A Beautiful Mess in a Gracious Space
This week's Wyoming Writing Project adventures have brought us to Evanston, Wyoming.
Our institute work today centered on the assessment of writing. The elementary teaching participants are reading Joy Write by Ralph Fletcher. We all long for what he calls "greenbelt writing" in our teaching spaces. It's writing that goes off the path and is wild and free. We want to gift our students with this type of writing and allow it to build their confidence and creativity. In our romantic notions we hope they discover an inner author and fall in love with the written word. In our reality we hope we at least demonstrate to them the power of words and the need for clear written communication in life. We talk often about building in daily free writing time, privileging all types of writing in our classrooms, journaling, sharing, conferencing, talking about and with authors, publishing creative works, integrating content area writing, and modeling our own writing for our students. We love these conversations. We share lesson ideas and resources and our voices are high pitched, our bodies visibly displaying our engagement.
Today we took an online literacy assessment similar to what will be asked of our students in the near future. There were high pitched voices in the room but this was an indication of a different type of excitement known as stress. Our bodies were either stiff with shoulders raised to our earlobes as we bent over our computer screens or were limp in surrender, slumped in our chairs. It was a tough assessment and, though we wanted to assume the role of our students, it was nearly impossible to remove our teacher lens from our experience. We questioned the format of the assessment, the content of the assessment, the correct answers provided when completed. In the assessment we were asked to write an essay related to a reading passage. Mine was on found art and I had grown tired of guessing what I should do and wrote a very tongue in cheek essay about how I struggled with art in school and how you might say I "found" art difficult. I used humor to diffuse a stressful situation. How many of my students did this in years past?
The conversation for the remainder of the day became a series of questions that teachers appear to wrestle with at all levels. The reality of testing cannot be ignored and testing is not inherently evil. We must provide students feedback to foster growth. Writing clearly will make a monumental difference in their lives as they move on to be college and career ready. We are responsible for giving our students clear direction and guidance. Assessment is needed for our teaching to be informed, allowing us to provide instruction that our students need at the time it is needed. Assessment allows us to step in and support each individual student in their writing. Assessment provides an accountability that ensures writing is taught and not pushed aside by the demands of other content areas. We know this but the questions come. How do we balance joyful writing, work with the writing process, and skill and strategy work with activities that prepare students for formal assessments? Where do we find time for work on assisting our students in becoming comfortable and familiar with online testing formats and technology skills needed? Essentially, how do we balance test prep, formal writing, and greenbelt writing while building confidence in our students' writing identities?
I would love to report that we arrived at answers for all of our questions. I do have faith that, if any teachers can solve these complex issues, it is this group of gifted and passionate educators. I find it interesting as I reflect on today that puzzling through these issues with my writing family was oddly refreshing. I am rejuvenated in the problem solving and in knowing that there are others on this beautifully messy journey with me. The bottom line is that I believe that Wyoming Writing Project and our growing network of teacher consultants all over the state can support teachers with writing instruction and assessment. That gives me hope in finding the answers.
Evanston greeted us with open arms. We have found gracious people who are focused on making us comfortable and successful. We have enjoyed visiting local coffee shops, restaurants, and book stores and have been met everywhere with a warm reception. I am excited to meet teachers tomorrow and work with them through our PD sessions and a writing marathon around this gracious space in Wyoming.
Our institute work today centered on the assessment of writing. The elementary teaching participants are reading Joy Write by Ralph Fletcher. We all long for what he calls "greenbelt writing" in our teaching spaces. It's writing that goes off the path and is wild and free. We want to gift our students with this type of writing and allow it to build their confidence and creativity. In our romantic notions we hope they discover an inner author and fall in love with the written word. In our reality we hope we at least demonstrate to them the power of words and the need for clear written communication in life. We talk often about building in daily free writing time, privileging all types of writing in our classrooms, journaling, sharing, conferencing, talking about and with authors, publishing creative works, integrating content area writing, and modeling our own writing for our students. We love these conversations. We share lesson ideas and resources and our voices are high pitched, our bodies visibly displaying our engagement.
Today we took an online literacy assessment similar to what will be asked of our students in the near future. There were high pitched voices in the room but this was an indication of a different type of excitement known as stress. Our bodies were either stiff with shoulders raised to our earlobes as we bent over our computer screens or were limp in surrender, slumped in our chairs. It was a tough assessment and, though we wanted to assume the role of our students, it was nearly impossible to remove our teacher lens from our experience. We questioned the format of the assessment, the content of the assessment, the correct answers provided when completed. In the assessment we were asked to write an essay related to a reading passage. Mine was on found art and I had grown tired of guessing what I should do and wrote a very tongue in cheek essay about how I struggled with art in school and how you might say I "found" art difficult. I used humor to diffuse a stressful situation. How many of my students did this in years past?
The conversation for the remainder of the day became a series of questions that teachers appear to wrestle with at all levels. The reality of testing cannot be ignored and testing is not inherently evil. We must provide students feedback to foster growth. Writing clearly will make a monumental difference in their lives as they move on to be college and career ready. We are responsible for giving our students clear direction and guidance. Assessment is needed for our teaching to be informed, allowing us to provide instruction that our students need at the time it is needed. Assessment allows us to step in and support each individual student in their writing. Assessment provides an accountability that ensures writing is taught and not pushed aside by the demands of other content areas. We know this but the questions come. How do we balance joyful writing, work with the writing process, and skill and strategy work with activities that prepare students for formal assessments? Where do we find time for work on assisting our students in becoming comfortable and familiar with online testing formats and technology skills needed? Essentially, how do we balance test prep, formal writing, and greenbelt writing while building confidence in our students' writing identities?
I would love to report that we arrived at answers for all of our questions. I do have faith that, if any teachers can solve these complex issues, it is this group of gifted and passionate educators. I find it interesting as I reflect on today that puzzling through these issues with my writing family was oddly refreshing. I am rejuvenated in the problem solving and in knowing that there are others on this beautifully messy journey with me. The bottom line is that I believe that Wyoming Writing Project and our growing network of teacher consultants all over the state can support teachers with writing instruction and assessment. That gives me hope in finding the answers.
Evanston greeted us with open arms. We have found gracious people who are focused on making us comfortable and successful. We have enjoyed visiting local coffee shops, restaurants, and book stores and have been met everywhere with a warm reception. I am excited to meet teachers tomorrow and work with them through our PD sessions and a writing marathon around this gracious space in Wyoming.
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