Balancing Act

One of the aspects of writer’s workshop that I have always found challenging, is editing and revising during individual student conferences.  Deciding what to edit and what not to edit in a student’s writing piece has always felt like a balancing act for me.  How much is too much and how little is too little?

                          Too Little                                              Too Much

                             Not learning                                            Overwhelming

                             Still so many mistakes!                             Discouraging 

After reading for one of my graduate classes, there were a few ideas that I think will really help me balance on this tightrope.

• Dudley-Marling and Patricia Paugh believe in conducting a series of mini-conferences.  If students are given the opportunity to meet for about five minutes every day, that time will add up throughout the week.                                      
• On deciding what skills and strategies to address during a writing conference, Dudley-Marling and Patricia Paugh write, “the priority should be on the skills and strategies that will have the most impact on the piece of writing the student is currently working on” (p.56).  Teachers must respond to what each student is trying to accomplish in one piece of writing and work from there.  This certainly helps decide where the focus should be while editing a student’s work.                                                                           
• I also found it extremely important to recognize that all students engage in writing differently.  This is also true for the editing and revising aspect of writing as well.  A study published in 2006 found that students approach writing and revising in different ways” (Dix, p.566).  As a teacher, I believe we all need to be aware that our students may engage in the editing and revising process differently than we do.  Being aware of this will be helpful for both the teacher and student. 

Most importantly, conferencing was recognized as an art.  Something that takes experience, practice, and time to learn!