Entry #5

For this week's assignment, I was asked to read Chapter 4 of Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product by Tompkins along with the article Giving Feedback: Preparing Students for Peer Review and Self-Evaluation by Philippakos. Both readings helped me to gain a better understanding of how to help students improve their writing skills, however, the activities that I completed in class pushed me further to reflect on the importance of peer review and self-evaluation.

During class, I was asked to look at three pieces of writing and determine what qualities of each piece were strong along with qualities that could have been elaborated on more deeply. After reading these pieces written by fifth-graders, I was surprised to discover how well I was able to critique their work and look at what elements were either included or not included in their writing. This activity was very eye opening for me because I have never been a huge fan of peer review or self-evaluation. In the past, whenever I have been asked to peer review someone's work I became very anxious and nervous because I didn't want to give them misleading information or not provide sufficient feedback that my partner could take away from our time spent together. I've always felt that I needed to be an "expert" at writing in order to give appropriate feedback. However, I'm finally realizing that peer review is simply a means for someone to gain another's perspective on how their piece is coming together. I understand now that I don't have to fix someone's writing to make it perfect, but I must be open to giving my personal view of the piece and a new perspective. The activity that I completed in class really helped me to see peer review in a different way.

Along with the activities I completed in class, Philippakos also helped me to gain insight on peer review and self-evaluation in the article. I believe that my negative views of peer-review have formed because of the experiences I've had in classrooms where I was asked to peer review someone's piece of writing. I don't think my teachers ever explicitly taught me what peer review looks like, but instead simply told us to take a look at another's paper. This was the biggest take away that I took from this article because I think it's crucial for teachers to spend time talking about what peer review looks like so that students aren't confused with what is expected of them when they begin to peer review. I also believe it's important for teachers to not assume that students have learned these skills in previous classrooms. I think it's beneficial for students to review these skills each year because it's such an important part of the writing process. Even small things such as knowing how to peer review is essential for students to apply to not only what they are writing in class, but to their overall education and personal growth.

Another part of the Philippakos article that I really enjoyed learning about was the sample rubric for self-evaluation and peer review of story writing. I think the sample they provided is a great framework for teachers to use in their classrooms in order to help students include key elements when writing stories. I think creating goals for current and future papers is another great piece of the rubric because then students have something concrete and specific to work towards rather than becoming overwhelmed when asked to revise or edit a piece of writing. When I think about ways I will incorporate peer review and self-evaluation in my future classroom, I want to include a rubric similar to the one Philippakos provided.

References

Philippakos, Z.A. (2017).  Giving feedback:  Preparing students for peer review and self-evaluation.  The Reading Teacher, 71(1), 13-22.  DOI: 10.1102/trtr.1568

Tompkins, G. E.  (2019).  Teaching writing:  Balancing process and product (7^th ed.).  UpperSaddle River, NJ:  Merrill.