SWAP

– Student Writing Analysis Project

Purpose
To use insights from professional teachers to practice responding to and evaluating
student writing
Big Questions: What makes good ELA instruction?
Rationale
As teachers, you will respond to and evaluate students’ performances
on a daily basis. How will you make clear comments that both support
and challenge students? How will you evaluate in ways that both
maintain standards and acknowledge individual achievement? How
will you use assessment to inform subsequent instruction?
Assignment
For this assignment, you will use the S.W.A.P. archive at http://23.21.225.52/: this is a collection of
student writing with and without teacher comments, with information about the students and the
school context provided by teachers at different grade levels in different parts of the country.

Each option below involves exploring a “path” through the archive for a particular purpose, and then
returning to student writing you collected in your field placement to apply what you’ve learned.

Step 1 – Collect student writing at field placement
At some point during your field placement, you will collect a class set of student writing. You should do
this BEFORE you teach your own lesson (as a way to learn more about the students).

Step 2 – Come up with a research question
Generate a question that will guide your inquiry into the S.W.A.P.
data: what do you want to know about responding to student work?
Use this question to explore the archive, posting comments as you
go. If you prefer, you may choose one of the questions I’ve proposed
below (detailed versions of these “paths” appear on the S.W.A.P.
homepage):

o Option 1 – How can a teacher design and implement assignments that encourage students to meet
standardized criteria but avoid formulaic writing?

o Option 2 – What are the advantages and disadvantages of robo-grading?

o Option 3 - How can a teacher provide feedback that sensitively takes into account students' cultural
and linguistic backgrounds?

o Option 4 – How can a teacher provide feedback on students’ digital writing?

Step 3 – Respond to student writing; compose a follow-up lesson
Using what you learned from your research to analyze and respond to at least three pieces of the
student writing; include these with your final paper. Please make sure there is not already feedback
from your cooperating teacher: write your own comments, and explain why you would respond this
way to these three students. Then, compose a lesson plan that follows up on what you learned from
responding to these students: for example, what does the work/your response suggest you might need
to (re)teach to the class?
Criteria 4 3 2 1 0
Aligned The feedback on The feedback on The feedback The feedback on The feedback
students’ writing students’ writing (and on students’ students’ writing on students’
(and plan for plan for subsequent writing (and (and plan for writing (and
subsequent instruction) align with plan for subsequent plan for
instruction) align at state-adopted subsequent instruction) align subsequent
the appropriate content standards, instruction) with assignment instruction) do
level of rigor with assignment rubric align with rubric criteria, or not align with
state-adopted criteria, and potential assignment potential state-adopted
content standards, modifications rubric criteria, modifications content
assignment rubric and potential standards,
criteria, and modifications assignment
potential rubric criteria,
modifications or potential
modifications
Scaffold The feedback on The feedback on The feedback The feedback on The feedback
ed students’ writing students’ writing (and
on students’ students’ writing on students’
(and plan for plan for subsequent writing (and (and plan for writing (and
subsequent instruction) explain plan for subsequent plan for
instruction) are how and why the subsequent instruction) expl subsequent
specific and explicit, writer might revise instruction) ain how or why instruction) do
explaining how and this work and explain how the writer might not explain
why the writer approach a similar and why the revise this work how or why
might revise this task in the future writer might the writer
work and approach revise this might revise
a similar task in the work or this work
future approach a
similar task in
the future
Relevant The feedback on The feedback on The feedback The feedback on The feedback
students’ writing students’ writing (and on students’ students’ writing on students’
(and plan for plan for subsequent writing (and (and plan for writing (and
subsequent instruction) address plan for subsequent plan for
instruction) address issues relevant to the subsequent instruction) subsequent
important issues assignment and to instruction) address an issue instruction) do
relevant to the the individual writer address issues relevant to the not address
assignment and to relevant to the assignment or to issues relevant
the individual writer assignment or the individual to the
to the writer assignment or
individual to the
writer individual
writer
Diverse The feedback on The feedback on The feedback The feedback on The feedback
students’ writing students’ writing (and on students’ students’ writing on students’
(and plan for plan for subsequent writing (and (and plan for writing (and
subsequent instruction) employ a plan for subsequent plan for
instruction) employ variety of strategies subsequent instruction) subsequent
a variety strategies that sensitively instruction) employ instruction) do
that sensitively address diverse employ strategies that not employ
address diverse learners (e.g., strategies that address diverse strategies that
learners (e.g., students of different sensitively learners (e.g., address
students of different cultural/ address students of diverse
 cultural/ linguistic diverse different learners
linguistic backgrounds, ability learners (e.g., cultural/
backgrounds, ability levels, and learning students of linguistic
levels, and learning styles, including different backgrounds,
styles, including students with IEPs cultural/ ability levels, and
students with IEPs and who are ELLs) linguistic learning styles,
and who are ELLs), backgrounds, including
with awareness of ability levels, students with
the teacher’s own and learning IEPs and who are
writing history styles, ELLs)
including
students with
IEPs and who
are ELLs)
Justified The feedback on The feedback on The feedback The feedback on The feedback
students’ writing students’ writing (and on students’ students’ writing on students’
(and plan for plan for subsequent writing (and (and plan for (and plan for
subsequent instruction) are plan for subsequent subsequent
instruction) are informed by current subsequent instruction) are instruction)
explicitly informed research and instruction) informed by writing are not
by current research resources (e.g., NCTE are informed research and informed by
and resources (e.g., position statements, by research resources (e.g., research (e.g.,
NCTE position district and and resources NCTE position NCTE position
statements, district community (e.g., NCTE statements, statements,
and community resources) in both its position district and district and
resources) in both approach and its statements, community community
its approach and its content district and resources) in its resources)
content community approach or its
resources) in content
both its
approach and
its content
Focused The feedback on The feedback on The feedback The feedback on The feedback
students’ writing students’ writing (and on students’ students’ writing on students’
(and plan for plan for subsequent writing (and (and plan for writing (and
subsequent instruction) plan for subsequent plan for
instruction) thoroug thoroughly or subsequent instruction) subsequent
hly and specifically specifically demonst instruction) thoroughly or instruction) do
demonstrates rate knowledge of thoroughly specifically not
knowledge of important disciplinar and demonstrate demonstrate
important disciplina y content (e.g., specifically knowledge of knowledge of
ry content (e.g., purpose, audience, demonstrate basic disciplinar basic disciplin
purpose, audience, rhetorical situation, knowledge of y content ary content
rhetorical situation, genre conventions, basic disciplin
genre conventions, disciplinary writing ary content
disciplinary writing conventions, etc.)
conventions, etc.)