Rationale
History
My capstone project was centered around my classroom compiled of twenty-one first graders ranging from ages seven to eight. In my classroom, I did not have any students who qualify for special education services, the Nebraska Reading Improvement Act, or any other type of interventions. My classroom did not have any students who qualify for free/reduced lunches. There were ten girls and eleven boys in my first grade classroom in which twelve were oldest and only students, meaning that in their family they are either the oldest or only child at my elementary school.
As an entire class, my students performed extremely high academically in math and reading. Where my students struggled was giving and receiving specific feedback in their writing. For example, adding sensory details or adding details into their writing. I found that when it was time for writers workshop, most of the class' hands would go up with questions and then I would spend the entire writers workshop time answering questions instead of conferencing with students. If students were able to give and receive feedback through peer conferencing this would spark ideas for other students when they see the techniques and ideas used in their peers writing. Peer conferencing would allow each of my students to be able to share their writing each day and receive feedback on what they were doing well and what areas they could continue to grow and improve upon .
Need
The data I collected from my students showed a need in challenging my students and taking their writing to a higher level. After completing our first grade writing assessment where students were graded on the six traits of writing to benchmark how my students were doing in writing. Sixteen of my twenty-one students were not meeting writing benchmarks. After completing anecdotal notes during my writing conferencing, I was discovering a theme: that groups of my students were needing the same assistance in finding ideas, using correct capitalization, writing the entire time, and working on following the six traits of writing. After my students would sit in the author’s chair (when one student shares their writing and as a class we give two things we enjoyed about the writing and one thing that could be fixed) and I would comment on something a student did well, I would then see these changes being fixed in other student’s writing, even if the students hadn't shared from the author's chair. I had also found through observation in my classroom that my students relied heavily on peer interaction. Hearing what others are thinking to help them think of new ideas. After completing a self-evaluation with my students, I found that my students liked sharing their writing, enjoyed sharing their stories with others, and were beginning to self reflect and correct.
Importance
The information gained from this study was important because it would allow me to help my students grow as writers and be able to independently write throughout the entire writing process, along with being able to give and receive feedback on their writing with their peers. It also allowed my students to gain ideas and knowledge from their peers to incorporate into their own writing. This study helped me to more precisely meet each individual student based on their writing needs, challenges, successes, and have my students continue to grow as writers. To support students in reaching their full potential through differentiated instruction by teaching students how to peer conference along with having conferences with myself. As an educator, I was not confident in my abilities to teach and model peer conference to my students. I believe this study has allowed me to learn how to teach, model, and implement peer writing conferences with my students. I know my students grew as authors and created a lifelong positive relationship with writing.