Free Press photo by Pat Christman
After a semester of Web-based writing mentorship, ninth-grade students at Mankato East were able to meet their college mentors face to face during a Thursday reception. Pictured are (left to right) East student Lindsay Lilly, MSU mentor Nana Boakye and East student Maha Hassan.
At the beginning of the year, Amanda Holmgren admits her writing skills were just OK.
But now, after participating in an intensive Web-based mentoring program coordinated in partnership between Minnesota State Mankato and Mankato Area Public Schools, Holmgren says her writing skills have improved noticeably.
She’s more comfortable, more confident and — perhaps most importantly — less anxious about the graduation-required writing test awaiting her in the spring.
“I think I’ll be able to do a better job on it now,” Holmgren said.
The idea for the Web-based mentoring program germinated after Michelle Peterson began teaching ninth-grade English at the beginning of this school year.
As a first-year teacher, Peterson said she was “astounded” by the wide spectrum of writing skills demonstrated by her 150 students. But she also noticed she didn’t have enough time to provide the detailed feedback that is so important in helping students develop their writing skills.
In an effort to find a solution, Peterson contacted one of her former instructors at MSU, Jackie Arnold. Together with Cindy Olson, a teacher on special assignment with Mankato Area Public Schools who is working on innovative teaching strategies and partnerships, they came up with the idea of a Web-based writing mentorship.
Minnesota State Mankato students in Arnold’s Teaching English in Secondary Schools class mentored two or three ninth-grade students throughout the semester on a paper similar to the one they will write for the graduation test. In return, MSU students received precious experience with real students and real classrooms while the ninth-graders received personalized and in-depth feedback on their writing.
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