Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Researched Projects
Don't forget to be working on your research for your researched project. I'd like you to be pretty close to finished with the research part by March 9 so you can give me an update on what you've learned. Then--and only then--can we talk about the possible directions your project might take (the various purposes you might pursue with their attendant possible audiences, genres, etc.). If you have any questions or want to talk through what you're learning, don't hesitate to post your own comment here, and your peers and I can offer a sounding board for you.
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Perhaps this isn't exactly part of a project, but here are some interesting articles about writing and education.
ReplyDeleteFrom *The American Scholar*: (aside from being interesting, these pieces are examples of good writing)
1. "The Seduction": A professor changes her point of view on teaching literature to non-major students. The link: http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-seduction/
2. "The Word Made Flesh": A writer compares the world of boxing to the craft of writing. The link: http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-word-made-flesh/
3. "The Disadvantages of an Elite Education": From a Yalie who teaches at Yale--on why Ivy League schools may disservice their academic charges. The link: http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-disadvantages-of-an-elite-education/
From the National Education Agency
4. "What We Can Learn From Finland": On some education reforms that have placed Finland at the top of the global education measures. I'm still trying to figure out what I think about this one. The link: http://www.nea.org/home/40991.htm
Just thought I'd share some articles.
My question is "How does a teacher teach writing (in four months) when he or she is also required to teach grammar and literature and specific modes of writing (like narrative, expository, persuasive, et al)?"
ReplyDeleteMuch of our reading and class discussion has acknowledged that the best writing, and the best learning through writing is achieved when the writing is authentic, which I take to mean: student-driven inquiry and response (like this particular research project, no less) and not a response to a teacher prompt. So I'm looking for ways to create these moments of authentic writing, while still meeting institutional requirements. In post-secondary, the problem appears to center on authentic moments rather than mode responses or responses to literature. In secondary, the problem is all the other stuff we have to teach--that has been subordinating writing, like literature; or, been replacing writing, like grammar.
I've lucked into my product. I've been asked give an inservice to the HS English department.
My idea is to generate a program skeleton that is intentionally flexible, giving the instructors a wide berth to teach according to their skills and preferences. I'm still working out the topics I need to discuss. (Any thoughts on that are welcome.)
So the product is three-fold:
1. Inservice (including presentation and PowerPoint)
2. Handouts or manual
3. Paper detailing my research and efforts (so they know the process has been data-driven, and is not simply the musings of an idealist or reform-minded naif)
Please feel free to offer advice or direction on any part of my plan, (I know it looks ambitious. I'm going to complete what I can for class, and outline the rest. But it should all be ready by summer) but my first big question is what should I have these teachers practice during the inservice that will blow their minds? I know many of them do not think of themselves as writers, or only as compositionists and not creative writers. I want to take them through some practice writing sessions that will (1) show them how they can do this in their own classes, and (2) change their minds about how they view the skill, craft, technique, art of writing.
Wow Andrew that looks like a tall order! One thing I can suggest is that teachers need to teach beyond the modes of writing and encourage impromtu writing, group writing, letter writing, and any other opportunity that arises in the classroom to write. Students need to write. They need to be writing in a writing class. It has always been my belief that as long as we encourage and promote a wide range of topics for writing, plenty of opportunities to write in the classroom, model our own writing techniques to our students on a regular basis, and provide ongoing opportunities for students to discuss - in small and in large group settings - their opinions and ideas on a topic, that we are meeting the writing needs of all students not just a small few. The teacher has to allow their students to drift off course in their discussions so that it will spark the motivation and authenticity you are looking for in their writing. As far as activities that will blow their minds, I wish I knew. One activity I like to use with my students is Writing Roulette - students are in groups of 4 or 5 and are given a choice among 7-8 different topics. Their group decides on a topic. Each student has a sheet of paper. They begin their story,(could be any mode they choose) and at the sound of a timer lasting about 5 min. they rotate clockwise their papers so that they continue on writing what their peers were writing until the timer sounds off and they rotate again. At the end, when everybody has provided their piece to each story, they read their (often times very funny) stories to the class. It's a great activity for collaborative writing that students are comfortable with but at the same time they're learning from each other.
ReplyDeleteThe topic for my research paper is what are the theories of 1st year writing that are out there that help prepare our students for the demands of college composition? I have found about 3 articles, however I am going to look into the articles Andrew posted. Thanks Andrew!
ReplyDeleteI'm reading *Spark* by Dr. John Ratey. (I strongly believe that disciplines often rediscover, in the terms of their particular discourses, things that are already being researched in other areas. So I like to look for interdisciplinary ideas and ways to synthesize things.)
ReplyDeleteRatey writes that the amount of stress (and the chemicals it whooshes into the brain), and the interactions of the amygdala mean that when someone learns a fear, the fear is there -- forever. The only way to counteract the fear is to create a new memory that is "louder" than the fear memory.
In most of us, this fear memory translates into staying out of that part of town, or not riding in the car with that person. For some people, the fear memory is so intense that it creates paranoia or worse.
The translation for our class: some of the interviews we've read, and some of the things I've heard people say, show that people have had some intensely negative encounters with writing. They are scared of writing (of committing to a topic, of putting themselves in print, of getting critiqued or graded, etc.). They have created a fear memory that will trigger their brains to begin self-preservation mode (i.e., they will become LESS creative as their brains shut down inessential areas), and will continue the process of having bad experiences with writing--essentially validating the fear.
Creating a "louder" positive memory is time-intensive and requires a deft hand and all sorts of people-interaction know-how.
Punchline: once we screw up a student (in our case, with writing; but, substitute any subject), it is likely they are screwed up forever.
Thus, "I'm not a writer," "I'm not a math person," "Oh, science isn't my thing."
I think this is very relevant to pedagogy, because the data imply that it would be easier to reteach a student who was taught incorrect material, than it would be to teach a brilliant student who was instructed correctly, but had a negative experience.