Writing Coaches of Montana seeks volunteers for workshop

Writing Coaches of Montana seeks community members in Flathead County to participate in a one-day workshop to help assess student writing.  

Thanks to the generous support of Whitefish Community Foundation, Writing Coaches is currently conducting a research project which will assess the effectiveness of coaching on students’ writing outcomes. With school, guardian and student permissions, student work has been collected and anonymized.  

The organization needs volunteers to be trained at a one-day workshop to help score student work. The volunteer scoring event will take place on Saturday, March 8, from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Columbia Falls High School.  

Volunteers will need to participate in the entire day's in-person event. Morning refreshments and lunch are provided. Pre-registration is required. Fill out the interest form: www.forms.gle/944R69nHLBNf3X8cA. Educators can receive OPI renewal credits for attendance.  

Volunteer scorers will be trained by writing assessment expert, Beverly Chin, University of Montana Professor Emeritus of English and previous Director of English Teaching and Montana Writing Project. After being trained, participants will read student essays and score each paper according to the holistic rubric provided. The scores will not affect student grades. The data will be analyzed to determine if Writing Coaches of Montana's services affect student writing outcomes.  

Community members interested in learning more about the volunteer opportunity can contact Cassie Sheets at [email protected] or fill out the interest form: https://forms.gle/944R69nHLBNf3X8cA.