Publication Date

Summer 2009

Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)

6-17-2009

Type of Culminating Activity

Thesis

Degree Title

Master of Arts in Education, Curriculum and Instruction

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies

Supervisory Committee Chair

Jennifer Snow-Gerono, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Susan Martin, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Lawrence Rogien, Ph.D.

Abstract

The purpose of this quasi-experimental research thesis was to determine the effects of rubric-referenced peer-revision and self-assessment on the writing drafts of 3rd grade students. A convenience sample of students in existing classrooms engaged in two persuasive writing assignments. The first assignment established a baseline score for comparison purposes. During the second assignment, a peer-revision group and self-assessment group received different interventions that focused on revision guided by a rubric. A third control group did not receive an intervention. Student opinions toward the usefulness of the treatments were also gathered through a questionnaire that was delivered after the writing assignments were complete.

The utilization of rubrics to assist peers in revision had a statistically significant, positive effect on student scores during the second persuasive writing assignment. The treatment of rubric-referenced self-assessment did not have an overall positive effect on student scores during the second assignment. The control group’s scores decreased slightly on the second assignment. Almost every student in the peer-revision group thought the treatment was beneficial for student writing. In comparison, a little more than half the students in the self-assessment group considered the treatment to be useful in helping them achieve higher scores or become more proficient writers.

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