Literacy Narrative 1
Literacy Narrative
Morgan Kurtz
Alvernia University
Literacy Narrative 2
Understanding of the Assignment
From reading the rubric provided to the students on the first day of class, I have a general
understanding of the paper. The students are to create a 12 page paper on an in-depth study of a
topic that is used in an Athletic Training (AT) clinical practice. They are to choose a current AT
related intervention or issue. Using this intervention or issue, the students are to investigate and
analyze all of the research-related information and evidence-based practice on this topic. It is an
evidence-based practice paper written as a result of a thorough review of the literature. The
students must use 15 references from peer reviewed journals and they are also permitted to use
additional sources from other texts and the internet.
Strengths
Although this assignment may seem intensive to the students, it is very practical and
something that they might encounter in the field of AT. In athletic training, procedures and
techniques are ever evolving and this assignment will help your students understand this
intensive, evidence-based practiced. This assignment is well thought out and very well explained
within the syllabus. A large paper like this can be intimidating but by breaking it down into
pieces, like you have done, provides the student with a comforting sense that it is possible to get
done. It allows the student to pace themselves when writing a paper of this magnitude. Agreeing
that several little deadlines are good, Saddler and Andrade state that “instructional rubrics can
provide the scaffolding that students need to be self-regulated writers.” Providing students with
smaller pieces and smaller deadlines, allows for scaffolding and helping them to become better
paced writers1. The students should have no problem completing this paper with due dates for
each pieces and a breakdown of what should go on each page, including the topics that should be
within the body portion. It is also good that you have provided percentage points toward the final
grade for each piece they hand in. Included in the syllabus, there is a final paper rubric and a
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sources rubric; along with the rubrics, you have provided written guidelines for the students as to
what to include. These rubrics and guidelines will help students to really hone in on what is
expected of them in the paper and on the reference sheet. The rubrics and guidelines will also
allow them to edit their own papers, as you would the final draft.
Technical Difficulties
Along with the description provided in the syllabus, there are two different rubrics and
two different sets of guidelines; because of this, I can see where the students could be
misconstrued as to what exactly include. Starting with the literature review guidelines, rubric and
the information provided in the syllabus, there are a few things that I feel could be misread. In
the description paragraph in the syllabus, it is stated that the students must use 15 academic, peer
reviewed journals and this is the same information provided on the guidelines and rubric. In the
syllabus, it says the students can also use other texts and the internet is needed. When looking at
the guidelines and rubric, it is indicated that they must site one (.org) site and one government or
educational-related web site (such as .gov or .edu). On the final paper rubric, there are some
terminology words that could be misunderstood. For example the words content and knowledge
are synonyms for each other. I agree that content should stay where it is because it is such a
comprehensive section. The category that knowledge encompasses relates directly back to the
content section. I believe we could work further to clarify and condense these categories so that
students will be able to better understand.
Bigger Concerns
Something that is not addressed throughout the syllabus, guidelines, and the rubrics is
professionalism and the tone that is needed for the paper. I know it is to be written with academic
journals and sources but it is only presented on the literature review guideline and rubric. It is
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indicated that there is a summary portion in the paper. Is this to be written in first person
language with first person pronouns? Should the students include how they “feel” in the paper or
should the summary be written in professional language including certain citations from their
research? Should the summary include how they will use the significance of the findings or how
it is used in general practice?
Improving Technical Difficulties
The technical difficulties I presented earlier in the paper can be easily fixed. First, we can
coordinate the syllabus with the other rubrics and guidelines that are provided. For the paper
portion if you list under the body paragraph that there will be further information provided on
what will need to be included in the body paragraphs, the students will know directly where to
look for further instruction. For the literature review and sources portion, the syllabus can be just
a bit more specific. Where it says “There are to be a minimum of 15 references from peer
reviewed journals with additional sources from texts and the internet permitted.” We can add that
the internet sources need to include at least one (.org) and one (.gov) or (.edu) site. Once this
section is added, the guidelines, rubric, and syllabus all correlate with what is expected from the
peer reviewed journals, additional texts, and the internet sources.
The next small step to improving this paper prompt is looking at word choice. If we look
at the rubric, you use the words content and knowledge. As discussed above, these words could
be used interchangeably. I believe these two categories could be placed in the same section since
one describes each piece of the paper and the other describes the comprehensive knowledge of
the topic. With this terminology, they sound the same. Instead of giving points for knowledge,
maybe we could change this category to professionalism. Reward the students for writing in an
academic tone, using academic sources, and completing the paper with academic vocabulary.
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Huffman states “To be useful, rubrics must be time and energy efficient.”2, by stating in your
syllabus to find further instruction and rewording some of the sections, your rubric could be
more time and energy efficient.
The last suggestion I have is to hand out the prompt for the rubric separate from the
syllabus. Yes, it may be helpful on the first day of classes to see what lies ahead, but it is also
intimidating. Syllabuses are already long and added on are four pages of information for the final
paper. If you handed the rubric and guidelines out separately it would be less intimidating and
the students would not have to worry about having to flip through the syllabus to find which
rubric goes to which section. Huffman states “the rubric serves as a self-evaluation form upon
completion of the projector assignment as well as a record for comments and communications
with the teacher”2. Since you are grading it in pieces, you could give the literature review
guidelines and rubric out first, describing what needs to be discussed and what is expected while
at your private meeting. At this meeting, you could redistribute the guidelines and rubric for the
final paper, allowing the students to take a look and generate any questions before the next class.
Handing the two rubrics to the students separately may allow them to focus on one piece at a
time.
Improving Global Concerns
There are a few global concerns that we can address to help the students have further
instruction about what they need to do and from you directly. From taking your classes in the
past, I know that you use the library as a resource more than most teachers do. I do not see much
of this in this class though. Perhaps we can add more of the library into this paper specifically.
Having taught this class in the past, you know exactly what you want from an “A” paper and
exactly what would constitute a “C” paper. Maybe we can leave examples of each type of paper
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in the library or on Blackboard. Examples are key when students are new to writing assignments.
If we left these two examples on reserve in the library or on Blackboard, students would be able
to compare and contrast their paper between the “A”, the “C” papers, and the rubric provided. In
Nordrum, Evans, and Gustafsson’s article they discuss the helpfulness of the example. They
discuss them providing an example paper along with the rubric it was graded on allows students
to understand how their own paper will be graded. In this study, the students were given a paper
from last year with a few errors and a rubric and asked to grade it. In our case, we could provide
the “A” and “C” paper with the corrections and rubric attached, allowing the students to see how
the rubric is followed when grading papers.3
Along the lines of using the library as a resource, maybe we can use it as a meeting place.
From speaking with you, I know it is hard to condense your course to give the student’s class
time in the library since there is already so much you need to cover. Perhaps we can make some
of your office hours in the library. If you tell the students that you, me, or both of us will be in
the library for a certain period of time on a certain day they could come, ask questions, show a
specific portion of the paper and get right back to work. Office hours are great but when working
on a paper, it is hard to break the concentration to go to your office to hope you are there.
Providing students with library “office” hours make you more available and accessible to the in a
more approachable way.
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References
1. Saddler B, Andrade H. The Writing Rubric. Educational Leadership [serial online].
October 2004; 62(2):48-52. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA.
Accessed October 24, 2015.
2. Huffman E. Authentic Rubrics. Art Education 1998; 51(1):64–68.
3. Nordrum L, Evans K, Gustafsson M. Comparing student learning experiences of in-text
commentary and rubric-articulated feedback: strategies for formative assessment.
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education [serial online]. December 2013;
38(8):919-940. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed
October 24, 2015.