Orientation for GTAs—GTA Preparation for Grading and Responding to Undergraduate Writing

1. Orientation for GTAs—GTA Preparation for Grading and Responding to Undergraduate Writing Sue Doe Assistant Professor of English Colorado State University Sue.Doe@colostate.edu

2. Overview of Orientation Day One • Introduction to the CSU gtPathways writing integration • A Sample Assignment--Overview • International Student Writing • GTA panel Day Two • Holistic scoring/sorting—developing criteria, applying criteria, revising criteria—and why • Analytic scoring—strategies and choices Day Three • Commenting/responding to student writing • Common problems students have with academic writing; grading and responding as part of the instructional team • Interventions through peer review, conferences, office hours

3. Day One • Introduction to the CSU gtPathways • writing integration • A Sample Assignment—Overview • International Student Writing • GTA panel

4. Day 2 • Holistic scoring/sorting—developing criteria, applying criteria, revising criteria—and why • Analytic scoring strategies and choices • standard rubrics • anchor papers • continuum approach • Writing @ CSU (online resources) • The CSU Writing Center

5. Day Three • Commenting & responding to student writing • Common problems students have with academic writing; grading and responding as part of the instructional team • Interventions through peer review, conferences, office hours • The TILT Teaching Certificate

6. Local Writing Resources • http://writing.colostate.edu • Google search possible on virtually any writing topic. Over 100K pages of writing information, most authored at CSU. • Writing tools available through Writing Studio-keep track of your drafts, your biblios, your reading, etc. Same tools available for undergrads and others • http://writing.colostate.edu/gtPathways • specialized resources to support your efforts with your assistantship • The Writing Center and WAC • Visit Eddy 6 (The physical writing center) or submit papers electronically for feedback • Request a workshop on any writing subject

7. gtPathways What it is, where it came from

8. State Guaranteed Transfer: gtPathways • gtPathways Curriculum Adopted as part of the CCHE (now CDOE) Academic Affairs Policy I, Part L: Statewide Transfer Policy. • Built upon concepts found in the Student Bill of Rights (a.k.a, the King Bill), § 23-1-125 C.R.S: • “The Commission, in consultation with each Colorado public institution of higher education, is directed to outline a plan to implement a core course concept” • “The core of courses shall consist of at least thirty credit hours, but shall not exceed forty credit hours” • “Individual institutions of higher education shall conform their own core course requirements with the guidelines developed by the Commission…”

9. One Policy Goal of gtPathways Students shall have assurance of: “A quality general education experience that develops competencies in reading, writing, mathematics, technology, and critical thinking through an integrated arts and science experience.”

10. Major Changes to Colorado Colleges and Universities Adams State College: Faculty Senate agreed to adopt gtPathways curriculum for institutional general education curriculum Fort Lewis College: Restructuring entire general education curriculum to meet gtPathways requirements; modifying junior-level writing courses to meet gtPathways requirements (i.e., 200-level) University of Northern Colorado: Charting the Future; reducing general education course offerings to 60-70 courses; restructuring curriculum to meet gtPathways curriculum Colorado State University: Integrating writing into general education AHUM and SOCS courses (20% - 25% of grades in writing assignments); adding 3 credit hours in AHUM

12. Memorandum of Understanding MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS WRITING IN AUCC COURSES IN LIBERAL ARTS Effective Fall 2007 All AUCC courses in Categories 3B, C, D and E of the core must satisfy the following requirements regarding writing. These must be clearly stated on the syllabus for the course. 1. Goals for writing in AUCC courses: There are two goals for writing assignments in AUCC courses: (1) to improve students’ comprehension of course content (2) to improve students’ proficiency in writing. Note (1): Both of these goals are best achieved when students receive feedback on their writing assignments and have an opportunity to make use of that feedback.

13. MOU continued… 2. Writing requirements: • At least 25 percent of the course grade must be based on written work that satisfies the following: • At least one writing assignment must be an out-of-class piece of written work(2) • In-class written work, such as on exams, must be in the form of essays • Note (2): While this represents a minimum standard, to maximize the benefits to students of more writing multiple opportunities to write and respond to feedback are recommended, such as: • Several out-of-class writing assignments.OR • One or more rewrites of an out-of-class writing assignment.

14. MOU continued 2. Writing Requirements (continued) • Expectations of written work must be clearly stated on the syllabus. Among other things the instructor considers appropriate, those expectations should include students demonstrating: (3) • The ability to convey a theme or argument clearly and coherently. • The ability to analyze critically and to synthesize the work of others. • The ability to acquire and apply information from appropriate sources, and reference sources appropriately. • Competence in standard written English. • Note (3): Instructors should use their own discretion in communicating to students the relative importance of the various expectations in their own writing assignments in terms of how they will be graded.

15. MOU continued 3. Plagiarism Statement: • More writing in AUCC courses also brings the risk of increased incidents of plagiarism. It is strongly recommended that instructors have a statement in their syllabus that clearly states that plagiarism in not acceptable and is a form of academic dishonesty. • Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty. As per university policy “Any student found responsible for having engaged in academic dishonesty will be subject to an academic penalty and/or University disciplinary action.” • The CSU General Catalog defines plagiarism are follows: “Plagiarism includes the copying of language, structure, ideas, or thoughts of another, and representing them as one’s own without proper acknowledgement. Examples include a submission of purchased research papers as one’s own work; paraphrasing and/or quoting material with properly documenting the source.”

16. Copies of Written Competency Guidelines of College of Liberal Arts MOU Simply send an email request to: Sue.Doe@colostate.edu Say: Please send MOU

17. What Matters in College Writing? • Write for 5 minutes about • the qualities of writing that you believe all first-year college students should develop—essential abilities they’ll need • your beliefs about student writing ability right now and what that belief is based upon • the kinds of support students need to improve • where, how, and when writing instruction should be given in college contexts • Put your name on this piece of paper as you’ll be turning it in. Bring to front table at the end of session today or at a break. • Discuss your beliefs with 2-3 neighboring people

18. Grading—Becoming Part of the Instructional Team • Support and instruction, formative feedback vs. justification of the grade • Consistency and fairness • Criteria-based grading vs. norming • Time management through Hierarchies of Rhetorical Concern • Holistic and Analytic Evaluation

19. Hierarchy of Rhetorical Concerns Audience, Purpose, Occasion Focus: Thesis, Reasons, Unity/Coherence Development: Reasons, Evidence, Explanation Style/Mechanics/Conventions: Readability, Care and Polish, Patterns of Error

20. Hierarchical Concerns Detailed Audience • Who is the writer’s audience? Is this an academic audience? What are the expectations? Purpose • Is this piece of writing intended to inform? Analyze? Explore? Summarize? Argue? Development • What kinds of evidence does the audience expect? Does the context demand clarification through examples, data, etc.?

21. Hierarchical Concerns continued Organization • Is the writing organized in a coherent way? • Do transitions guide the reader through the logic of the paper? Style and Conventions • What style is appropriate for the context in terms of audience and purpose? What register or level of formality Is appropriate? (For instance, can the writer use “I” in this context?) • Are there locations where the writing is hard to follow or comprehension is disrupted? If so, can I discern why? • Are there patterns of error showing any of the Top Five DASTARDLY SENTENCE ERRORS—1) subject–verb agreement, 2) run-on and fragmented sentences, 3) unclear or incorrect pronoun agreement, 4) verb tense inconsistencies, 5) weak comma use

22. Grading For What Matters—Purposes of Assignments What is the TASK being required by the assignment—to inform, to explore, to convince, to describe, to compare, to summarize, to persuade? Find the VERB or VERBS and you’ll know the task. Is this • a thesis-provided paper for which students must defend of refute? • a problem-solution paper in which students are given a problem or question that demands a thesis and support? Is • a data-provided paper for which students are expected to analyze and explain? • a genre-provided paper, in which students are expected to follow an organizational structure or format in an accepted form, such as a memo, case study, lab report, or executive summary? • write-to-learn or write-to-engage writing for which students are expected to explore and/or develop their thinking rather than to produce a polished paper? • an in-class essay, reflecting comprehension of course material?

23. The Assignment: HI 151 Spring 2009 U.S. History Since 1877Assignment #2 Answer the following question regarding the Great Depression based upon a careful reading of McElvaine’s book Down & Out in the Great Depression

24. HI151 Writing Assignment 2 The Great Depression was the most severe economic depression that the U.S. has ever experienced. The period’s deprivations affected all Americans in some way and helped to exacerbate the gap between the rich and poor, the comfortable and the destitute. One of the biggest factors that influenced people’s responses to the Great Depression was their position in society, their class. Did working class Americans’ attitudes and actions toward the Great Depression and the New Deal differ from those of middle-class Americans? If so, why, and if not, why not?

25. Recommendations provided with assignment sheet Organize your paper as follows: Introduction: In a short paragraph, clearly state your argument that directly answers the question. Give a general statement about why or why not attitudes and actions differed between the groups

26. Recommendations, continued 2. In 2-3 paragraphs give pertinent and appropriate examples from the book and the letters that support your contention. These must be carefully chosen and described with some detail. With each example, explicitly explain how your example proves your point. These sentences should serve as the topic sentences of the paragraphs that include your examples. Avoid vague generalities and do not use direct quotes from the book. Show us you have read the book.

27. Recommendations, continued 3. Conclusions: In a final paragraph, discuss your argument’s implications for how we can define “class” in America. If you argue that attitudes and actions did not differ between the two classes, can we say that classes exist in America? Are we a classless society? Are there values that unite all Americans, regardless of socioeconomic position? Or, if differences do exist, how do we distinguish between them? What defines the working class from the middle class?

28. Additional Advice Given Students • Think about the question on each book given in class. Review your notes on the book with the question in mind. • Determine your answer to the question and organize your argument into an outline before writing • Write your paper following your outline. Your outline and subsequent paper should follow the format described on the assignment sheet • Your paper must be two double-spaced pages that are handed in at the time of the discussion

29. Grading—HI 151 Papers will earn a letter grade that considers the following components: • The clarity of the argument. Does the student state his/her contention in the introduction and does he/she prove it with good examples from the book? • The appropriateness and description of the examples used. Does the student only generally describe or does he/she provide detail and explanation of the examples? Has the student read the book? • The organization of the essay: Is the essay well organized and well written? • Proper grammar and spelling. Work from an outline and carefully edit your own writing.

30. Holistic Process • In groups of three, do a “read-around” of the set of three papers you now have. Sort High, Medium, and Low. • Before you begin reading the sample papers, read through the Holistic Scoring Rubric for a Thesis-Restricted Paper.

31. Sort, Read, and Comment (or Stop, Drop, and Roll) You would apply the same strategy if you had a set of papers here. You would skim through the set of papers. While this sounds like a time-consuming extra step, it actually saves you time in the long run. Here’s what you might do if you had that stack: • Sort into three stacks—high, medium, low • If possible, stack within categories (High + and High -) so that you have 6 stacks • Read with hierarchy of concerns in mind • Provide an end comment that is forward-looking and focused • Substantiate end comment with a few marginal comments

32. As you arrive, Select Paper 1, 2, or 3 according to your last name If your name begins with A-H, take a copy of P1 If your name begins with I-R, take a copy of P2 If your name begins with S-Z, take a copy of P3

33. Write to Engage • What was the most helpful feedback you’ve ever gotten on a piece of writing? • What made it helpful? • What was the least helpful feedback you’ve ever gotten on a piece of writing? • What made it less than helpful? • As you hear others’ experiences, what generalization(s) can you draw?

34. GRADING Remember: you are only assigning a grade; students earn those grades. You do not GIVE grades. They do not GET grades. Consider using a 24-hour moratorium and a conference appointment system for grade protests Ask Your Faculty Supervisor: Are you allowed to return a paper ungraded in the case of careless or unacceptable work with a 24-hour window of opportunity before default to F?

35. Use a scoring tool to assist with grading Consider Three Approaches standard rubric benchmark and anchor papers continuum approach

36. Approach #1: Anchor Papers Consider writing an evaluation criteria paragraph that explains what’s necessary to earn a C paper on this assignment. In other words, what MUST a paper accomplish to be deemed “adequate” and to exceed this lowest, acceptable standard? --The C paper has a clear thesis or focus, shows a satisfactory degree of development /support of points, and is reasonably easy to read/follow --The B paper does everything the C paper does but goes further to provide deeper development of points, a more satisfactory selection of evidence, a coherent structure/organization, and a more compelling set of insights --The A paper does everything the B paper does but goes further to provide a more unified, fully developed, and polished paper that is a pleasure to read because it offers good insights that are expressed well It can be useful to distribute or post this explanation

37. Approach #2: Standard Rubric as Scoring Tool Component Parts • Assignment itself • Dimensions/priorities/criteria • Scale with levels of achievement. Levels can be continuums or reflect categories such as “proficient,” “competent,” “needs work.” Can associate levels with points • Specific commenting room/space * Be careful to not create a checklist effect. Remember that meaningful quality indicators are needed. Too much detail can create student confusion & grader anguish!

38. Rubric that Combines Holistic and Analytic FeaturesDimension Excellent Competent Needs Work Overall Comment: Grade: ___

39. Steps for Creating Standard Rubrics or Scoring Sheets • List key elements/features to assess, based on course and assignment objectives • Refine and simplify key elements, then consider their relative importance or weight • Place most important dimension at the top • Do a common sense check to see if weighting of criteria is meaningful. Avoid points. Percentages are better but keep them broad. Too much refinement can lead to “grade-grubbing.” • Decide if you will comment on the rubric or on the paper itself. Commenting itself is not optional. • If using rubric, decide if you’ll give feedback on all criteria or only on certain ones, as well as in an end comment • Make clear where the overall grade appears

40. Analytic Rubric for HI151 Paper Does this work? What are the problems? The clarity of the argument The appropriateness and description of the examples used The organization of the essay Proper grammar and spelling.

41. Note Differences—Does this work?

42. Consider the Point in the Semester & Feedback Opportunities • If there are several pieces of writing assigned or if feedback is given with opportunity for revision, then consider that you may shift the expectations for a rubric • Early in the semester, students will need to learn about focusing and providing a clear thesis. Later the emphasis can shift to development • If there is only one paper assigned, then there are fewer opportunities to make these changes in priorities

43. Revision Feedback—early semester

44. Approach #3: The Continuum Approach Once you have determined the most important aspects or criteria for grading, consider using a continuum to describe where the student is in their application of this criteria. This avoids the oft-times awkward approach of assigning points with criteria-based evaluation. Example (criteria 3) from the Washington State U “Critical Thinking Guide”: Identifies and considers salient perspectives and positions important to the issue’s analysis Scant Substantial ----------------------------------------------------------------

45. Grading Criteria Listed on the HI 151 Assignment Sheet 1) Clarity of argument and organization 2) Quality of analysis. You need to make your position on the issue clear. Provide arguments that are supported by information (i.e., evidence) 3) Quality of writing. Your ideas need to be clearly expressed. This includes proper spelling, grammar, expression of ideas, and citation of sources

46. Apply One of the 3 Scoring Systems Number off 1-3 and prepare to do ONE form of scoring Write a description of your scoring procedure for this assignment Show others in your group the way your application would look or how it would be described for students Select best example of 1, 2, 3 and show whole group

47. Discussion • Which forms of scoring do you like best or do you like pieces of each kind? • Would you combine strategies from the three approaches? • What strategy do you think you’ll take with grading, if you’re allowed to choose your own method? • What recommendations would you make to others about scoring?

48. Minute Paper and the Muddiest Point • Write for one minute about the most important strategy you learned today • Write for one minute about some topic from today’s session that you’re unclear about or would like more information on

49. As you arrive, Select Paper 1, 2, or 3 If your name begins with A-H, take a copy of P1 If your name begins with I-R, take a copy of P2 If your name begins with S-Z, take a copy of P3

50. Managing Your Time Through a 3-Part End Comment • Sum up the strengths of the paper • Identify the main problems to be worked on • Provide a specific suggestion for how to improve the paper, based on the main problem(s) already identified And Remember: • You can’t respond to everything in a paper. • There are real people on the receiving end. • Comments are not principally for “justifying” a grade. Your are providing formative feedback students can use with the next paper, even if it’s not in this class. • Consider using questions in your marginal comments.