Back to Learn More
|
|
Using the Rubric to Assess the Effectiveness of the Technology
When we have our students write compositions, a traditional component of the assignment is to proofread. Often we have students proofread each others’ work, an exercise that at best, can identify errors missed by the author; at worst, suggest changes which are wrong.
No one learns to spell by studying spelling words. Want proof? Can you spell “Barack Obama”? Or “emoji”? Did you ever have either of those on a spelling test? Granted, spelling tests can be useful. Just not useful for learning to spell. The research and publications done by Stephen Krashen suggest that the most effective, simplest, and possibly the easiest way to learn spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization is through reading. In the research paper I wrote, students composed a piece of writing, then proofread their own work, specifically looking for errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation or capitalization. In the post-treatment survey, students identified errors that the Chrome extension “Grammarly” caught which they themselves missed after they had proofread their own writing. As reported by the students, the most common errors Grammarly found which were missed by the students were errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling. IDENTIFYING ERRORS Here is an example of a seventh grade student’s narrative writing. The student was asked to proofread their work before submitting it for grading. 
|
LESSONS
HOW-TOs
REFERENCES
|
USING GRAMMARLY
Here is the same text with spelling, grammar, homonym and capitalization errors highlighted in yellow:
Here is the same text with spelling, grammar, homonym and capitalization errors highlighted in yellow:
The author needs to find a peer who can carefully check the work and find errors the author had missed before the author submits the writing. Unless the author can find an excellent student editor (i.e. a good reader), errors will remain undetected. If that doesn’t happen, the author has the option to employ technology. In the case of my research paper, that was the Chrome extension Grammarly.
My research paper relied on the adapted writing rubric we have developed at our site. Below is the “Language and Conventions” portion of the rubric used in the scoring and measuring in the comparison of the two groups of students who were the subjects of the treatment.
My research paper relied on the adapted writing rubric we have developed at our site. Below is the “Language and Conventions” portion of the rubric used in the scoring and measuring in the comparison of the two groups of students who were the subjects of the treatment.
