We started using the CLAQWA writing assessment tool last semester to measure the growth of QEP students writing abilities between the beginning of the semester and the end of the semester. We are now exploring different things we can do with this service besides program assessment.
One of the things that sets CLAQWA apart, is its 16 trait rubric. We have seen and evaluated dozens of writing rubrics over the past year, and this one seems to be the best, as rubrics go. There are enough traits to cover just about any part of an essay imaginable, yet you can customize it to just one or two traits, depending on the class assignment.
The QEP team hopes to be able to utilize this rubric to help professors and students know exactly what areas to focus on in a given assignment. For example, Professor Plum tells his class to write an essay about a poisonous plant, and he will be looking for them to demonstrate they can fulfill Traits 10 and 11 (Quality of Details and Quantity of Details.) Then, the students can come into the Writing Lab and ask the Writing Specialist for help in those areas.
I think concentrating on a few traits at the time will help build the confidence of the poor writer. Not only will he not feel overwhelmed, we can work on the most important traits and go from there.
One of the things that sets CLAQWA apart, is its 16 trait rubric. We have seen and evaluated dozens of writing rubrics over the past year, and this one seems to be the best, as rubrics go. There are enough traits to cover just about any part of an essay imaginable, yet you can customize it to just one or two traits, depending on the class assignment.
The QEP team hopes to be able to utilize this rubric to help professors and students know exactly what areas to focus on in a given assignment. For example, Professor Plum tells his class to write an essay about a poisonous plant, and he will be looking for them to demonstrate they can fulfill Traits 10 and 11 (Quality of Details and Quantity of Details.) Then, the students can come into the Writing Lab and ask the Writing Specialist for help in those areas.
I think concentrating on a few traits at the time will help build the confidence of the poor writer. Not only will he not feel overwhelmed, we can work on the most important traits and go from there.
