A few weeks after I began using Writing Workshop in class, Grace approached me after she arrived to school and asked "Mr. David, can we do a writing activity today?" Later that week, four students asked for writing paper and wrote personal letters to friends during play time instead of playing with toys. Students seemed excited about writing. This was especially exciting for me since I have struggled to motivate students to develop writing skills in the past. The positive feedback from my students motivated me to do my best to facilitate the Writing Workshop so it would be as enjoyable and educational as possible.
The positive student experiences with Writing Workshop fueled the pursuit of answering my research question, "How do EFL Kindergartners engage in Writing Workshop?" While some students indicated they had grown positive feeling towards writing after a few weeks and others had shown clear improvements in their writing skills, I still had some questions. How would students with low confidence and low interest in literacy respond to Writing Workshop? How would student egos be affected when the works of quick or proficient writers are displayed or shared next to the works of slow or less proficient writers? Would the sharing part of Writing Workshop allow adequate time for practicing speaking and listening skills that still need development? Would the student directed nature of Writing Workshop detract from explicit form instruction that carries so much weight in Korean schools?
By reflecting on the questions constantly on my mind, I quickly learned the importance of note taking during and after a Writing Workshop. I was able to write down what I learned as I conferred with each student, which would have been impossible had I tried to take whole class observations. I was able to observe and record writing strategies, students' struggles, and develop ideas for future teaching topics. I found that in addition to observing student behavior, students are willing to share their feelings and opinions on classroom activities freely. By interviewing students about their feelings on writing, Writing Workshop, and their thoughts on how they have progressed as writers, I could gain insight on student motivation, an important part of a successful Writing Workshop (Behymmer, 2003; Calkins, 2011; Fletcher & Portalupi, 200; Hertz & Heydenberl, 1997). A key concern was to determine if my students were developing writing skills. Following the recommendations of many practitioners of Writing Workshop, I collected all student written work, both assigned and unassigned (Behymmer, 2003; Calkins, 2011; Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001; Graves, 1985; Hertz & Heydenberl, 1997; Ray & Laminack, 2001). When work was to be displayed or sent home, I made copies to keep in student work folders. Analysis of student work can show their development through the stages of invented spelling and their use of writing strategies to create work.