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2005 GIFT GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Carol Schwalbe, Arizona State
Student Self-Evaluation: Know Thy Writing Strengths and Weaknesses
How to help students assess improvement in their writing skills
INTRODUCTION
Writing, like learning to swim, requires the coordination of many different but related skills. To help my feature writing students internalize the hallmarks of a good story and understand my grading goals, I devised a rubric based on Gerald Grow�s Criteria Checklist.
RATIONALE
By outlining the traits of a successful story, the rubric encapsulates the course content and summarizes the skills students need to master. The rubric helps students evaluate their progress and take ownership of their grades as they assess what they did well and where they need to improve.
IMPLEMENTATION
At the beginning of the semester, students analyze outstanding examples of feature writing, discuss their strengths and develop a checklist identifying the hallmarks of good writing. Next, students internalize the checklist by using it to analyze a piece of professional writing. �My Favorite Teacher� by Robert Kurson, a National Magazine Award finalist (2001), provokes lively discussion. Students then use the checklist to evaluate the final version and revision of their stories. After they incorporate my comments on their final version, they turn in the checklist below with their revision. The emphasis changes as the semester progresses and we work on different items on the checklist. Download the PDF version of the grading rubric HERE. (Please credit the GIFT winner and program when using it for your own classes.)
IMPACT
This checklist can be modified to suit the goals and criteria of other mass media classes. It also reveals areas that need attention in class. I�m astonished by the honesty with which the students grade their stories, the insights they gain and the progress they make. Involving them in the process makes grading much easier for me. On end-of-semester evaluations, many mention this as one of the most valuable parts of the class.
From one student: �Magazine writing is much harder than newspaper writing. The checklist helped me improve tremendously over the semester.�
From another: �I worked hard, and the checklist let me see my progress.�
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