ABSTRACT
Teachers of writing will coach their protégés to "add more description" or "rely on all senses". Linda Darling-Hammond describes how the Teacher Advancement Program gathers inter-rater reliability data from observers as feedback about the clarity of their rubrics. Educators engaged in the School Reform Initiative critical friendship, a particular kind of professional learning community, use descriptive protocols to seek perspective on work they have created or the work of their students. Evaluative language can muddle the goal and create a dependency on the feedback giver to mark progress, resulting in learned helplessness. The Common Core State Standards transition from persuasive writing to argumentative writing in grades 6-12 has heightened the need for students to argue cogently with claims, evidence, and reasons. The Sci Academy, a new school birthed out of the remnants of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, innovates using Carol Dweck's growth mindset framework.
