Assessing and Shaping Progress.

Shelly Stagg Peterson calls her article, "How Can Feedback to Students on Their Writing Function as a Pedagogical Practice?"Her topic is a relevant one for me as I grew up watching my mom spend hours marking high school english papers and providing tons of helpful feedback. However, she often shared with me that her greatest frustration was that students didn't take the time to even read her words, but took one look at their final mark and tossed the paper. Shelly Stagg Peterson addresses this very issue by saying that feedback can be "a powerful teaching tool if the feedback is provided while students are in the process of writing drafts."
To argue her point, Stagg Peterson refers to Vygotsky's "zones of proximal development" which is the most opportune place for students to learn. This "zone" lies slightly outside of the student's prior knowledge, and challenges the student slightly to advance in their learning. Stagg Peterson also says that when you give students feedback on their drafts, they are given an immediate opportunity to apply instruction directly.
Stagg Peterson also includes practical instructions in her article regarding effective strategies for providing students with feedback. She says, "teachers should identify the elements of the writing that clearly communicate the intended ideas, information, and perspectives as well as areas where students could potentially revise their writing to clarify meaning and engage readers in intended ways." She also acknowledges the importance of providing feedback regarding grammatical errors and details, but should not be the focus of a teacher's feedback.
The author of this article also encourages pedagogical practices that encourage students to have ownership in their schoolwork and their learning.  She suggests that students should be given the opportunity to negotiate with their teaching how an assignment will be marked, and how much of their grade it should be worth. Such practices have been strongly encouraged by my professor in my class entitled, "Pedagogy of Place." In the class, we have reviewed much research that suggests that students perform best when they are given some ownership in their learning processes. Although these methods may seem like they are more work for the teachers, research shows that students learn best under such conditions. Therefore, providing feedback for drafts is an effective way to engage students in their learning and show the value of the learning process; not just the final product.