For this project and frame experiment, Alexa and Claire ran a class workshop on charting. Using past experience, demonstrations, and answering questions, the Colleagues met what emeritus professor and author George Hillocks calls “the need to provide support for students as they first engage in new writing tasks and then move toward independence in using procedural knowledge required by those tasks.” The students were released to chart the key information of their sources and invited to discuss their charting decisions and experiences before the paper was due.

Framing this inconspicuous experiment was an opportunity for Peer Colleagues to observe and research learning processes from an implementation perspective, rather than a compliance perspective. It was also an opportunity for reflection. Results of a class survey revealed that the provided chart was restrictive for many students. As  George Hillocks believed, “Planning does not end with the invention of an activity. Like the writing process, the planning process involves feedback and revision.” So, Dr. Swiencicki, Alexa, and Claire evaluated the responses, revised the drafting process for Project #3, and adjusted their support.