Feedback in the Reader Project

While there are many ways to give writers feedback on their work, we have found one kind of feedback to be particularly effective in this context -- it's called a "think-aloud response." The think-aloud response is quite different from the kinds of feedback teachers typically give to students: rather than identifying errors, asking questions or making suggestions, the reader records herself reading the draft (or portion of the draft) aloud, pausing frequently to comment on what she is reading. While readers cannot literally describe their thinking, they can share "thoughts" about what they are expecting and what they find: "I don't understand what you mean here," or "I thought you were going to talk about X here, so I'm confused that you are discussing Y," and so on. The think-aloud response is, then, a kind of test of the draft -- it provides information that allows students to identify aspects of a draft that are working well and those that may need attention. This differs from traditional, directive kinds of feedback in that it leaves the work of deciding where and how to make changes to the writer.

If you would like more information about think aloud responses, or if you'd like to hear examples of Reader Project responses from prior semesters, click here.