Using rubrics in efl writing classrooms at high schools

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY LE NHU NGOC USING RUBRICS IN EFL WRITING CLASSROOMS AT HIGH SCHOOLS MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghe An, 2018 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY LE NHU NGOC USING RUBRICS IN EFL WRITING CLASSROOMS AT HIGH SCHOOLS MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Major : Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Code : 8.14.01.11 SUPERVIOR: Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Anh Nghe An, 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To complete this thesis, I received substantial assistance and support from my supervisors, faculty, colleagues, students, and family First of all, I would like to thank Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Anh for seeing my potential to complete this thesis I started and completed it because she believed in me Thank her for the long hours she invested in editing my writing and for her patience and kindness The references she suggested led me to key supporting material for my teaching philosophy Her writing experience and insight helped me develop my professional environment and complete my thesis I am also grateful to all the lecturers of the MA course in the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Vinh University for their valuable lectures from which I have got the great motivations and belief in this thesis I am very grateful to all our colleagues and students in Tay Ninh High School, Tay Ninh town for their cooperation in giving me a tremendous amount of valuable information Also I must thank my family and my husband who teaches our children and does all household chores for me to focus on school Thank him for his love and support in everything I I am in debt to my enthusiastic colleagues who have helped and supported me during my process of doing the research I completed this with help from all of you Vinh, August 2018 Le Nhu Ngoc i PRONOUNCEMENT This is to certify that I myself write this thesis entitled ―Using rubrics in EFL writing classrooms at high schools‖ It is not a plagiarism or made by others Anything related to others‘ works is written in quotation, the sources of which are listed on the list of references Vinh, August, 2018 Candidate Le Nhu Ngoc ii ABSTRACT ―Using rubrics in EFL writing classrooms at high schools‖ is an experimental study on the twelfth grade students of Tay Ninh high school in the Academic Year 2017-2018 The objectives of the research are: (1) to know whether rubrics are more effective than the modeling technique in teaching writing for the high school students of Tay Ninh high school in the Academic Year 2017-2018; (2) to know whether rubrics can improve better the writing skill of the students; and (3) to know how the attitude of students to rubrics is The research method was experimental The subject of the research is the students of two twelfth grades Each of them consists of 40 students 12A7 is as an experimental class which was taught using rubrics and 12A9 is as a control class which was taught using a modeling technique The data were in the form of quantitative data and they were taken from a test They are the scores of students‘ writing test after having nine times treatment for each class The researcher analyzed the data using T-test to verify Based on the result of data analysis, the research findings are: (1) Using rubrics in teaching writing is more effective than modeling technique to teach writing for the twelfth students of Tay Ninh high school; (2) Rubrics can improve students‘ writing performance; and (3) Students have a positive outlook and highly appreciate being shared rubrics before doing the writing Based on these research findings, it can be concluded that using rubrics is an effective technique to improve the writing skill of the Tay Ninh high school students iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a foreign language CAR: Classroom Action Research TEFL: Teaching English as A Foreign Language L2: second language iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES TABLES Table 3.5.1: Verification to identity equivalence groups (Comparison of the average test score before impact ) Table 3.5.2: Research design Table 4.1 : Comparison of the average test score before impact Table 4.2:The comparison of the score between before and after impact of experimental group and control one Table 4.2.1: Students‘ response to the use of rubrics in writing class Table 4.2.2: Students‘ response to the effectiveness of rubrics in improving their writing skill FIGURES Figure 2.1.3.1 Writing Continuum Figure 2.1.3.2 Producing a Piece of Writing Figure 2.2.1.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Types of Rubrics Figure 2.2.5 Types of Performances That Can Be Assessed with Rubrics Figure 2.2.8.1 Writing Rubric Figure 2.2.8.2 Six Traits Writing Rubric Figure 4.2.1 Students‘ respond of using rubrics Figure 4.2.2 Students‘ evaluation of rubrics v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i PRONOUNCEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES iv CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Organization of the study CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Writing 2.1.1 Definitions 2.1.2 Writing Skills 2.1.3 Teaching Writing 2.1.4 Writing Tasks 12 2 Rubrics 12 2.2.1 What are rubrics? 12 2.2.1.1 Analytic and holistic rubrics 13 2.2.1.2 General and task-specific rubrics 14 2.2.1.3 The advantages and disadvantages of different types of rubrics 15 2.2.2 Features of rubrics: Validity and Reliability 19 2.2.3 Rubrics help teachers teach 20 2.2.4 Rubrics help students learn 20 2.2.5 Rubrics help coordinate instruction and assessment 21 vi 2.2.6 Limitations of rubrics: 21 2.2.7 The use of rubrics in teaching writing 22 2.2.8.1 Teaching writing with rubrics 24 2.3 Review of the related literature 30 2.4 Improvements in Learning with the Use of writing Strategies 34 2.5 Teacher‘s role 37 2.6 Learners‘ role 38 2.7 Conclusion 38 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 40 3.1 Research setting 40 3.2 Research Design 41 3.3 Population, sample, and sampling 41 3.4 Data Collecting Techniques 42 3.5 Data Analysis Techniques 42 CHAPTER RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 46 4.1 Data description 46 4.2 Data analysis and Hypotheses verification 46 4.2.1 Students‘ attitude about using rubrics in writing class 48 4.2.2 The effectiveness of rubrics in improving writing skill (Q3,4) 49 4.3 Discussion 51 CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS 54 5.1 Conclusion 54 5.2 Implication 54 5.3 Suggestion 56 REFERENCES 58 APENDIXE A 63 APENDIXE B 65 vii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Writing is a complicated process which involves a number of cognitive and metacognitive activities, for instance: brainstorming, planning, outlining, organizing, drafting, and revising Cognitive aspects of writing have received a particular attention, as investigators have attempted to understand the thought processes underlying the compositions of students (Flower & Hayes, 1981) According to Omaggio Hadley (1993), writing requires composing, which implies the ability either to tell or retell pieces of information in the form of narratives or description, or to transform information into new texts, as in expository or argumentative writing Therefore, it is best viewed as a continuum of activities that range from the more mechanical or formal aspects of writing down on the one end to the more complex act of composing on the other end Learning to write is difficult especially for those writing in a second or a foreign language in academic contexts since they not know enough about how to generate ideas for writing As effective writing is considered to be a problem for EFL learners, a need is felt to find out some ways of teaching that can help learners improve their writing performance The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using rubrics on EFL learners‘ writing improvement In the current social trend, English is considered as a popular language and one of the main subjects in the school, both public and private school systems provide English classes for students and language centers which have been springing up in many cities in Vietnam, especially in big cities To be honest, teaching and learning English is a necessity in the resistance often associated with writing Although, it is one type of outlining methods, the product of the writing activity using rubrics is notably different from the one using other type of outlining Unlike conventional outlining, the product of prewriting activity using rubrics does not follow a rigid fixed linear In outlining, ideas must be arranged sequentially which is contradictory with the natural way of how brain works, because brain works in a non-linear way The elements of a given mind map are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts, and are classified into groupings, branches, or areas, with the goal of representing semantic or other connections between portions of information Rubrics also aid recall of existing memories Rubrics may be used effectively with students beyond primary grades and in any class that requires writing It is obviously appropriate for language classes It is applicable for large groups Teaching students how to use rubrics takes about 10 minutes of demonstration time The procedure is as follows: the teacher begins by sharing rubrics with the clear requirements about the topic or theme Then the teacher write a nucleus word or phrase at the centre of the chalkboard and circles it; (for instance: what should be presented in the opening part) then asks the students to concentrate on the topic; after two minutes, asks the students one by one to write any words or phrases related to the topic; teacher makes the point that other words and phrases are to be associated with the nucleus word/phrase, and with other words and phrases; teacher may demonstrates free association by saying aloud words and phrases that come to mind and jotting them down rapidly; these words and phrases are all circled and connecting lines are drawn to show how they are associated The procedure above is used to introduce the basic design of mindmapping and its application to the students The steps are used to help the students analyze the ideas and represent them visually The students will gradually be accustomed to use mind-mapping oriented to rubrics to 55 communicate their ideas On the next meetings, the students are asked to use the diagram as a basis to construct a written product/text As a matter of fact, rubrics are not only useful to help students writing a complex composition of a certain type text It can help with almost any types of texts It even helps students to draw a grammatical schematic It also does not merely have to use words and phrases but also pictures, charts, or anything as long as they representing what students have in mind In the process of writing, the role of rubrics can be described as follows: to arouse motivation to write: after finding a topic, students can start from anywhere and does not have to be afraid of making mistakes; to get ideas gathered: by jotting down anything come up in their mind they get ideas together as well; planning and outlining: by drawing the associative lines they can plan their future composition and it is also possible for them to directly give numbers or other signs on the lines or words; making notes: from the rubrics, the students can draw a mind-map by choosing then sketching the figure of their composition; making a first draft: the students can use the notes from the previous step or they can directly compose a draft based on the rubric given revising, replanning, redrafting: they can easily form their draft and their mindmap, then adding or omitting part of the draft, and even rearranging the draft; editing and getting ready for a final product: the revised draft can once again be put side by side with the rubrics to check, choose and select which one should be omitted, added, rearranged to obtain the final product 5.3 Suggestion Some suggestions for teachers, students, and future researchers can be listed as follows: 56 For the teachers Correct choice of teaching technique can make the teaching and learning process not only run well but also interesting and enjoyable Enjoyable teaching and learning activities will help students receive the material more effectively and efficiently; it will also makes the teacher more focus on the necessary things needed for the class Sharing rubrics is a technique which will lead students to be more independent; thus it is good to be applied in small classes as well as the big ones It is simple, fun and arousing creativity That‘s why, it is recommended for teacher to apply it in their class For the students Sharing rubrics is a simple technique which can be used for writing activities It is not only helpful in teaching and learning process in the classroom Rubrics are also useful in other writing activities to generate and organize ideas, opinion and thoughts So, the researcher suggests that all students learn how to use it For the future researchers A similar research with different population characteristic is also promising It is possibly also useful to have research with different students‘ condition like students‘ habit, 57 motivation, or interest REFERENCES Alber-Morgan, S., Hessler, T., and Konrad, M (2007) Teaching writing for keeps Education and treatment of children, 30(3), 107-128 Atkinson, D (2003) L2 writing in the post-process era Journal of second language writing, 12(1), 3-15 doi:10.1016/S1060-3743(02)00123-6, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(02)00123-6 Badger, R & White, G (2000) A process genre approach to teaching writing ELT Journal, 54(2), 153-160 doi:10.1093/elt/54.2.153, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/elt/54.2.153 Bolton, C F (2006) Rubrics and adult learners: Andragogy and assessment Assessment Update 18 (3), 5-7 Breetvelt, I., van den Bergh, H., and Rijlaarsdam, G (1994) Relations between writing processes and text quality: when and how? Cognition and Instruction, 12(2), 103-123 Brown, H D (2000) Principles of language learning and teaching (Fourth Edition) New York: Longman Brown, H, Douglas 2001 Teaching by principles, an interactive approach to language pedagogy New York: Addison Wesley Longman Byrne, Donn 1997 Teaching Writing Skills New York: Longman, Inc Clippard, D and Nicaise, M (1998) Efficacy of writers‘ workshop for students with significant writing deficits Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 13(1), 1-20 Dannelle D Stevens and Antonia J Levi Introduction to rubrics Stylus Publications, 2005 DiCecco, V and Gleason, M (2002) Using graphic organizers to attain relational knowledge from expository text Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35(4), 306-320 Ferris, Dana, & Hedgcock, John, S (2005) Teaching ESL composition: purpose, process, and practice 2nd ed Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum 58 Flower, L & Hayes, J R (1981) Plans that guide the composing process In C H Frederiksen, & J F Dominic (Eds.) Writing: the nature, development, and teaching of written communication, Vol 2: Writing: process, development and communication (pp.39-58) Hillsdale, N J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Fry, S and Griffin, S (2010) Fourth graders as models for teachers: teaching and learning 6+1 trait writing as a collaborative experience Literacy Research and Instruction, 49, 283298 Fujieda, Y (2006) A brief historical sketch of second language writing studies: A retrospective [Online] Available: www.kyoai.ac.jp/college/ronshuu/no-06/fujieda.pdf (March 2006) Graham, S & Harris, K (1996) Self-regulation and strategy instruction for students who find writing and learning challenging In M Levy & S Ransdell, (Eds.) The science of Writing: Theories, methods, individual differences and applications, (pp 347-360) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Graham, S & Harris, K (2000) The role of self -regulation and transcription skills in writing and writing development Educational psychologist, 35(1), 3-12 doi:10.1207/S15326985EP3501_2, http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3501_2 Harris, K R & Graham, S (1996) Making the writing process work: Strategies for composition and self-regulation Cambridge, MA: Brookline Book Hafner, J C., & Hafner, P M (2003) Quantitative analysis of the rubric as an assessment tool: An empirical study of student peer-group rating International journal of science education, 25, 1509-1528 Hayes, David A 1992 A Sourcebook of interactive Methods for teaching with text United States of America Heaton, J.B 1975 Writing English Language Tests New York: Longman, Inc 59 Hedge, Tricia 1988 Writing: Resource Books for Teachers Oxford University Press Horton, S., Lovitt, T., and Bergerud, D (2001) The effectiveness of graphic organizers for three classification of secondary students in content area classes Journal of Learning Disabilities, 23(1), 12-29 Hyland, K (2003) Second Language Writing Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Jeong, H (2015) Rubrics in the classroom: teachers really follow them? Language Testing in Asia Jonsson, A., & Svingby, G (2007) The use of rubrics: Reliability, validity and educational consequences Educational Research Review 2: 130-144 Kellogg, R T (1987) Writing performance: Effects of cognitive strategies Written Communication, 4, 269-298 Kolade, T (2012) The influence of process approach on English as second language students‘ performances in essay writing English Language Teaching, 5(3), 16-29 Lee, C and Tan, S (2010) Scaffolding writing using feedback in students‘ graphic organizers - novice writers‘ relevance of ideas and cognitive loads Educational media international, 47(2), 135-152 Lumley, T (2002) Assessment criteria in a large-scale writing test: what they really mean to the raters? Lang Test, 19 (3), 246-276 Martin, L., Segraves, R., Thacker, S, and Young, L (2005) The writing process: three first grade teachers and their students reflect on what was learned Reading Psychology, 235-249 Matthews, Alan et al 1985 At the Chalkface: Practical Techniques in Language Teaching London: Edward Arnold Ltd Matsuda, P K (2003) Process and post-process: A discursive history Journal of second language writing 12 (1), 65-83 doi:10.1016/S10603743(02)00127-3, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743 (02)00127-3 60 Mayer, R E (2003) The promise of Educational psychology: Teaching for meaningful learning Merrill Prentice Hall Nesbit, J and Adesope, O (2006) Learning with concept and knowledge maps: a meta-analysis Review of Education Research, 76(3), 413-448 Omaggio Hadley, A (1993) Teaching language in context Boston: Heinle & Heinle Raimes, A (1991) Out of the woods: Traditions in the teaching of writing TESOL Quarterly, 25, 407-430 doi:10.2307/3586978, http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3586978 Raimes, Ann 1983 Techniques in teaching writing Oxford University Press Ruddell, R B., & Boyle, O F (1989) A study of cognitive mapping as a means to improve summarization and comprehension of expository text Reading Research and Instruction, 29(1), 12-22 Scrivener, Jim 1994 Learning teaching: A guidebook for English Language Teachers Macmillan Heinemann Silvestri, L, & Oescher, J (2006) Using rubrics to increase the reliability of assessment in health classes International Electronic Journal of Health Education, 9, 25-30 Sinatra, R., Stahl-Gemake, J., and Berg, D (1984) Improving reading comprehension of disabled readers through semantic mapping The Reading Teacher, 31(1), 22-29 Stevens, D.D and Levi, A.J., 2011 Introduction to rubrics: An assessment tool to save grading time, convey effective feedback, and promote student learning Stylus Publishing, LLC Sturm, J & Rankin-Erickson, J (2002) Effects of hand-drawn and computer generated concept mapping on the expository writing of middle school students with learning disabilities Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 17(2), 124-139 Tribble, C (1996) Writing Oxford: Oxford University Press 61 Voon, H (2010) The use of brainstorming and role playing as pre-writing strategy The International Journal of Learning, 17(3), 537-558 Wenden, A L (1991) Learner strategies for learner autonomy London: Prentice-Hall International Yang, M (2005) Exploring writing approaches in Chinese EFL class Academic exchange quarterly [Online] Available: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Exploring+writing+approaches+in+Chinese+E FL+class.-a0138703668 (September 22, 2005) Zimmaro, D M & Cawley, J M (1998) Concept map module Schreyer institute for innovation in learning, The Pennsylvania State University http://www.teachervision.fen.com/teaching-methods-andmanagement/rubrics/4521.html http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/assessment/roomforubrics.htm http://teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/rubrics/ http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/general/ http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/lab_report/ 62 APENDIXE A Questionnaire Does the use of rubrics effect student writing abilities during the writing process? Part 1: Participant Information Name: Current Position (Grade Level/Content Area, # of Years): All grade levels you‘ve taught: Degree(s) Received: Part 2: Background Please answer a, b, c and d based on the rating scale below: 1- Strongly Disagree 2- Disagree a 3- Agree 4- Strongly Agree I feel that I graduated with my bachelor‘s degree with enough education to teach the writing process confidently and effectively b I feel that I graduated with my master‘s degree with enough education to teach the writing process confidently and effectively c I feel that the students who entered my class at the beginning of the 2017 school year have been taught the writing process adequately based on their grade level d My school provides professional development and/or other seminars that improve my confidence and effectiveness to teach the writing process What types of classes/seminars/PDs have you participated in, inside or outside of your school, to learn more about teaching the writing process? Part 3: Writing in your classroom How much time per week is devoted to writing instruction in your classroom? What types of writing assignments are students assigned? (journals, worksheets, narratives, poems, songs, comic strips, etc) What types of writing activities/strategies have you used with your students? Have you used rubrics with your students? What types and for what content 63 areas? What is your method of evaluating student writing? How you currently differentiate writing instruction for struggling writers? Explain Could you use writing strategies such as rubrics to differentiate your writing instruction? How so? Part 4: Your Students How many students you currently have in your class? How many of them receive special education services? (please list services provided) Do your students work better when using prewriting strategies? What types of students benefit the most? 64 APENDIXE B The process of experimental teaching in a writing class * Teacher preparation: - Grade 12A9: Design lesson plan without applying rubrics, preparation routine as normal - Grade 12A7: Design lesson plans that use rubrics The teacher collects, selects information on e-learning web sites, some online tools that allow teachers to create original rubrics, and peer tutorials Before teaching a new lesson, the teacher makes students prepare their homework with questions, content preparation and grouping for students to present their content with mind maps Example : For the article in Unit - School Education System Lesson: Writing First, the teacher emphasizes the type of writing to write, this is a descriptive text, students need to focus on three issues in the article: Topic sentence Supporting the sentences Concluding sentence Teacher makes groups and to prepare maps of thinking The team will prepare a mind map with the keyword "School education system in Vietnam" and the question system: 65 Group and will prepare specific mind map, to go deeper and clearer focus lessons with mind maps follows: From the key issue, students will find and illustrate the thinking map They will explore, think and manipulate vocabulary so that they can form valuable ideas to complete the map They will know how to reason, use the available vocabulary to write and understand the subject required in their own way to solve the questions For example, with the question "When?", They will infer the teacher's desire to ask when children should go to school They will know how to relate the knowledge they learned in the Reading and Speaking sections to their effective writing Then we will systematically complete all the knowledge needed to 66 complete the article in a mind map that combines both maps to help them link ideas and present the article more coherently This step is very important It helps students revise the necessary vocabulary and form ideas for the writing And when they perform in writing class with rubrics they can present their ideas more systematically and fluently 67 TAY NINH HIGH SCHOOL DESCRIPTIVE WRITING NAME: _ TEACHER: LE NHU NGOC DATE : _ TITLE OF WORK: Criteria There is no topic The topic sentence The topic sentence gives little evidence gives some clarity Topic Sentence sentence presented in of a relevant topic the paragraph Points of the overall connecting to the connectivity of the other sentences sentences present The topic sentence is the first sentence in the paragraph It is a clear statement of the paragraph content An attempt at descriptive words was Some descriptive Few descriptive words are used Proof of and/or no similise Description and metaphor was present or the setting was unclear used to describe the words are used to the five senses describe the topic However, the "sense" and reach the five language was not senses At least one developed or a similise or similise or metaphor metaphor was used was missing, and/or and the setting was the setting was not clear Descriptive words are used to describe the topic and reach the five senses At least one similise or metaphor was used The setting was clear clear Your paragraph was hard to read, the Organization events were not organized, and make little sense There is no Concluding Statement Your paragraph was confusing to read and had limited use of transitions The events jump around too much Paragraph has good Your paragraph organization The contained mostly sentences and well ordered transitions were sentences with well structured The smooth transitions Paragraph was easy to read The concluding The concluding The concluding statement is the last statement is the last statement is the last sentence of the sentence of the sentence of the concluding statement paragraph It is not a paragraph It is a paragraph It is a at the end of the clear statement and somewhat clear clear statement that paragraph does not repeat key statement that repeats key words words from the topic repeats some key from the topic sentence sentence words from the 68 topic sentence You have several It is difficult to read spelling and Mechanics You have some You did not make spelling and any spelling or and understand your grammatical mistakes grammatical grammatical paragraph, there is You did not include a mistakes You mistakes You no evidence of title and/or forgot to included a title and included a title and editing indent your indented the indented the paragraph paragraph paragraph Total > Teacher Comments: Powered by TeAch-nology.com-The Web Portal For Educators! (www.teach-nology.com) 69 ...MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY LE NHU NGOC USING RUBRICS IN EFL WRITING CLASSROOMS AT HIGH SCHOOLS MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Major : Teaching English to Speakers... how teachers think writing is learned would create numerous teaching approach that can be used in the writing classes Ideas that should keep in mind is that writing means writing a connected... theories in writing practices and in different settings as the field of teaching writing skill is still developing 2.4 Improvements in Learning with the Use of writing Strategies Writing is a demanding