Despite collaborative teacher intentions, students often fall silent or acquiesce to the teacher’s agenda during writing conferences. In annotation-driven conferences, students prepare for and lead with annotations on their own writing. Their self-annotations provide a blueprint for teachers to recognize and respond to rhetorical choices. Annotation-driven conferences follow a rich history of writing teachers’ efforts to gain additional insight into students' intentions that are not immediately obvious on the page.
Karen Sheriff LeVan teaches English at Hesston College, a two-year college in central Kansas. With zeal for writing identity across the lifespan, she currently researches and writes about the struggle for words in the 5th grade classroom, college writing culture, and older adult creative writing groups. She can be reached at kslevan@cox.net
Marissa E. King, Teaching & Leading Initiative of Oklahoma
Marissa E. King’s teaching experience ranges from kindergarten to college. She is a regular contributor to Edutopia and Education World. Marissa is currently the Chief of Staff at the Teaching & Leading Initiative of Oklahoma. She can be reached at marissa.e.king@gmail.com
