It's an incredibly common challenge in first-year writing at universities as well. Students often don't understand that process is crucial for developing skills around synthesis. Speaking of which, synthesis is THE hardest skill we've IDed maturing writers struggle with the most, so we've spent much more time on smaller chunks (like you did) to give them scaffolding. More students fail their synthesis assignments than their argumentative or analytical assignments. I'll often push back peer review days to give them more time to complete drafts, but time is precious and doing that 3 or 4 times in a semester means I'm taking away time for end of the year projects. It's a juggling act for sure, but I think your instinct is right to draw a line and try to focus on the challenges students have in the moment. Great assignment and wonderful transparency about how you and your students grappled with it!
Appreciate this comment! and if I didn't have the hard "Spring Break" deadline looming, I probably would have flexed it another 48 hours, too.
And yes, the shift to prioritizing synthesis activities in the classroom is definitely a response to things I've heard from what they need next—and we're also working to better align it vertically at younger grades, too. (The good thing? Students are producing some incredible synthesis writing with this project yet again!)
In response to your prompt, "(Quick note: this framing of a post—exploring a “choice” I made as a teacher, offering contexts as well as consequences, and then reflecting on what I learned from it—is something I’m curious about using more often, so let me know if you think it works!)," please do.
Awesome! in my mind, it is a very narrow/limited form of "action research" that, through a formal reflection process like this, could be a cool thing to normalize?
Agreed. It was very affirming to see how another teacher thinks through some of these questions. So many of these decisions have to be navigated quickly and alone, (for the sake of time). Thank you for making visible your process.
I love the format of this post! This is something I’ve wrestled with often as well. I appreciate that you acknowledge that the choice you made this time, isn’t the choice you’d make every time. (Teaching is so hard isn’t it haha)
Also, I am obsessed with your assignment sheets. They’re so helpful and provide so many supports to students!
Question — how many out of class essays vs in class essays do you usually assign? Do you notice a difference in quality based on the type?
It's much easier to add supports when you build/adjust over multiple years, particularly with student feedback cycles on what could be improved! (And are very much obsessive with Google Drive organization, haha.)
For our AP Literature course, we essentially rotate through the year between in-class (mimicking AP conditions) and out-of-class (with peer workshops, more freedom/flexibility, etc.).
In terms of quality, the out-of-class definitely have higher ceilings but often lower floors—and I also like this as different students thrive in each type of essay format. (As much as I hate test prep, too, I think the skill of coming up with a thoughtful interpretation in a single sitting is actually a really important skill, so I very much value the timed writing experiences!)
Absolutely love this structure, man! Weaving in some of the ideas from my last article, I think these are the exact types of unexamined pedagogical moves that teachers make all the time. There is so much value in this type of public reflection. Thank you for sharing!
As for the content, I also think your choice was spot on. I have found myself in similar situations. I think it’s important you noted this is an AP Literature course. That denotes an added layer of accountability and responsibility for students. I think how I approach situations like this bends and flexes depending on the grade level and class culture.
It’s also key that this is a lever that you pull rarely. I think in similar terms. Like you, I have a reputation for working with students, being flexible, allowing revisions, etc. etc. Also like you, I’ve had occasions where I’ve realized all it takes is one assignment where you hold the line for them to realize, though you might be “chill“, that doesn’t mean you won’t hold them accountable for producing their best work. Setting limits and boundaries is actual vital to creating structures of care. I feel like that helps us show students we care about them as both learners and humans. Of course, that’s radically different than imposing narrow and rigid rules at all times!
In my utopian world of teaching in the future, we'd have a space where teachers shared out this format of reflection on different choices they made pedagogically, and perhaps audio conversations attached to them so we could continue to learn from each other via shared reflection.
I think there's a factor I take into consideration that you haven't mentioned--TIME. You were up against Spring Break. What do you do in that situation--expect students to work over SB? Give them more time afterwards (then you run up against your next unit & the looming test date). I also consider time the other way (as you did)--how much time have I provided for them to complete the writing? Was it supported with minilessons & checkpoints?
Time is one of our currencies in schools--and we are poor.
Oh, without question the Spring Break element limited my range of options—as "more time" (on top of the time already provided) wasn't going to yield much of a solution.
Time is indeed one of our currencies, as you wisely note, and that is where pragmatism has to trump idealism quite often.
First, I definitely liked the style of this post! When we can share our thought process, choices, outcome, and reflections, it benefits other educators so much. I do have a question. Will you be altering your check-in/check-point process for next year so that this close to the workshop day you aren't surprised by their lack of progress? Thanks!
Oh, for sure! At the end of units I make a note of what worked/what needs to be changed, and adding an earlier check-in stage is definitely a priority. (We had a weird conference week with Wed-Fri off for students midway through, so I'm hopeful too that next year the scheduling is a bit more conducive to that)
I teach middle school and they had a month to work on an essay from planning to peer reviews. There were quite a lot of students who also weren't ready so they got peer reviewed with what they had. A couple days ago was the day to turn it in and 70% of students were able to. The other 30% had to go out into the hall, where there are desks, with the para and work on it until it was done. I also had to email a couple parents and it worked out that I did. I have been flexible with due dates before but felt like they had ample class time to work on it.
Marcus, I am a huge fan of both your pedagogy and your reflective nature. I love this post! I think you handled this very common situation professionally, while leaning in to the humanity of your students.
This scenario happens in my fifth-grade classroom often. Whereas I used to think involving parents was too harsh, now I believe that being transparent with students and parents provides students with a sense of caring belonging in the classroom. Students know you care enough to call their parents. Parents know you care about the success of their child. And since you were flexible and extended the deadline, you were able to ensure students could successfully turn in their essay. Well done!
Alerting student's parents to how their child is not doing their work at the end of a semester, or at the beginning of another spring break, most always works. However, I imply that you lost the class at that time because you had to work harder to get them to comply. Instead of working with them all year, and letting them know that they will fail the course if they turn in work that is late, is paramount to teaching them not only how to write a synthesis, but that lateness will not be accepted. I'm not sure in your post, if you fully expressed your feelings, during this time when you had to resort to this action. Lateness with students in high school or college, (where I taught) is a problem. But it's not that much of a problem with good teaching skills and constant reminders, when needed, that work has to be handed in on time. It's a prerequisite for college. And in college, there are no parents to notify.
While I appreciate this perspective, I disagree that "me having to work harder" was a suggestion that I "lost the class"—especially since twenty-four hours later we were back on track with a strong, purposeful culture.
I see daily what the impact is of forcing students to navigate a multitude of classes with punitive policies that don't create the flexibility to meet students who are balancing far too many things—and I don't in any way think the "solution" is to become one of those classes.
Are there downsides of leaning towards flexibility and the opportunity to revise? Of course. But despite how "successful" this choice was as a teacher, I don't think in any way that dismisses the downsides.
(That said, teaching is complicated and I am very much open to critiques like this—thanks for taking the time to elaborate on your perspective!)
It's an incredibly common challenge in first-year writing at universities as well. Students often don't understand that process is crucial for developing skills around synthesis. Speaking of which, synthesis is THE hardest skill we've IDed maturing writers struggle with the most, so we've spent much more time on smaller chunks (like you did) to give them scaffolding. More students fail their synthesis assignments than their argumentative or analytical assignments. I'll often push back peer review days to give them more time to complete drafts, but time is precious and doing that 3 or 4 times in a semester means I'm taking away time for end of the year projects. It's a juggling act for sure, but I think your instinct is right to draw a line and try to focus on the challenges students have in the moment. Great assignment and wonderful transparency about how you and your students grappled with it!
Appreciate this comment! and if I didn't have the hard "Spring Break" deadline looming, I probably would have flexed it another 48 hours, too.
And yes, the shift to prioritizing synthesis activities in the classroom is definitely a response to things I've heard from what they need next—and we're also working to better align it vertically at younger grades, too. (The good thing? Students are producing some incredible synthesis writing with this project yet again!)
In response to your prompt, "(Quick note: this framing of a post—exploring a “choice” I made as a teacher, offering contexts as well as consequences, and then reflecting on what I learned from it—is something I’m curious about using more often, so let me know if you think it works!)," please do.
Awesome! in my mind, it is a very narrow/limited form of "action research" that, through a formal reflection process like this, could be a cool thing to normalize?
Agreed. It was very affirming to see how another teacher thinks through some of these questions. So many of these decisions have to be navigated quickly and alone, (for the sake of time). Thank you for making visible your process.
I love the format of this post! This is something I’ve wrestled with often as well. I appreciate that you acknowledge that the choice you made this time, isn’t the choice you’d make every time. (Teaching is so hard isn’t it haha)
Also, I am obsessed with your assignment sheets. They’re so helpful and provide so many supports to students!
Question — how many out of class essays vs in class essays do you usually assign? Do you notice a difference in quality based on the type?
It's much easier to add supports when you build/adjust over multiple years, particularly with student feedback cycles on what could be improved! (And are very much obsessive with Google Drive organization, haha.)
For our AP Literature course, we essentially rotate through the year between in-class (mimicking AP conditions) and out-of-class (with peer workshops, more freedom/flexibility, etc.).
In terms of quality, the out-of-class definitely have higher ceilings but often lower floors—and I also like this as different students thrive in each type of essay format. (As much as I hate test prep, too, I think the skill of coming up with a thoughtful interpretation in a single sitting is actually a really important skill, so I very much value the timed writing experiences!)
Absolutely love this structure, man! Weaving in some of the ideas from my last article, I think these are the exact types of unexamined pedagogical moves that teachers make all the time. There is so much value in this type of public reflection. Thank you for sharing!
As for the content, I also think your choice was spot on. I have found myself in similar situations. I think it’s important you noted this is an AP Literature course. That denotes an added layer of accountability and responsibility for students. I think how I approach situations like this bends and flexes depending on the grade level and class culture.
It’s also key that this is a lever that you pull rarely. I think in similar terms. Like you, I have a reputation for working with students, being flexible, allowing revisions, etc. etc. Also like you, I’ve had occasions where I’ve realized all it takes is one assignment where you hold the line for them to realize, though you might be “chill“, that doesn’t mean you won’t hold them accountable for producing their best work. Setting limits and boundaries is actual vital to creating structures of care. I feel like that helps us show students we care about them as both learners and humans. Of course, that’s radically different than imposing narrow and rigid rules at all times!
Looking forward to more of these in the future.
In my utopian world of teaching in the future, we'd have a space where teachers shared out this format of reflection on different choices they made pedagogically, and perhaps audio conversations attached to them so we could continue to learn from each other via shared reflection.
(One day!)
I think there's a factor I take into consideration that you haven't mentioned--TIME. You were up against Spring Break. What do you do in that situation--expect students to work over SB? Give them more time afterwards (then you run up against your next unit & the looming test date). I also consider time the other way (as you did)--how much time have I provided for them to complete the writing? Was it supported with minilessons & checkpoints?
Time is one of our currencies in schools--and we are poor.
Oh, without question the Spring Break element limited my range of options—as "more time" (on top of the time already provided) wasn't going to yield much of a solution.
Time is indeed one of our currencies, as you wisely note, and that is where pragmatism has to trump idealism quite often.
First, I definitely liked the style of this post! When we can share our thought process, choices, outcome, and reflections, it benefits other educators so much. I do have a question. Will you be altering your check-in/check-point process for next year so that this close to the workshop day you aren't surprised by their lack of progress? Thanks!
Oh, for sure! At the end of units I make a note of what worked/what needs to be changed, and adding an earlier check-in stage is definitely a priority. (We had a weird conference week with Wed-Fri off for students midway through, so I'm hopeful too that next year the scheduling is a bit more conducive to that)
I teach middle school and they had a month to work on an essay from planning to peer reviews. There were quite a lot of students who also weren't ready so they got peer reviewed with what they had. A couple days ago was the day to turn it in and 70% of students were able to. The other 30% had to go out into the hall, where there are desks, with the para and work on it until it was done. I also had to email a couple parents and it worked out that I did. I have been flexible with due dates before but felt like they had ample class time to work on it.
Marcus, I am a huge fan of both your pedagogy and your reflective nature. I love this post! I think you handled this very common situation professionally, while leaning in to the humanity of your students.
This scenario happens in my fifth-grade classroom often. Whereas I used to think involving parents was too harsh, now I believe that being transparent with students and parents provides students with a sense of caring belonging in the classroom. Students know you care enough to call their parents. Parents know you care about the success of their child. And since you were flexible and extended the deadline, you were able to ensure students could successfully turn in their essay. Well done!
Alerting student's parents to how their child is not doing their work at the end of a semester, or at the beginning of another spring break, most always works. However, I imply that you lost the class at that time because you had to work harder to get them to comply. Instead of working with them all year, and letting them know that they will fail the course if they turn in work that is late, is paramount to teaching them not only how to write a synthesis, but that lateness will not be accepted. I'm not sure in your post, if you fully expressed your feelings, during this time when you had to resort to this action. Lateness with students in high school or college, (where I taught) is a problem. But it's not that much of a problem with good teaching skills and constant reminders, when needed, that work has to be handed in on time. It's a prerequisite for college. And in college, there are no parents to notify.
While I appreciate this perspective, I disagree that "me having to work harder" was a suggestion that I "lost the class"—especially since twenty-four hours later we were back on track with a strong, purposeful culture.
I see daily what the impact is of forcing students to navigate a multitude of classes with punitive policies that don't create the flexibility to meet students who are balancing far too many things—and I don't in any way think the "solution" is to become one of those classes.
Are there downsides of leaning towards flexibility and the opportunity to revise? Of course. But despite how "successful" this choice was as a teacher, I don't think in any way that dismisses the downsides.
(That said, teaching is complicated and I am very much open to critiques like this—thanks for taking the time to elaborate on your perspective!)