Lake Region Union High School
ATTITUDES & BELIEFS
ASSESSMENT COMPONENT
| Section
C: Attitudes and Beliefs Assessment Component Purpose: To provide students, parents, teachers, administrators, and others with feedback relative to learners¡ perceptions of writing Rationale: We feel it is important to encourage teachers to talk to students about student writing. Students are asked to reflect on their writing, to examine how they write, and to determine what techniques help them. Section C of this document contains questions that ask students to think about their writing. This section will provide insight into the factors that influence a student¡s ability and desire to write. Classroom teachers can have even more success teaching writing when they are aware of students¡ attitudes toward writing instruction. Procedure: Students¡ attitudes may be obtained through a variety of procedures. These procedures may be formal or informal and may include teacher observation, student reports, interviews, questionnaires, grades, attendance records, counseling files, and enrollment patterns. We recommend that the Attitudes/Beliefs Assessment questionnaire be administered during the annual assessment of the cumulative writing portfolios. Appendix C-2 and Appendix C-3 are examples of questionnaires for students. These may be modified or used Àas-is” by teachers.Figure C-2: Student Questionnaire Student Information. Complete the following. 1. I am a _____ boy _____girl. (Check one) 2. My most recent grade in English is ______ . Part 1 DEFINITION OF WRITING: EXPRESSION OF ORIGINAL THOUGHT DIRECTIONS: Please write down the number of times in an average week that you are given a writing assignment in the following subjects. Number of Times Subject/Audience _____ English _____ social studies _____ math _____ art _____ music _____ physical education _____ foreign language _____ science _____ other courses _____ How often per week do you write for other students? _____ How often per week do you write for yourself (diary, lists, note- taking, etc.)? _____ How often per week do you write for friends, parents, or other adults? Figure C-2: Student Questionnaire--cont'd Part 2 DIRECTIONS: Answer each of the following with the ONE response which is closest to your opinion. _____1. Compared to the writing of others my age, my writing is (A) excellent (B) above average (C) below average (D) poor _____2. When I am given a writing assignment, I feel that (A) I will succeed (B) I will probably succeed (C) I will probably fail (D) I will fail _____3. In my life, I think that writing will be (A) very important (B) somewhat important (C) not very important (D) unimportant _____4. For adults, the ability to write well is (A) very important (B) somewhat important (C) not very important (D) unimportant _____5. When I have a career, I expect to write (A) often (B) fairly often (C) not very often (D) almost never Figure C-2: Student Questionnaire--cont'd Part 3 DIRECTIONS: For each of the statements below, circle the ONE response which most closely represents your feelings. 4 means strongly agree; 3 means agree; 2 means disagree; 1 means strongly disagree. 1. I enjoy writing. 4 3 2 1 2. Learning to write is important. 4 3 2 1 3. My school work has helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 4. Language arts assignments have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 5. Math assignments have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 6. Science assignments have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 7. Social studies assignments have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 8. My parents have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 9. My friends have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 10. Sharing my writing with others makes me want to write more. 4 3 2 1 Figure C-2: Student Questionnaire --cont'd Part 4 DIRECTIONS: Read each statement below and then decide if you agree or disagree. Place a check mark under the answer which is closest to your opinion. Placing a check mark in the first blank means you agree. Placing a check mark in the second blank means you disagree. 1. Prewriting helps me focus my thoughts. ______ _____ 2. Writing makes me think more carefully about questions than talking does. ______ _____ 3. Revising is mainly for changing all or part of something I've written. ______ _____ 4. Editing is mainly for making changes in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. ______ _____ 5. Having others see and hear my best work is an important part of writing. ______ _____ Part 5 DIRECTIONS: Answer each of the following. 1. Describe what has been most useful in helping you improve your writing. 2. Describe what has been least useful in helping you improve your writing. Figure C-3: Student Questionnaire Student Information. Complete the following. 1. I am: _____ male _____ female. (Check one) 2. I am currently in grade _____. 3. My most recent grade in an English or writing course is ______ . 4. I consider myself to be (check one): _____ college bound _____ not college bound. Part 1 DEFINITION OF WRITING: EXPRESSION OF ORIGINAL THOUGHT DIRECTIONS: Please write down the number of times in an average week that you write for the following audiences. Number of Times Audience _____ English teacher _____ social studies teacher _____ math teacher _____ art teacher _____ music teacher _____ physical education teacher _____ foreign language teacher _____ computers teacher _____ science teacher _____other courses _____ other students _____ yourself (diary, lists, note taking, etc.) _____ friends, parents, or other adults Figure C-3: Student Questionnaire--cont'd Part 2 DIRECTIONS: Answer each of the following with the ONE response which is closest to your opinion. _____ 1. Compared to the writing of others my age, my writing is (A) excellent (B) above average (C) below average (D) poor _____ 2. When I am given a writing assignment, I feel that (A) I will succeed (B) I will probably succeed (C) I will probably fail (D) I will fail _____ 3. In my life, I think that writing will be (A) very important (B) somewhat important (C) not very important (D) unimportant _____ 4. For adults, the ability to write well is (A) very important (B) somewhat important (C) not very important (D) unimportant _____ 5. In my adult career, I expect to write (A) often (B) fairly often (C) not very often (D) almost never Part 3 DIRECTIONS: Read each statement below and then decide if you agree or disagree. Place a check mark under the answer which is closest to your opinion. Agree Disagree 1. Prewriting helps me focus my thoughts. ______ _____ 2. Writing makes me think more carefully about questions than talking does. ______ _____ 3. Revising is mainly for restructuring all or part of a paper. ______ _____ 4. Editing is mainly for making changes in grammar and punctuation. ______ _____ 5. Publishing is an important aspect of writing. ______ _____ Figure C-3: Student Questionnaire--cont'd Part 4 DIRECTIONS: Answer each of the following. 1. Describe what has been most useful in helping you improve your writing. 2. Describe what has been least useful in helping you improve your writing. Figure C-3: Student Questionnaire--cont'd Part 4 DIRECTIONS: For each of the statements below, circle the ONE response which most closely represents your feelings. 4 means strong agreement; 3 means agreement; 2 means disagreement; 1 means strong disagreement. 1. I enjoy writing. 4 3 2 1 2. Learning to write is important. 4 3 2 1 3. My school experiences have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 4. English assignments have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 5. Math assignments have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 6. Science assignments have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 7. Social studies assignments have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 8. My parents have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 9. My peers have helped me improve my writing. 4 3 2 1 10. Sharing my writing with others makes me want to write more. 4 3 2 1 Copyright © 2006, Lake Region Union
High School. All rights reserved. |
