Throughout the class, but particularly after reading Zwiers Chapter 8, I have been wondering about the kinds of writing I should be cultivating and asking students to complete in my discipline of Home Economics. Writing probably will play a more prominent role in Family Studies and Psychology classes. However, what kind of writing will depend on the learning objectives and context of the classroom. For example, at my practicum school, the priorities of the Psychology class are student engagement and developing social-emotional health strategies and life skills. No form of writing is an explicit prescribed learning outcome, but Chapter 8 helped me see how the writing process is formative rather than strictly summative assessment. As a student writes, they explore their own ideas more fully, and a written product allows the teacher to give richer feedback.
As I struggle with the writing process myself, I tend to hesitate making writing a large part of my summative assessment. During my practicum, I want to further explore how I can encourage reflective and academic writing, while respecting varying levels of ability and without making writing so stressful that students hate it altogether. Some ideas include assigning in class journaling activities, providing writing prompts and leaders, and limiting feedback to one or two specific things the student can work on so that the student does not become overwhelmed. I am also planning on attending some writing workshops myself. Hopefully I can learn to make the writing process less stressful, and share those insights with my students.
