Ron Berger’s book, An Ethic of Excellence is for me, the most important book on education I’ve ever read. It won’t take you long to read and it will probably change your life, or at least your teaching practice!
Here’s Ron Berger in different settings talking about how critique and multiple drafts are key to our students creating beautiful pieces of work.
Ron with a primary class talking about Austin’s Butterfly:
Critique and Feedback: The Story of Austin’s Butterfly from Expeditionary Learning on Vimeo.
Building Excellence in Student Work Through Critique and Revision
This six-minute video has been transformational for teachers and students K-12 in giving a clear picture of how student work can improve through focused critique. It shows the evolution of a scientific illustration of a butterfly through multiple drafts toward a high-quality final product.
Ron talking in general about critique and multiple drafts at High Tech High:
Ron Berger is the chief programme officer for Expeditionary Learning schools, and a massive inspiration for XP.
Here he is talking about how he came about his practice and why.
Using real examples of good (and bad!) student work is MUCH BETTER than just telling the kids what you expect (normally as a rubric or descriptors). It makes the task ahead of them feel more achievable and more realistic. When we as adults try to do something new, probably the first thing we do is seek out what others have done before us, work out what’s good and bad, and what we can do to improve it, or make it personal or fit the context better.
If we don’t have good student examples, why don’t we make the models / examples by doing the work first? Then after the activity, make sure you archive the genuine examples!
Ron Berger from EL leads a writing critique workshop where — based upon a piece of student writing — students identify the elements of a quality story.
