Recently-adopted standards call for more
emphasis on writing in early elementary grades. Rubrics
may assist students in attending to important characteristics
of effective writing, but research data on their use in early
childhood is lacking. This study explores the effects of
rubric use on writing instruction of opinion paragraphs for
20 first grade students (9 female, 11 male; 11 Black, 4
White, 4 Hispanic, 1 Asian; 8 English Language Learners)
and 12 second grade students (7 male, 5 female; 6 Black, 2
Hispanic, 2 Middle Eastern, 1 Asian, 1 White; 0 English
Language Learners) from a low socio-economic Mid￾western United States elementary school that was desig￾nated a School in Need of Assistance. The stratified￾grouped, counterbalanced pretest-midpoint test-posttest
study determined if providing a rubric and instructing
students on how to use it, in addition to teaching writing
mini-lessons regarding specific areas of the rubric, would
improve student writing scores compared to the mini les￾sons alone. Also, data were collected on student attitudes
throughout the study. The results indicated that providing
instruction on the skills outlined by the rubric, paired with
student access to the rubric, improved student writing
scores with a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.92).
Although student attitude ratings did not show a significant
difference between conditions, student-supplied reasons for
those ratings indicated that initial use of a rubric promoted
later positive attitudes toward writing and higher self-effi-
cacy while using the rubric. The authors recommend rubric
use in writing to assist students in remembering and self￾monitoring important components of writing.

J102

Perpustakaan FITK Pusat

Tersedia

• Rubrics as a Tool in Writing Instruction: Effects on the Opinion Essays of First and Second Graders

Share :