Page 138 - Composition in Convergence The Impact of the New Media on Writing Assessment

VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY 105

However, it is not the mammoth database that makes TOPIC/
ICON worthy of recognition in the blending of networked writing
and assessment. Rather, the openness with which TTU conducts this
deep assessment procedure is estimable. All stakeholders involved in
the assessment process are able to obtain critical information when
it is needed. Students have access, both public and password-pro-
tected, to a variety of class-generated information. Instructors have
access to various classroom management tools and archives, all
fairly automated for ease of use. Program administrators have ac-
cess to important section statistics at their fingertips when statistics
are needed to answer questions or to solve problems. The accessibil-
ity to data that all participants have in the TOPIC/ICON system dem-
onstrates that it is possible to create a writing assessment plan that
merges two technologies and provides responsibilities to everyone
involved in the learning process.
One might think the TOPIC/ICON system would be cumbersome
given its size, but it is a model for efficiency. The TTU faculty in-
volved in building TOPIC/ICON have redesigned the roles of instruc-
tor, dividing the work load into two separate activities: classroom
management and document evaluation. Consequently, there are
classroom instructors and document instructors. Classroom in-
structors direct classroom learning. Document instructors maintain
responsibility for evaluation and commentary on student work. The
division of labor here is important, because it becomes incredibly
grueling for instructors to act as classroom manager, motivator,
writing coach, and final arbiter of student work while teaching in
networked space. Separating the practices allows instructors to
gravitate to their strengths. For universities with large graduate
teaching staffs or adjunct faculty, this option offers better program-
matic control over the quality of instruction in that writing special-
ists who have a better presence in the classroom or who are more
experienced with students can have the burden of grading removed.
Those who are exceptional readers of student texts but who may fal-
ter in the classroom because of their lack of graduate or teaching ex-
perience can do their best as well as gain a stronger background in
working with student texts. With this system, it is easy to set up a
rotating teaching schedule so all instructors eventually spend time
either in the classroom or on evaluation. Therefore, the work load is
shared by everyone, and a coordination of best practices in the
teaching and assessing of writing can emerge.