work?
Use this question to explore the archive, posting comments as you
go. If you prefer, you may choose one of the questions Ive proposed
below (detailed versions of these paths appear on the S.W.A.P.
homepage):

o Option 1 Your own question (you must use at least two scholarly sourcesthese might be articles
or books youve read about writing pedagogies, linguistics, or teaching in another class).

o Option 2 How can a teacher design and implement assignments that encourage students to meet
standardized criteria but avoid formulaic writing?

o Option 3 What are the advantages and disadvantages of computerized grading?

o Option 4 - How can a teacher provide feedback that sensitively takes into account students' cultural
and linguistic backgrounds?

Step 3 Return to the student writing you collected
Using what you learned from your research to analyze and respond to at least three pieces of the
student writing; include these with your final paper. If there is teacher feedback, analyze those
comments, as well. If there is no feedback, write your own comments, and explain why you would
respond this way to these three students. You should also refer to this analysis when you plan and
reflect on your own lesson at your field placement.
Sherry TCSS14

Assessment




Criteria/Points 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0
Relevance
Alignment
Scaffolding
Conventions

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