One of the biggest things that I got out of the Andersen's text was a teacher's goal should always be to create lifelong writers. A lifelong writer is someone who understands that writing is a part of everyday life and does not shy away from it but instead embraces it. Throughout the text Andersen points out what we as teachers need to focus on when giving both writing instruction and assessments to our students. These points are: understanding your student, having the proper conferencing techniques, and make lesson that support your students. We have discussed these ideas in depth in our class and they are supported by other professional text.
I think the most important skill Andersen talks about is knowing who your students are. It is important to understand what drives your students so you can properly assess their writing. Taking the time to know your students will help create a trusting bond and it is with this bond that you can find ways to take the student's work to the next level. A way to do this (as state by Andersen and many other professionals) is through active listening. Active listening shows the students that you are taking a genuine interest in their writing and that you want to be their partner and not just a person who can pass or fail their work. Teacher's must also understand a student background knowledge. This information will help you understand where your student is coming from and what experiences they can use to create meaningful pieces.
A writing conference is the key to a good writing unit. Andersen describes many different conferencing techniques that he finds help make the process easy and efficient. I really enjoyed that he used example of conferences that he had with students. I found it practically interesting that some of these conferences were with students that he had just met and he still found a way to help them successfully implement some new skill into their writing. I think conferencing is time when the student sees that the teacher is taking an interest on their individual work instead of just flying through a bunch a papers. It is during this time that meaningful conversations occur and students develop the skills need to understand how to critique and improve not only their own work but also their peers.
Andersen stresses having lessons that are challenging and also speak to your students. I thought it was interesting that he advocates not to have a writing unit planned out before getting to to know your students. Instead you should make your lessons cater directly to what your students are struggling with. I think this can be a little scary because you might not be able to plan as far in advance as you'd like but it will help students be able to directly apply the lesson into their writing. I like the idea of letting your students fully explore topics that interest them. I think that it might be hard to let go of control but students will make more meaningfully connections when they have a power in where their writing it going.
I think the most important skill Andersen talks about is knowing who your students are. It is important to understand what drives your students so you can properly assess their writing. Taking the time to know your students will help create a trusting bond and it is with this bond that you can find ways to take the student's work to the next level. A way to do this (as state by Andersen and many other professionals) is through active listening. Active listening shows the students that you are taking a genuine interest in their writing and that you want to be their partner and not just a person who can pass or fail their work. Teacher's must also understand a student background knowledge. This information will help you understand where your student is coming from and what experiences they can use to create meaningful pieces.
A writing conference is the key to a good writing unit. Andersen describes many different conferencing techniques that he finds help make the process easy and efficient. I really enjoyed that he used example of conferences that he had with students. I found it practically interesting that some of these conferences were with students that he had just met and he still found a way to help them successfully implement some new skill into their writing. I think conferencing is time when the student sees that the teacher is taking an interest on their individual work instead of just flying through a bunch a papers. It is during this time that meaningful conversations occur and students develop the skills need to understand how to critique and improve not only their own work but also their peers.
Andersen stresses having lessons that are challenging and also speak to your students. I thought it was interesting that he advocates not to have a writing unit planned out before getting to to know your students. Instead you should make your lessons cater directly to what your students are struggling with. I think this can be a little scary because you might not be able to plan as far in advance as you'd like but it will help students be able to directly apply the lesson into their writing. I like the idea of letting your students fully explore topics that interest them. I think that it might be hard to let go of control but students will make more meaningfully connections when they have a power in where their writing it going.
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