Using a writing sample to frame an inquiry

Jessica Craig – Literacy Adviser

Learning activities for this session:• we will have thought about our own first literacy

learning and shared these thoughts with another person

• you will have a model of one way of using a writing sample to frame a writing inquiry based on the principles of formative assessment

• you will have used Feuerstein’s “killer questions” to think about how you might use the inquiry model in your own work

How did you learn to read and write?What do you remember about your first/early

reading and writing experiences…?

At school, at home? What stories do you remember? Who read to you? What early books do you remember? What did you write? Triumphs/defeats?

Spend about 5 minutes writing down your thoughts – we will share them so write for an audience of your peers.

What was the purpose of that activity?

Definition of formative assessment: “…those activities undertaken by the

teachers, and by their students in assessing themselves [sic], which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. Such assessment becomes ‘formative assessment’ when the evidence is actually used to adapt teaching work to meet the needs. [sic]” (Black & Williams, 1998b p2)

Key features of formative assessment:

• the richness of the task and the quality of the questions the teacher asks;

• the quality of the feedback;

• sharing the criteria with the learners;

• self and peer assessment

(Marshall,2004. p 6)

Where does teaching as inquiry begin?

What sort of ‘problems’ might spark an inquiry?

(Brainstorm)

What might spark a teaching inquiry?• Poor achievement assessment data e.g. e-

asTTle results or asTTle writing results• Assignments done badly• Shoddy research report writing (cut and

paste) • Inadequate reading comprehension

answers• Poor writing

Writing sample task:

• Get into groups of three round the writing samples.• Imagine this is a response from a Year 9 student who

was asked to write an autobiographical piece about a time they were sick.

• Using the pens provided mark the text to show where you would like some more information.

• Think of questions you would like to ask the author. Write them underneath.

Taken from “Perspectives on English Teaching 5”, English Assessed,

Bethan Marshall, NATE, (2005)

Now listen to the extract from Cider with Rosie, Laurie Lee (Hogarth Press, 1961)

• Have all your questions been answered?• Which questions elicited more interesting

information?• Use this experience to make a list of criteria

for a piece of autobiographical writing – what makes a story about you interesting to a reader?

After hearing the original:

• Have all your questions been answered?• Which questions elicited more interesting

information?• Use this experience to make a list of criteria

for a piece of autobiographical writing – what makes a story about you interesting to a reader?

Analysis of the task

If we go back to the four key features of formative assessment how would we evaluate this task?

Key features of formative assessment:

• the richness of the task and the quality of the questions the teacher asks;

• the quality of the feedback;

• sharing the criteria with the learners;

• self and peer assessment

(Marshall,2004. p 6)

Things that are particular (or peculiar to) to English…“If we understand English as both the

development of the imagination and the ability to create meaning, through language, out of the messy business of the every day, then the idea that knowledge can simply be transmitted, as opposed to constructed then shaped, becomes harder.” Marshall, 2004

Feuerstein’s “Killer questions”

• How did you do that?

• Where else could you use that process?

How to use this task in other subject areas:Get people to find examples of writing for

specific purposes.

Go through the same process or get them to compare two samples from the same task.

Encourage teachers to use this task to co-construct success criteria with students.

Replicate the moderation process with students to develop critical thinking.

Any comments or suggestions?

Thank you