“You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you,
and we edit to let the fire show through the smoke." - Arthur Plotnik
Peer editing is a crucial part of the learning process, especially when it comes to writing based subjects such as English and History. Peer editing is a practical exercise that engages students to learn interactively, rather than merely "burping back" facts. Peer editing does more than just help students edit their work before presenting it for a grade. It engages students; teaching them social skills and how to work in pairs or in a group, while practicing practical grammatical skills and language use in their writing.
There are effective steps students need to engage in when peer editing. These include: staying positive, be specific, and give compliments, suggestions (language, word usage, and paragraph structure), and corrections (grammatical errors). (Zardina, Adriana. http://www.slideshare.net/aszardini/tutorial-peer-editing-113187)
There are also ways one should NOT make suggestions during peer editing. Every now and then you're sure to run into a "Picky Patty" or "Mean Margaret", but students should be taught from the start that these are not effective ways to correct someone's mistakes.
Tim Bedley's video illustrating how one should NOT engage in peer editing illustrated this point very well. Its humorous nature illustrates a very true point that effective peer editing requires effective engagement. By this I mean that students should be taught the proper way to engage in peer editing, rather than adhering to one of the stereotypes performed in the video done by Mr. Bedley's class.
Mr. Bedley's Class Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBuq4qgRhCc&feature=player_detailpagePeer editing is an engaging and practical educational application that teaches students social skills and how to interact in groups and pairs.
In peer editing others' blog posts I prefer to leave a comment instead of sending an e-mail. This is because people usually respond more quickly to a comment being directly left on their page, rather than being mixed in with numerous e-mails. In addition, the recipient receives an e-mail letting them know someone has left a comment on their blog. Therefore by commenting, you get the best of both worlds!
In addition, blogger is an interactive network. Everyone can see the comments left (given the blogger's page is public). Therefore, leaving comments can start discussions and debates with other individuals increasing the learning network.
Lance,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I love the quote that you began your post with! Very refreshing. Your paragraphs are very thorough and easily read.
I agree that peer editing enhances students' social skills. I, for one, have a slight problem critiquing my peers work for fear of hurting someones feelings, as I'm sure many others are. But as future educators, this is a necessary step to bettering our trade.
I didn't see many grammatical errors. The only one that really stuck out to me is in the last sentence of your 4th paragraph where you said, "By this I mean..." I would add a comma after this.
Great job!
Lance, you should go back and talk a little bit about Paige Ellis' blog post and what you learned from it.
ReplyDeleteGood job on including links to your sources and alt/title modifiers to your picture!