Messy Problem-Exploring through Video in First-Year Writing: Assessing What Counts

• problem-exploring is a messy part of student learning and the development of meta-awareness in first-year writing
• writing instructors might support students in messy problem-exploring through video composition and through careful attention to assessment practices
• writing instructors might reorient approaches to assessment to focus on ongoing formative reflection

In this article, we argue that writing instructors might support students in messy problem-exploring through multimodal composition assignments like video composition, and in particular, through careful attention to assessment practices. Through reflective analysis of one teacher's experiences with video composition in first-year writing, we suggest that ongoing formative reflection might be useful for prompting and extending problem-exploring within digital composition. We reflect specifically on Angie's interpretations of her students’ experiences with problem-exploring through video, we narrate how we came to see the limitations of product-focused assessment, and we offer a revised model of ongoing formative assessment.