HOW TO USE “PEER FEEDBACK” EFFECTIVELY TO IMPROVE WRITING SKILL FOR 10TH GRADERS AT THIEU HOA HIGH SCHOOL

It explores the strengths and limitation ofpeer feedback in teaching and learning writing skill, the real situation of givingwritten corrective peer feedback at my school and how to make

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

THIEU HOA HIGH SCHOOL

EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE

HOW TO USE “PEER FEEDBACK” EFFECTIVELY TO

HOA HIGH SCHOOL

The author: Trinh Thi Loan Job position: Teacher

Subject: English

THANH HOÁ – 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pages

I INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale for the study 1

2 Objectives of research 2

3 Research methodology 2

4 Scope of research 2

II PROBLEM SOLVING 3

1 Theoretical background and practical background 3

1.1 Theoretical background 3

1.2 Practical background 3

2 Peer feedback implementation in writing lessons at my school 4

2.1 Difficulty 4

2.2 Key Strategies 4

2.3 Procedures of conducting peer feedback in the study 5

2.3.1 Preparations 5

2.3.1.1 Determining how peer feedback fit into the course 5

2.3.1.2 Designing peer feedback worksheets for peer feedback session 5

2.3.1.3 Creating an assessment system in peer feedback peer feedback 6

2.3.2 Before the peer feedback session 6

2.3.2.1 Demonstrating a “mock” peer feedback session 6

2.3.2.2 Guiding of producing and responding to comments in peer feedback … 7

2.3.2.3 Assigning permanent groups of peer feedback 7

2.3.3 During peer feedback sessions 7

2.3.3.1 Structuring peer feedback with clear instructions and time limits 8

2.3.3.2 Being a supervisor and a guide 8

2.3.4 After peer feedback sessions 8

2.3.4.1 Assessing the completed peer feedback worksheets 8

2.3.4.2 Seeking and incorporating student input 9

2.4 Application of peer feedback in writing lessons in grade 10 at my school 9 2.4.1 Procedures 9

2.4.2 Examples of application of peer feedback 10

3 The result of researching 15

III CONCLUSION AND PROPOSAL 15

1 Conclusion 15

2 Proposal 16

2.1 To teachers 16

2.2 To student 16

REFERENCES 17

I INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

Writing is wildly viewed as a process and it requires contributions of timefrom teachers and students in order for it to achieve satisfactory results Thesedays, there have been a lot of techniques recommended to boost students’writing competence From my teaching experience, I am convinced that givingwriting feedback is of great importance because feedback is considered anindispensable component of instructing and learning process, theimplementation of effective feedback, therefore, plays a key role in improvingstudents’ writing skill

Unfortunately, in reality, assessing or grading writing papers andproviding students with feedback in overcrowded classrooms has become a realchallenge for teachers in my rural teaching context In some classrooms, forexample, the student to teacher ratio is 100-150 students per teacher Teaching

in such overpopulated classrooms limits the feedback the teachers can provide tostudents so opportunities to receive it are often scarce in classrooms This iscertainly the case in large language learning classes at my school

Another factor posing a challenge for promoting students’ writingdevelopment of is that teachers have limited time to grade students’ papers Thisoften means students receive feedback long after completing a written task,making it hard for them to work on their weaknesses and improve on theirstrengths before completing subsequent writing assignments Receivingfeedback late definitely does not help students learn better

This practical situation raises a big question is that “how can teachersprovide their students with credible and timely feedback?” Peer feedback mayrepresent one way of responding to this question I have applied this kind offeedback in my writing classes for long enough to assure its great significance inmotivating students’ participation, cultivating their critical thinking anddeveloping their ability of self-regulated learning Students becomeinformation-and-assistance providers for they have sufficient time, energy andresource It is especially applicable to large-size English classes in school

The above reasons have inspired me to conduct my initiative with the title

“How to use peer feedback effectively to improve writing skill for 10 th graders

at Thieu Hoa high school” with the hope of sharing my experience about using

peer feedback in teaching writing skill

2 Objectives of research

2.1 For the students

- Provide learners with an overview of how to perform peer feedback in writingexercises

- Help students to enable to find the mistakes in the writing papers and correctthem quickly and effectively

2.2 For the teachers

- Find out the most effective methods to improve students’ writing skill ingeneral and the method of applying peer feedback in detail

- Know how to stimulate students to improve their writing skills

3 Research methodology

I write this topic based on:

- The method of studying theory

- The method of investigating

- Applying the topic to real teaching English at Thieu Hoa high school

- Comparison, collation and summary of the result, effect of the topic

4 Scope of research

The scope of this study is limited to “peer feedback” carried out in writinglessons in English 10 at high school It explores the strengths and limitation ofpeer feedback in teaching and learning writing skill, the real situation of givingwritten corrective peer feedback at my school and how to make use of peer

II PROBLEM SOLVING

1 Theoretical background and practical background

1 1 Theoretical background

Writing, unlike speaking, is not an ability we acquire naturally, even inour first language - it has to be taught Writing is a system for interpersonalcommunication using various styles of language (Jalaludin, 2011) It plays afundamental role in our personal and professional lives In academia, writing hasbecome central as a measure for academic success

Giving feedback in writing is an activity after students have written acomplete draft of a paper, but while there is still time for substantial revision or

it can be carried out in the post-writing

Peer feedback means feedback from your fellow students If you areworking on the same assignment as another student, peer feedback can meanexchanging drafts and comments on each others' drafts Providing peer feedbackcan better students’ own writing skill By giving feedback to friends, studentsoften begin to think more flexibly about their own writings This experience willpromote the student’s ability to take the grader’s perspective when theyfeedback their own work before submitting it for a grade Furthermore, peerfeedback gives students responsibility for critiquing writing (and thinking),rather than putting all the responsibility on teachers The hope is that they willinternalize this process and carry it on independently, to the benefit of theirfuture work

1 2 Practical background

Most of the teachers at my school consider peer feedback as an ineffectivetechnique for improving students' writing and prefer teacher feedback to peerfeedback They believe that teachers are only ones who have high knowledge toprovide feedback to students' writing and peer feedback is time-consuming.Until now hardly have English teachers at high school in my province used peerfeedback in teaching writing skill and students are generally not used to giving

or receiving peer feedback during a writing lesson I met with a lot ofdisapproval when I told my colleagues about my intention of applying peer

feedback in a writing lesson They suppose there is not enough time for peerfeedback They have been following these procedures when teaching writinglessons.

A traditional writing lesson plan at my high school includes:

I Warm-up (5 minutes): Games or checking the old lesson.

II Pre – writing (12 minutes)

Prewriting is the preparation the teacher and students do before studentsbegin to draft the paper In this stage, vocabulary is taught and structure orformat is prsented Usually, some tasks designed in the textbook are carried out

III While – writing (13minutes)

Students begin to put the paper in paragraph form They may write theirpapers individually, in pairs or in groups Teachers observe and help

IV Post – Writing.( 10 minutes )

Teacher gives feedback The more time the teacher has, the more papers

he / she gives feedback to

V Homework (5 minutes)

form (10B) when they were required to write a paragraph (100 words) about their daily activities when the teacher follows the traditional writing lesson plans This test was done at the beginning of the school year.

I have observed a lot of such writing lessons and I wondered how I canget students more involved and active, how I can make writing lessons morelearner- centred, and how to shift the focus of activity from the teacher to thelearners because teaching activities, after all, should focus on learners,considering learners as the center of teaching and cognition process

2 Applying peer feedback in writing lessons at Thieu Hoa high school.

2.1.Difficulty

Many students were too shy to pronounce a judgment on their peers’writing They might not desire to hurt a partner’s feelings or simply theirinexperience with providing constructive criticism on a peer’s work Besides,some students might not know how to comment on one another’s writingconstructively because over the years they have not received helpful feedbackfrom teachers grading their papers In addition, many students are likely toassume that it is only the teacher’s feedback that “counts.” Even when they takeseriously feedback provided by their peers, students often do not know how toincorporate that feedback when they revise their papers To respond to thechallenges described above, I read a lot of books, articles on the internet andcome up with some strategies that I find useful in my application of peerfeedback

2.2 Key Strategies

Firstly, I identified and taught the skills required for peer feedback Ilisted the skills that students should learn and put into practice whenparticipating in peer feedback such as writing skills (writing clear, specific

comments and questions), and collaboration skills (phrasing critiques in adescriptive, constructive way)

Secondly, I developed checklists and guidelines for students to use whenthey evaluate their peers’ written work in terms of some certain aspects oflanguage such as grammar, syntax, vocabulary and learning strategy and bore in

my mind that peer feedback becomes questionable if students are asked toallocate grades to their peers Therefore, grades should be the teacher’sresponsibility because peers do not like being accountable for misjudging theirpeers

Thirdly, I taught peer feedback as a vital part of the writing process Ireminded students that the process of producing academic and professionalwriting generally involves three steps: drafting, revising, and editing Peerfeedback is often most helpful to student writers when it is utilized between thedrafting and revision stages, or after each student has produced a complete draft,but while there is still time to make substantial changes A writer might learnfrom peer-feedbackers The purpose of peer feedback as a prelude to revision is

to help the writer determine which parts of the paper are effective, and which areunclear, incomplete, or unconvincing

Lastly, I described peer feedback as an opportunity for students to learnhow to write for an authentic audience and defined the role of the peerfeedbacker as that of a reader, not an evaluator Participating in peer feedbackcan help them learn to shape their written language as a medium ofcommunication with readers

2.3 Procedures of conducting peer feedback in the study.

2.3.1 Preparations

2.3.1 1 Determining how peer feedback would fit into the course.

Before applying feedback to writing lessons, I decided in which writinglessons in the course would include a peer-feedback session I gave the time thatwas required to conduct peer-feedback sessions successfully, in Tieng Anh 10,peer feedback would work best in about 10 minutes Then I decided when peer-feedback sessions would occur The ideal time for peer feedback is afterstudents have written a complete draft of a paper, but while there is still time forsubstantial revision I looked over my course schedule, made time for a “mock”peer-feedback session before I asked students to feedback one another’s writing,

so that they could learn to identify and began practicing the skills necessary forpeer feedback

2.3.1 2 Designing peer-feedback worksheets for peer-feedback session.

are suitable for students’ levels and feedbackers can complete during thesession I often provide students guiding questions or checklists to use whenthey evaluate their peers’ written work Besides, I often demonstrate to studentswhat to focus on and how to communicate about their peers’ written papers.Here is an example of a set of guiding question I used for peer feedback in theunit 1: writing a narrative

Narrative writing rating scale: Type of Evaluation:

peer (Circle one):

The story has a well-thought-out setting

The story has well-thought-out characters

The story has a conflict

The story has a solution to the conflict

The writing contains correct capitalization

The writing contains correct punctuation

The writing contains words that are correctly spelled

Comments: -Peer-feedback worksheets should ask the feedbacker to begin by offering

a positive comment about the paper After that point, the peer feedbacker’s role

in commenting should be descriptive; each feedbacker should describe hisresponse to the paper Examples of specific tasks include:

- Indicate which parts of the paper the reader finds most or least effective, andwhy

- Identify the thesis

- List the major points of support or evidence

- Indicate sentences or paragraphs that seem out of order, incompletelyexplained, or otherwise in need of revision

2.3.1.3 Creating an assessment system in peer- feedback

I have thought carefully about the kind of comments that I would providestudents when I feedbacked drafts and graded papers and deciding how I wouldgrade students’ contributions to peer-feedback sessions

I assigned a point-value to different aspects of the work required for peerfeedback The following example illustrates a point-system approach to gradingstudent performance in peer feedback:

Brought 2 copies of paper to class: 5 pts

Provided peers with specific, constructive written feedback: 0-5 pts

Participated actively in discussion of each paper: 0-5 pts

Wrote specific response to peers’ feedback: 0-5 pts

Total score for each peer-feedback session: 0-20 pts.

2 3.2 Before the Peer-Feedback Session

2.3.2.1 Demonstrating a “mock” peer-feedback session.

First, I copied and distributed a brief sample paper submitted by a student

in an earlier semester The chosen paper is typical of students in grade 10 Next,

ask students to take 2minutes to read the paper and 5 minutes to write somecomments, using a peer-feedback worksheet If time allows, you can askstudents to work in groups of 3-4 to produce written comments; if you do so,give them an additional 4-6 minutes for group discussion.

After students have produced written comments individually or as agroup, use a document camera or overhead projector to show some feedbackingcomments to the class When necessary, follow-up with questions that help thestudents phrase their comments in more specific and constructive ways Forexample, if a student comments, “I like the first paragraph,” you might ask, “canyou tell the writer what you find effective or appealing about that paragraph?And why?” Your aim should be to help students understand that the point oftheir comments should be to describe their experience as readers with specificlanguage, not to praise or condemn their peers or to tell the peer how they wouldwrite the paper

2.3.2.2 Guiding students how to produce and respond to comments in peer feedback

As your students need to learn and practice the skills involved inproviding constructive feedback on their peers’ writing, they will also need tolearn how to respond, as writers, to the feedback they receive Therefore, youmight consider including in the “mock” peer-feedback session, described above,

an exercise in which you ask your students to put themselves in the position ofthe writer and come up with a plan for revision based on the comments that theyand their classmates have formulated in response to the sample paper

Students must learn how to approach a peer-feedback session with anopen mind Often, undergraduate students go into a peer-feedback sessionthinking that their papers are essentially “done” and need to be edited orchanged only slightly They “hear” only those responses that confirm this viewand they end up making very few changes to their papers after the peer-feedbacksession and before submitting the final draft to the instructor It is useful toinstitute a rule that prohibits writers from speaking when peer-feedbackers areoffering feedback

An exception might be made in a case in which the writer does notunderstand a feedbacker’s comments and needs to ask for more information Inaddition, instructors should require each writer to respond in writing to theirpeers’ comments

2.3.2.3 Assigning permanent groups of peer-feedback

Peer feedback should be carried out in groups of three, If so, each studentwill be feedbacking the papers of two peers during each peer-feedback session,but each group will discuss three papers It is best to assign students to groups,rather than to have them define the groups themselves Students often want toform groups with friends, which may actually create difficulties As you maywant to explain to your students, it can be more difficult to provide honestfeedback to a writer when that writer is a friend Moreover, assigning students tothe groups will allow the instructor to ensure that the groups are heterogeneous

in terms of, for example, student ability, gender, race, and academic major Suchheterogeneity can enhance student learning in groups When the time is limited,the teacher should ask students to work in pairs.

Maintaining the pairs or groups throughout the semester will help yourstudents build the trust that is necessary for peer feedback to be successful Youshould encourage your students to speak with you if they find that their peer-feedback groups are not functioning as well as desired, but you should alsomake it clear that you are interested in helping them find ways to work together

to solve whatever problems have surfaced

2.3.3 During Peer-Feedback Sessions

2.3.3.1 Structuring each peer-feedback session with clear instructions and time limits.

To start each session, distribute peer-feedback worksheets (see above),explain how students should complete the worksheets, set time limits, and askeach group to designate one person as a time-keeper to make sure that the groupstays on schedule Peer-feedback sessions can be accomplished in 10-15minutes If instructors find that more time is preferable, consider asking students

to read their peers’ papers before coming to class (This is for giving peerfeedback on homework)

The following is a peer-feedback schedule that can work in a minute class When writing papers in Tieng Anh 10 are around 100- 200 wordslong, peer-feedbackers should spend about 10-15 minutes reading andfeedbacking each paper: 5 minutes reading the paper (tell students to read eachpaper twice) and 5-10 minutes writing comments

45-After all 3 students (or 2 students) have finished commenting on thepapers submitted by their peers, the group (the pairs) should then devote 2minutes to a “discussion” of each paper During this discussion, the 2feedbackers should present spoken feedback to the writer If feedbackers feeluncomfortable with providing spoken feedback, they might start by reading theirwritten comments out loud to the writer Doing so can produce the added benefit

of helping the feedbackers clarify their written comments As noted above, thewriter of the paper should not speak during this discussion, except perhaps toask a clarifying question

2.3.3.2 Being a supervisor and a guide

Even with clear instructions, peer-feedback sessions can go awry.Circulate throughout the session to make sure that the groups stay focused.Listen carefully to the spoken feedback, and use questions to help students maketheir comments as specific and descriptive as possible For example, if you hear

a student saying, “I was confused by the third paragraph,” you might promptthem to say more by asking, “Can you tell the writer where you got lost?” or

“What word or phrase confused you? Why?” Students will soon learn to supplysuch details themselves Paying attention to how the groups are functioningoverall can help you determine whether you need to give additional guidance tothe class as a whole

2.3.4 After Peer-Feedback Sessions

2.3.4.1 Assessing the completed peer-feedback worksheets

Whether or not you are grading the responses that feedbackers and writerswrite on the peer-feedback worksheets, you should read the completedworksheets to get a sense of what students are actually doing during the peer-feedback sessions and how they are responding to one another’s comments.Having the students turn in the worksheets also helps you communicate to themthat you are taking the peer-feedback process seriously Instructors should alsogive students feedback on their performance during peer feedback so that theyknow what they are doing well and what they should try to improve upon

2.3.4.2 Seeking and incorporating student input.

I feedbacked completed peer-feedback worksheets when I graded papersnot only to evaluate individual student performance, but also to gauge thesuccess of the peer-feedback sessions and to determine what you might do toimprove them

- Are students writing thoughtful comments that provide an adequateamount of detail? If not, spend some time in class before the next peer-feedbacksession giving students suggestions for how to phrase comments in a specific,constructive way

- Are students using the peer-feedback worksheets to develop thoughtful responses to peer comments?

- Are they coming up with plans for revision that take into account at least some of their peers’ comments?

Around midterm, I asked students to complete anonymous evaluationforms that include questions such as, “What is the most important insight that Ihave learned as a result of the peer-feedback process?” and “What can be done(by the instructor or by students, or both) to make the peer-feedback sessions runmore smoothly?”Be prepared to hear that the peer-feedback sessions are notfunctioning as well as you believe they are, and be open to making changes thatincorporate your students’ observations and ideas In other words, model thesame open-mindedness to revision that you want them to display as writersduring peer feedback

In conclusion, the procedures of my applying peer feedback can briefly belisted as following:

Step 1: Introduce the technique “peer feedback” to students and

emphasize the need to use it in writing process

Step 2: Demonstrate examples of student writing and appropriate and

inappropriate peer feedback responses Have students engage in providing peerfeedback with it

Step 3: Provide students a handout that contains peer feedback guidelines

and a set of useful phrases for responding appropriately to classmates’ texts.(seeappendix 3)

Step 4: In each lesson, assign students a writing task, ask them to

complete the first draft (10minutes) and then exchange their papers in pairs orgroups of three to perform peer feedback (6 minutes)

Step 5: Have students rewrite their paper after receiving peer feedback Step 6: Assess the completed peer-feedback worksheets from students

Step 7: Collect and compare the first draft and completed paper after

responding to peer feedback to see any improvement in students’ products

2.4 Application of peer feedback in writing lessons in grade 10 at Thieu Hoa high school

2.4.1 Procedures of applying peer feedback in a writing lesson.

My writing lesson has these activities

I Warm- up (3 minutes)

- Checking the attendance

- A game to get students involved in new lesson

II Pre-writing (5 minutes)

It is important to ask students to prepare for the new lesson at home ashomework (by completing handouts designed by the teacher / ask students tohand in the handouts for teacher to mark)

1 Giving feedback for handouts prepared at home

- Teacher shows the keys or a model (on a poster or on a screen)

- Confirming the structure (usually elicit the structure or format from thestudents)

II While- writing - 30 minutes

- Controlled writing (8 minutes)

(The teacher feedbacks on the board - students exchange their papers comment)

- Free writing (22 minutes)

* First draft: 10 minutes

* Peer feedback: 6 minutes (Students base on the peer feedback sheet given tocomment their partner’s writing)

- Rewriting: 6 minutes

III Post writing: Teacher feedback (showing 2 examples) – 5 minutes

IV Homework: 2 minutes

2.4.2 Example of the application of peer feedback in English textbook 10 2.4.2.1 UNIT 1 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF………….

- use the past simple and past continuous tense to write a narrative

- develop writing and collaboration skills

2 Educational purposes:

- Understand values of life after having frightening experience

- Be proud of themselves as they can work together to write an interestingnarrative.

B PROCEDURES

I BEFORE WRITING

- Ask students to look up new vocabulary in the textbook, do Task 1 and Task 2,Task 3 at home as homework (They can do this well because they have books,dictionaries and the internet)

- The teacher quickly gives feedback to what the students have done at homeand elicits the format of a story from the students

II WHILE WRITING

Controlled writing (8 minutes – They can do this task quickly because they haveprepared at home)

Use the prompts below to build up a narrative about a hotel fire

2 Free writing.( 22 minutes )

Write about a hotel fire you know

Steps:

Students work individually to write the first draft (10 minutes)

Peer feedback (6 minutes)

Students work individually to write their stories after receiving feedback fromtheir partner (6 minutes)

Peer feedback sheet

Writer: ………

Reader: ………

1 Is the thesis stated?

2 Does the story have a strong beginning?

3 Is time order used to organize the story’s events and is the past simple and thepast continuous tense used correctly?

4 Do transition words help move the story along?

5 Is every sentence important to the story?

6 Is the writing free of misspellings?

7 Are words capitalized correctly?

8 Are sentences punctuated correctly?

9 Is the piece free of fragments and run-ons?

10 Is the paper neat, legible, and presented in an appropriate format(introduction, body and conclusion)?

III POST WRITING (5 minutes)

- The teacher gives feedback to 2 or 3 stories as examples

HOMEWORK (2 minutes)

2.4.2.2 UNIT 3: WRITING ABOUT PEOPLE’S BACKGROUND.

A.OBJECTIVES: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to write aboutpeople’s background

B PROCEDURES

I BEFORE WRITING: