The Red Pen. Empowering or Paralyzing?
How did you feel as a child when you got back your work and it was covered with red pen? Excited or fearful? Empowered or disappointed?
I find most people felt negative about the red pen.
WHY then do we use it? Let's explore the motive behind the red pen.
For some it may be a power trip to get to mark up a paper; sort of a passing along of the pain they felt with the red pen. But this is a whole other problem.
The motive behind the red pen, is usually that of wanting to give feedback that can be helpful to the child. Then let's explore feedback and how our RED PEN BEHAVIORS might impede that goal.
First - Research has a bit to say about feedback.
1. If any of the feedback on the page represents a SCORE, that is all the learner sees. Regardless of the quality of the rest of the comments, the only one that is remembered (and usually read) is the SCORE.
IMPLICATIONS - If you want your learner to read, internalize, and use the feedback, then...