I posted a while ago however, I'm not sure if my post ever showed up! I'm new to this blog thing too! Anyway, my question is:
What would happen when a group of students who struggle to turn in high quality work engage in peer editing? Will the quality of work improve?
I have started collecting data on my small group and what I've noticed from two of the students is very interesting. They have actually paid more attention to details than they have in the past. I'm really hoping this trend continues. I'm trying to get one other student on board with the routine of editing buddies; she's my real challenge because not only is the quality of her work "not so good" its basically a major accomplishment for her to turn anything in! Any inventive ideas on how to motivate kids to take responsibility for their time and actually complete work? I feel like I've tried everything with this particular student.
Heather
3 comments:
It's so cool that you are already seeing some impact on kids' work! That must feel great. As for the student who is posing a challenge, is there a potential editing buddy whose enthusiasm for completing work might rub off a bit? I'm wondering if she worked with a peer who was highly motivated and you built in some special "rewards" that the two of them could share (e.g., getting to go to the office to share their completed work with the principal or school secretary on certain days) if that might spark some motivation. Just a thought. I'll look forward to hearing more about your project as we proceed!
I am interested to know more about what you are doing because I think it is something that would work in my room too. About the girl you have trouble getting work from, have you tried all the obvious things, like talking to her parents? I had a little girl with the same problem and I have seen improvement only because I called her mom and got her involved and she gets rewards at home for good reports. Sometimes good old fashioned bribery is ok if it works. I asked the mom to reward her with meaningful things like time together. Right now it is the only thing that will get her to complete work because she didn't really care about anything else.
Elizabeth and Cassie,
Yes. I've done the parent conference "thing." They also have a home reward system in place. I also did strategically place her with a very motivated, high performing and enthusiatic student. My thinking was that this might rub off on her. Well. . . not so much!
It is very frustrating because basically, with this little one, if she isn't interested, she just won't do the work regardless of reward or consequence. I literally have to sit and prod her every step of the way with her work. My editing experiment isn't totally working with her - however, it does show promise with other types of students in my class. I think the students who are high performers but rush through are totally benefiting from peer editing. So far, that's where I see a difference.
I do like the idea of celebrating completed "good" work with the principal or another role model type person. I'll have to think about that one.
Thanks for your comments!
Heather
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