Beyond Best Practices: The New Frontier of Responding to Student Work

Tialitha Macklin

Background: Creating the Study

• Focus on Assessment with a Focus on Revision

• WSU’s Composition is Portfolio-Based

• Commentary/Response/Assessment

• Conferences as Best Practice

• Technological Advances

• Hypothesis:

• Students and Teachers Would Prefer Audio

Response to Written Response

@timacklin

Background: Methodology

• Teachers = iAnnotate App with iPad and Adobe

Reader

• Students = Dropbox and Adobe Reader

• Voice Annotation Only

• Control – Written Feedback

• Pre (Survey 1) and Post Surveys (Surveys 2A and

2W)

@timacklin

2013-2014 Study

@timacklin

• Participants

• 530 Student Participants (ENGL 100,101,105)

• 11 Teacher Participants

• Surveys

• 1 – 428 Student Participants

• 2A – 225 Student Participants

• 2W – 112 Student Participants

Study Results –

Choice of Response

@timacklin

Study Results –

Choice of Response

@timacklin

• Higher Than Average Preference for Audio

(22%) -

• African American Students (56%)

• Hispanic/Latino Students (33%)

• Students with Multiple Ethnic Identifications

(40%)

• Other Ethnic Identifications (33%)

Study Results – Choice of Response

(Audio Preference)

@timacklin

Study Results –

Choice of Response

@timacklin

• Lower Than Average Preference for Audio (22%) –

• ESL Students (15%) – Preferred Conferences

• Students Over 26 Years Old (0%) – Preferred

Conferences

• Basic Writing Students (0%) – Preferred Combo,

Conferences, and Margins

• Native American Students (0%) – Preferred

Conferences

Study Results – Choice of Response

(Non-Audio Preference)

@timacklin

Study Results –

Explanation of Choice

@timacklin

Conclusions

@timacklin

• Use Technology Critically

• Audio Response is Not a Panacea

• Doesn’t Work Well for Everyone

• Does Work Well for a Select Population

• Give Students Choice in Response Type?

Future Work

@timacklin

• Analyze Revision Using These Same

Participants

• Expand Analysis of Student Demographics Who

Do Choose Audio in Future Study

• Analyze How Choice in Response Type

Influences Revision

• Dialogic Response Study in Progress

Beyond Best Practices: The New Frontier of Responding to Student Work

Tialitha Macklin

tialitha.macklin@wsu.edu

www.timacklin.com