Seeking Feedback, Giving Feedback
Form and Function in Designing the Writing Workshop
When designing classroom structures, I think the best plans come from following modernist architect Louis Sullivan’s credo “form ever follows function.” According to Sullivan’s thinking, the most beautifully designed activity or exercise is useless if it does not achieve one’s purpose. Likewise in writing workshop, I think simply asking students to “pair up and provide feedback” is not sufficient: they more specific advice to help them understand both the type of feedback sought and the type of feedback offered. This is not to say that “talking as thinking” or “the walk and talk” aren’t useful; they are, when the function of the conversation is to generate ideas and insight.
In writing workshop, I offer students a model of four stages of writing, asking students to consider the function of feedback at each stage so as to seek out and provide the most appropriate form.
Believe
When writers are “Brainstorming,” engaged in freewriting, gathering fragments, sketching a plan, I suggest that they ask readers to “believe” in their work, looking for ideas, scenes, and metaphors that could be developed: “I want to read more about . . .”
Report
When writers are “Drafting,” writing more and starting to understand what the piece is becoming, I suggest that they ask readers to “Report,” describing what Peter Elbow calls “the Movie of the Mind” as they read. The reader should not “judge” the piece but rather report any random connection they make with the piece: “this image reminds me of when I. . .”
Doubt
When writers are “Revising,” crafting the language and details to achieve a stated purpose, I suggest that they ask readers to “Doubt,” offering suggestions of where the piece could better achieve the writer’s purpose: “in this section, in order to achieve your purpose, I think you should . . .”
Edit
When writers are “Editing,” checking the mechanics of writing, spelling, punctuation, grammar, conventions, I suggest that they ask readers to “Edit,” doing the above: “the correct spelling is . . .”
This is just one model and one set of feedback strategies. Though I don’t intend to prescribe a particular model, I suspect that not all feedback techniques are equally applicable to all writing stages and need to be carefully chosen. A wrong technique at the wrong time serves much like the door on a so-called “norman door,” blocking one’s entrance when it should be opening up the space. Likewise, an appropriate feedback strategy invites a reader into the correct mental space to offer the most relevant feedback. My hope is that, with practice, students can not only offer useful feedback, but know what form of feedback to solicit to best suit their purposes.
