What Student Writing Teaches Us: Formative Assessment in the Writing Workshop

The earlier that teachers think about instruction, and the sooner that students self-assess their progress, the better the final writing product will be. What Student Writing Teaches Us: Formative Assessment in the Writing Workshop provides practical suggestions for teachers of writing. This book offers no “easy” solutions, because assessing writing is not an easy endeavor. Framed within the context of writing workshop, the book examines the reasons for reading student work and provides various methods for helping students improve as writers. Formative assessment presents teachers with multiple opportunities to read student work, with a clear focus, thereby supporting students in all stages of the writing process.



Chapter topics range from rubrics to grades, from self-assessment to paper load. Student work samples from all stages of the writing process emphasize the importance of considering each piece of writing a student creates, no matter how brief, as an opportunity to learn. Individual, small-group, and large-group discussions illuminate the need for feedback within writing workshop. Every suggestion in the book has been classroom tested with the help of "experts"―students ages five to fourteen―who are quoted throughout the book.

Mark is a native of Colorado, and received his education at the University of Northern Colorado, Colorado College, and University of Colorado at Denver. He has over 30 years of teaching experience, most of it in Cherry Creek Schools in Denver, Colorado. He has worked as a classroom teacher in grades 2 through 8, a special education and Title I teacher, a coordinator for gifted programming, and as a literacy coordinator. Currently, Mark works full time supporting reading and writing workshops in schools around the US and internationally. Since graduating from the Learning Forward Academy, Mark also consults with schools and school systems as they move through any kind of change (implementing professional learning communities, embarking on standards-based reporting systems, designing effective feedback models...).

"I became a teacher because school has always felt like home. I never considered another profession. I began working in schools as a senior in high school. . . .I consider myself a lifelong learner, and so teaching is the perfect profession. Teaching is a process: an art that can never be perfected because each day brings new challenges. I work to become a more effective teacher every day, but I always know there is more to learn."

Mark worked for several years as a co-director for the Denver Writing Project, which is part of the National Writing Project. NWP is still one of the most important staff development experiences Mark has ever had: "The learning you do at a writing project site is impossible to duplicate: you become a writer, and you also have time to think deeply about your own teaching practices. I will forever be grateful for my experiences with NWP, and I continue to seek out their support as I learn more about writing, teaching, and learning." When it comes to professional development, Mark strives to model a process for writing that teachers can take back to their classrooms. "I try to make my staff development useful and concrete, but I push myself to think beyond the event itself. I listen to the needs of teachers during my presentations. I encourage interactive sessions so teachers have the opportunity to share their best thinking with colleagues."

Mark grounds his presentations in his own work with students and teachers and he is always current on research in writing instruction. As he was working on his most recent book, Let's Talk (Stenhouse, 2015), he spent a lot of time brainstorming and thinking prior to writing. "As I write, I tend to find my way as the words begin to form into thoughts, and then phrases, and then sentences. As soon as my ideas become very clear, I write two to three times per week, staying with each chapter until it is complete."

When Mark is not busy teaching, speaking at national conferences, or writing, he likes to travel and read and write poetry.