Some Take-Aways from Amanda Hartman's Workshop on Writing Continuua

Last weekend I traveled to Muscat, Oman with my 7th grade colleague to attend a weekend workshop led by Amanda Hartman of Columbia University's Teacher's College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP). This workshop focused on using the new CCSS-aligned continua for writing as a tool to study student work. Since Amanda is a primary level expert, most of her examples were from the early elementary grades, although she did bring in a few upper elementary examples, and she tried to address some middle school concerns for those of us in the audience.

By the end of the weekend, I had a few take-aways:

1. The collaborative work we have done over the past four years in middle school around reading and writing workshop has paid off in a cohesive, vertical spiral. This take-away is a result of the many conversations I had with my 7th grade colleague around the student work samples we each brought, the thinking we shared around what we do with students, and how much we trusted each other to voice concerns or issues in our classes. Although I am less confident with the sixth grade program because those teachers are newer, I know that the flow from 7th to 8th is a smooth progression. 
2. Having tools aligned to both the CCSS standards and TCRWP units of study can save us a lot of time and energy. The assessment rubrics we use now were developed collaboratively within our department. There was value in that, especially through the discussions we had around what we were looking for in writing at each grade level, and how to write a good rubric. As we shift to the CCSS next year, though, it will be nice to have the rubrics, checklists, continuua, and exemplars already made for us. Of course we will gather our own exemplars as well, but having some on hand as we jump into our revised units is great.
3. Breaking out some of the discrete skills from the continuum and turning it into a "mini-rubric" can make those skills more visible. For example, one of the more important skills on the writing rubric is the ability to elaborate. Last month, I gathered a Social Studies essay from my students that showed very little elaboration (or, according to the instructions, "explaining"). I decided I would break down what "explaining" was at 4 levels of complexity, including an example for each. When I returned the essays, I asked the students to compare their level of explanation to the rubric and evaluate where their essay fell. Most could see they were at the 1 or 2 level. I then asked them to pick one thing they would do differently next time they needed to explain something, and write that goal at the bottom of their rubric. Throughout this next unit, they have been practicing explaining ideas to their partner, using the Explaining rubric as a reminder of what is expected. My hope is that there will be a jump in their elaboration on the next essay.
   
4. 4. Amanda's recommendation of doing on-demand writing as a pre- and post-assessment for all three genres makes my head explode. My grading load is at a level now that I can barely keep up with it. One writing piece takes me at least 5 minutes to read, and then at least another 5 minutes to evaluate. Add in comments or noticings of student strengths and weaknesses, and there goes another 5 minutes. Multiply those 15 minutes by 45 student samples, and multiply those 11 hours by 6 on-demands plus 4 writing projects for grading, and there would be nothing left of my life except assessing writing. I understand the value: I can see what students can do on their own without any support or assistance. But to be realistic, there's got to be another way.

It's good to break away from the routine of teaching to examine our practices and challenge our thinking. I think the work of using the CCSS/TCRWP continuua to assess student work is not something we are ready for yet. However, as we launch into our revised units next year, they will be wonderful tools to have on hand, as well as a focus for more collaborative conversations.