Notice It, Practice It, Try It

Using Shared Writing and Collaborative Writing to Promote Independent Application

By Karren Colbert

Karren Colbert has a decade of teaching experience, both in and out of the classroom. She's been a fourth grade teacher, reading specialist, instructional coach, and most recently started Write Brained Learning, an educational consulting company. She also blogs at The Write Brained Teacher. (www.writebrainedteacher.blogspot.com) She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Missouri and a Master of Curriculum and Instruction degree, also from the University of Missouri.  In 2005, Karren was recognized as the University of Missouri Alumni Association’s Outstanding Young Professional.

"It feels like spoonfeeding," was the complaint of one teacher as we met to discuss her students' writing progress.  Her second graders had progressed tremendously since the last time we met, yet she was reluctant to celebrate and discouraged by the high level of support they required along the way.

Little did this teacher know that I was in the midst of spoonfeeding my youngest daughter and suffice it to say, it was not going well.  I thought about her comparison.  Spoonfeeding was a perfect metaphor for good instruction.  Just as no two classrooms are the same, so too were my experiences with spoonfeeding.  Natalie, my older daughter, eager for independence, could hardly wait to take matters into her own hands.  Emily, well let's just say that there were moments when I wondered if she would ever feed herself. 

"Is that such a bad thing?" I asked the teacher.

The problem, the teacher explained, was that most of her students had written their piece using complete sentences.  Since this had been the topic of our previous conversation, I was anxious to hear more.  She reflected that the strategies she had put in place were working well.  So far, so good, I thought.  I wasn't sure why this teacher was so disappointed.  Her students were successful as a direct result of her instructional changes.

"It just took so much time and I feel like they should be able to do it without so much help," was her reply.

And what could I say?  She was right, good teaching takes time and this can be frustrating.  As much as I wanted Emily to hold that spoon on her own, she couldn't.  But she did teach me that we have to meet learners where they are if we want to move them, step by step, toward independence.  We can't know when they will finally try to hold the spoon for themselves.  All we can do is follow their cues so that we know when it's time to let them try.  And when this happens, we should expect carrots to end up on the floor, ceiling, and everywhere in between.  If you like things nice and tidy, as I do, there's comfort in the fact that there is learning in the mess.

The gradual progression toward independence, with decreasing levels of teacher support, has a name.  The Gradual Release of Responsibility Model, first developed by Pearson & Gallagher (1993), is a research based instructional model that outlines the process necessary to promote independent application of a skill.  The teacher gradually decreases his or her support as students' demonstrate success.  If necessary, the teacher increases the level of support when students are struggling.

For some reason, writing is seems to be an area where we sometimes abandon the Gradual Release Model.  In my experiences, writing instruction often consists of a quick mini-lesson, followed by time to write independently, in hopes that students apply the learning to their own piece of writing.  This is a bit like showing a baby how to use a spoon, explaining why we use spoons, and then letting them fend for themselves.  We need all students to notice and practice what good writers do.  It is not enough to help them notice a craft or trait and send them back to their seats, hoping they will try it.

If we want to ensure that students begin to apply new crafts and skills, we can apply the Gradual Release Model to our writing instruction with the Notice It, Practice It, Try It framework.  We begin in the Notice It phase by helping students identify the qualities of effective writing.  The 6+1 Traits define what good writers do, but research tells us that our feedback is most useful it's focused on a particular skill. So when we Notice It, we pick one specific skill or craft and use mentor texts to help students identify how a writer does, or does not, effectively use the skill.

The next stage, Practice It, combines Guided Instruction and Collaborative Practice steps of the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model.  During this phase, the teacher utilizes the strategies of Shared Writing and Collaborative Writing.  Let me first define what I mean by these terms, since they mean different things to different people and are sometimes used interchangeably.  We'll define Shared Writing as a class working together, with the guidance of the teacher, to create or revise a piece of writing.  Shared Writing encourages risk taking, provides students with feedback, and allows teachers to evaluate students' readiness for collaborative practice.  Based on student interactions, the teacher can confidently decide who is ready to move on, as well as which students would benefit from additional guided practice.  The next step, Collaborative Writing, is when students work in groups or pairs to practice the skill.  Together, Shared Writing and Collaborative Writing comprise the Practice It phase of our instructional framework for writing.

The final state, Try It, has students performing the skill on their own; often editing a piece that they have previously written.

The follow writing lesson provides an example of the Notice It, Practice It, Try It instructional framework.

Skill Focus: Using Specific Nouns (Word Choice Trait)

The purpose of this skill focus is to have students use specific nouns instead of more general ones. For example you would write, "I ate a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich" instead of, "I ate lunch."

Notice It (Mentor Text)

Students will analyze two writing samples using Word Choice Trait criteria to determine what each writer does effectively or ineffectively.  The proficient writing sample, 'A&W', demonstrates the writers' ability to use specific and precise nouns.  The other example, 'My Trip to Colorado', contains general nouns.  Both samples were written by students, but not the same students who will analyze them.  Students will work in pairs to revise 'My Trip to Colorado' in the Practice It step.

Practice It (Shared Writing and Collaborative Writing)

Shared Writing: The class has been working on a descriptive piece about their field trip to the Nature Center where they built bird houses.  They've created a complete draft and are now in the revising stage.  Together they will choose at least three nouns to replace with more specific nouns.  For example, they might replace tools with hammer and nails. 

Collaborative Writing: Students will work in pairs to revise a piece of writing by replacing at least three general nouns.  If necessary, the teacher will meet with a small group of students during this time to provide additional support and practice with the activity, but he or she may also move about the room and provide feedback to collaborative groups. 

Try It (Independent Application)

Students will revise their own piece of writing by replacing at least three general nouns with more specific nouns.

Why Collaborative Writing?

Sometimes we tend to think that older students don't need Shared or Collaborative Writing, but this couldn't be further from the truth.  In fact, I use Shared Writing and Collaborative Writing with learners of all ages, including teachers.  Time after time, teachers tell me how much fun it was writing collaboratively with their peers.   Not only does it make the learning more fun, but the end product is better. 

If we can provide our writers the same positive experiences and small successes, it won't be long before teachers hear the phrase, currently popular in our home, "I can do it myself!"

Resources:

1. Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey (www.fisherandfrey.com) are recognized as experts on The Gradual Release of Responsibility Model. 
2. The Writing Fix www.writingfix.com This site, sponsored by the Northwest Regional Educational Library, is a great place to find information about trait writing, mentor texts, and lesson ideas. 
3. At www.thetraits.org, also by Northwest Regional Educational Library, you'll find writing samples to use as Mentor Texts with students.

Using Writing to Improve Test Scores in Other Content Areas

The Providence Journal (Rhode Island) reports of a school wide program that uses writing to improve student achievement levels in science, math, social studies, and the arts.

Students at Mt. Hope High School scored especially poorly on free response questions on standardized tests, resulting in only 19% reaching proficient or above.

School leaders worked with teachers to create cross discipline writing assignments for HS Sophomores. Included in the work was for teachers to assess how well other teachers were grading the student assignments. Teachers commented that this was some of the best professional development they had ever received.

In less than one year, the school showed a gain from 19% proficient to 27%. While still not where they want it, teachers are hopeful that another year will show even larger gains.

Files for Designing a Writing Program webcast

Here are the handouts for the webcast by Dona Young on Designing a Writing Program for the At-Risk Student:

Slides

Writing Assessment

Designing a Writing Program for the At-Risk Student

Five Steps That Can Make a Difference

by Dona Young

The following is a preview of The Writing Teacher free webinar that will be offered on Thursday, September 24 at 2:00 Eastern time. In this webinar, Dona Young will explore teaching solutions for at-risk students. The address for the webinar is here, but this event is now full. Please let us know if you want us to repeat it at a later date. For more from Dona on teaching writing, see The Writer's Tookit.

Even good writers have trouble facing a blank page. To students who consider themselves non-writers, writing presents a constant stream of hurdles: writing feels like an infinite challenge with no tangible road to progress—good writing is a mystery, and confronting the unknown can wear down even the best of us.  

For example, when at-risk students write a paper, feedback about even their most simple errors can reach beyond their understanding. Let’s take "Suzie" as an example. One Friday afternoon at the end of the first week of a writing skills class, Suzie came up to my desk; she was crying. My first thought was, "Oh my gosh, what did I say to hurt Suzie?" So I asked, "Suzie, what’s wrong?"

Suzie responded, "Ms. Young, all through high school I kept hearing about subjects and verbs, and I really never knew what my teachers were talking about until now. I feel so relieved that I finally understand and don’t have to pretend anymore."

Though Suzie was a very bright student, writing had felt overwhelming for her; she didn’t know what to do or where to begin to improve. And clearly her teachers tried to help her, but even the most basic feedback about her mistakes went right over her head. While Suzie could write clear and complete sentences most of the time, she couldn’t write them all of the time; and when she didn’t write correctly, she couldn’t grasp what was wrong. Suzie didn’t understand what a sentence was; as a result, the words "run-on" and "fragment" were illusive to her.

Though Suzie’s sudden insight about her skills was unique, her confusion was not: other students feel equally as lost, and sometimes their teachers feel that way too. Suzie taught me a great deal that afternoon; in fact, whenever I listen to my students, they always teach me important lessons.

One way of listening to students is getting an accurate assessment of their skills and how they feel about learning, so let’s start by taking a look at some formal and informal methods of getting feedback.

1. Become an action researcher: use quantitative and qualitative measures in your design.

• Qualitative feedback—a constant and steady stream of it—helps us connect with students’ learning needs and their perceptions about learning.

Technology has given us the perfect way to check in with our students regularly. Send your students an e-mail asking them how they are doing in class and requesting that they respond with a process memo. In a process memo, your students discuss what they are learning and how they are feeling about what they are learning.

You can also ask your students to attach a process memo to revisions: they describe their process, their corrections, and what they learned. By doing a process memo, they are discussing the changes that they made in their writing; verbalizing what they are learning helps makes them more conscious of their actions and brings them to a higher level.  

A way to get qualitative feedback from the whole class is by doing a chalkboard evaluation. The simplest way is simply to say, "How are things going?" and then write their comments on the board. A more structured method would be to use the start / stop / continue format. Ask your students:

• What is going well in class and that you want to continue?
• What is something that you wish we would start doing?
• What is something that you wish we would stop doing?

Once again, as students give their feedback, write it on the board. Asking students for their feedback makes them feel more connected and respected.

• Quantitative measures give us an accurate idea of what our students know and, more importantly, what they don’t know.  

If you don’t already give your students a pretest, consider using one. By giving a post-test at the end of the semester, your students can see their individual improvement and you can see their aggregate improvement. You can use this information to gain insights into your students’ skill profiles.

Once you have their pretest scores, use the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives to gain insight into what your students’ scores mean and how to design your curriculum to meet their needs.   

2. Use the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives to identify learning gaps.

The Taxonomy of Educational Objectives breaks learning objectives into six hierarchical levels: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

By using the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives to interpret student skill profiles, we can understand why some students work so hard and make so little progress: when students do not comprehend the basics, higher-level objectives are out of reach, beyond their understanding.

In other words, Suzie could correct mistakes once a teacher pointed them out and coached her, but her pattern of errors continued because she had not learned the basic principle at the core of her mistakes. Suzie knew that she didn’t understand something basic, but she couldn’t verbalize what it was—that is, until she finally learned the core principle that gave her insight and enabled her to fill that specific learning gap. Filling the learning gap also meant that she could now correct a pattern of errors, not just isolated mistakes, which is much more rewarding.

How Suzie felt about writing was also an important element of the learning environment, so let’s take a look at how to address feelings and beliefs that hold students back. 

3. Embrace the feelings and experiences behind the belief, "I can’t write."

Students who can’t write know that they have challenges. They also believe they are unique; in other words, they do not understand that writing is difficult for everyone. As Suzie revealed, she tried to pretend that she understood, hiding it as much as she could from her teachers.

One activity that you can use to open up this dynamic is to have a popcorn discussion about the topic, "What is difficult about writing?" Simply write the question on the board, and then have students share the details about what they find difficult. As students randomly and spontaneously give their responses, write snip-its on the board. Here are some of the responses that you can expect:

getting started, having ideas evaporate before they hit the page, using grammar and punctuation correctly, spelling, writing an introduction, being too wordy, getting off topic, writing a conclusion, and the list goes on.

In addition to opening up the energy in the classroom, everything that your students share gives you insight into how to structure their learning.

As a follow-up, consider giving your students an assignment entitled, "My History as a Writer," in which they give details about how they complete a writing assignment, the kinds of feedback they have received, and so on. Allow students to choose whatever title fits their story. One student asked me if he could use the title, "Why I Don’t Write." Since that time, I have used that title as an example, encouraging students to be honest about their experiences with writing and their feelings about it. (As part of their 1 ½ to 2-page paper, also encourage them to write about what is good about writing after they gotten past the challenging aspects of writing.)  

When your students return to class with their assignment, break them into pairs and have them read their papers out loud to each other. One of the lessons that they glean from this assignment is that they are not alone in their frustrations with writing—everyone has challenges and fears.

Writing at its best is messy, so let’s talk about the process. 

4. Focus on the process.

Writing is a process, but most students do not understand the process because they are overly consumed with the product: getting the grade, meeting the expectations, being good enough, not looking stupid, and getting words down perfectly.

When I ask a group of students, "How many of you try to get the words right in your head before you put them on the page?," generally more than half of them raise their hands. When I ask them if they think that is the right approach, once again the majority generally raise their hands. But in every class, a few students say they write whatever is on their minds, and that’s a good thing.

Clearly, most students do not know the difference between composing and editing—one of the most critical dividing lines to apply on the road to building writing skills.

Though they have learned brainstorming techniques, they may have forgotten about them. After we do a mind-map together, students are excited that they have a tool that captures their ideas on the page before their ideas evaporate. Teaching students the difference between composing and editing is exciting; but after they know the difference, the follow-through to compose freely is up to them (with periodic coaching, of course).

However, editing is another issue altogether, and more of my students have editor’s block than writer’s block. Students who have editor’s block are the ones who finish a draft and don’t know what to correct: they hold their breath as they hand in their papers and then wait for their teacher’s feedback. For students who don’t know how to edit, "first and final draft" seems to be their only option. Let’s talk about editing next.   

5. Teach students to fish: give them editing workshops.

For the sake of argument, let’s identify a traditional approach for teaching writing and then use it as a springboard for comparison. Loosely stated, traditional writing classes focus on writing and revising, not on editing.

When students write essays and papers, teachers give them feedback on their errors; in other words, teachers do the "fishing" for them. That could be because, for the most part, grammar and mechanics are not part of the curriculum—there’s no time, there’s no room, and there’s no fit. Instead, students focus on developing their critical writing skills, receiving individual feedback on errors and structure. If they have questions about grammar or mechanics, they rely on a handbook.

For some students, this approach works like magic, but not for all. And the at-risk student is the one who is likely to fall through the cracks. At-risk students’ papers are often so riddled with errors that individual feedback can feel isolating and defeating. Progress comes slowly—one correction at a time; this approach can also be time-consuming and tedious for the teacher.

However, we can untangle the mystery of writing and bring some fun back into the process by giving a series of workshops that cover basic core principles essential for all writers. By working with a set of principles that builds a common vocabulary about punctuation and other elements of editing, students become better editors. They learn that errors come in patterns, and learning core principles helps eliminate patterns of errors.

Once students can identify and correct their own errors, something shifts. They not only feel more empowered to write, they also mull over their writing more, which may help them gain additional insight into their topic. Some of the common editing elements to cover are the sentence core, conjunctions, punctuation, verbs, pronouns, active voice, and so on.

Thank you for taking the time to be concerned about my "Suzie" and yours. Working with at-risk students is a challenge as well as a reward. Good luck with your writing classes!

New Webinar: Why Can't Suzie Write?

Webinar Title

Why Can't Suzie Write?

Designing a Writing Program for the At-Risk Student

Webinar Description

With almost half of all students entering college needing remediation to bring them up to college level reading and writing, many colleges are struggling to support at-risk students.

Dona Young, author of Writing from the Core and Which Comes First, the Comma or the Pause?, will describe the five steps that make a difference in designing a writing program for at-risk students. This webinar will help you structure your remediation programs around proven techniques.

Why Can't Suzie Write is being hosted by Farimah Schuerman of The Writing Teacher and is sponsored by College Starter skills remediation from LearningExpress, LLC and the Wimba Collaboration Suite.

Webinar Date:

Thursday, September 24, 2:00 Eastern Daylight Time

To Register:

http://www.wimba.com/company/events/1714

Cost:

None