Peer ConferencingPeer Conferencingthat drivesthat drivesRevisionRevision

Peer ConferencingPeer Conferencingthat drivesthat drivesRevisionRevision

55thth grade New Highland Academy grade New Highland AcademyOakland, CAOakland, CAAija Simmons Aija Simmons

msaija30@gmail.commsaija30@gmail.com

QUESTION

How does using a peer conferencing protocol support students with the revising step of the writing process?

DATA COLLECTION• Student writing samples

before and after revision• Peer conference recording

sheets• Conference video

DATA ANALYSIS• Looked for revising trends that

emerged across student work samples• Went through each sample and

recorded which revisions students made

• Listened to and analyzed video data for the types of supports students were giving each other to make revisions

• Looked for correlations between the structure of the protocol and the types of revisions students were making.

• Two Students discuss their writing using the protocol. The writer here is really trying to push her partner to give her feedback. Then they make conclusions about what changes they will make to their writing.

• There are students voices in the background who are also trying to navigate the conversation and make decisions on what revisions are appropriate

STUDENT’S REVISIONS

16 total work samples

Most students made more than one type of revision

FINDINGSThe conferencing protocol provides three main

supports . - Provides writing techniques that can be used to generate revision ideas - Author’s partner suggests a possible revision - Author realizes a needed revisionThe protocol supports students revising at the level of

the word, phrase, and sentence.The protocol does not seem to support overall

structural revisions or additions of text larger than 2-3 sentences.

The recording sheet does not capture the back and forth negotiations and thinking happening between the writer and the reader

IMPLICATIONS• A shift in my instructional emphasis

from drafting to revising and editing• Modeling the questioning used in the

conference to help students analyze material we read as a class

• A need to support students to set individual purposes for each piece of writing and an evaluation of rather or not they met that goal

• Early and ongoing practice analyzing author’s purpose during reading comprehension to support students ability to revise

CHANGES TO PRACTICE• Incorporate a structural graphic

organizer into revising process• Model making structural revisions

using graphic organizer• Encourage students to think about

how each paragraphs supports their main idea

• Make more connections between reading analysis and revising