I definitely agree that we have read many complex texts this semester. There were certain texts which I struggled with or re-read sections of, especially some of the supplementary articles assigned. However, I also agree that some of the texts were more helpful than others.
The three texts from the course readings which I feel were most useful to me are Peter Elbow’s “High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning and Responding to Writing,” McLeod, Miraglia, Soven, and Thaiss’ WAC For the New Millennium: Strategies For Continuing Writing-Across-The-Curriculum Programs, and John C. Bean’s Engaging Ideas.
I found Peter Elbow’s “High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning and Responding to Writing” to be useful to me because I had read this article once prior to this class and again at the time it was assigned for this class. After reading it that second time, with a little more context and background knowledge, I feel like I better grasped the concept of writing to learn as a whole. I believe it was a great introduction to the idea of writing to learn. I also believe that it was really useful in the sense that it described the distinction between and importance of both high and low stakes writing assignments quite clearly. In addition, it provided us with helpful suggestions concerning how to respond to each form of writing, along with additional useful suggestions for classroom implementation. Overall, I found this article to be practical because it applied directly to what I will be doing in the classroom, without any extra and unnecessary information. This article will affect my pedagogy in the sense that I am now better informed on ways to respond to both high and low stakes writing.
I found the selections we read from McLeod, Miraglia, Soven, and Thaiss’ WAC For the New Millennium: Strategies For Continuing Writing-Across-The-Curriculum Programs to be useful as well. Although I did not find this text as easily accessible as Engaging Ideas, I believe it had a lot of useful information to offer. I found Chapter one particularly useful. I found this selection of text very useful as an introduction to a topic which I had never heard of and knew nothing about prior to taking this course. Therefore, most of the first readings helped me understand its intentions and practices and were very useful, however, I find this chapter of the text specifically useful because it provides a clear context of WAC’s place in education today. This includes topics such as technologies’ place in and affects on WAC and the developing concern for WAC’s use with non-native speakers of English. This text has impacted my future teaching practices in the sense that I am now very aware of how large a role technology plays in WAC today and because I am now curious as to which writing activities are the best to implement WAC in classrooms which include non-native English speakers, which will best serve them.
I found John C. Bean’s Engaging Ideas to be the most useful text of the course readings this semester. I saw it as the cornerstone text of this course. I found the selections from this text to be most useful because of the fact that I also found it to be very accessible. I also found it most interesting to read of all the texts. I truly believe that the ideas found in this text get to the core of WAC. I found chapters three and four, “Engaging All Learners: Valuing Professional and Personal Writing” and “Dealing With Issues of Grammar and Correctness” most useful because these chapters went beyond theory and into practice. I did find the first two chapters interesting but not as useful to my future classroom practices as chapters three and four. Those two chapters address significant classroom practice issues. They provide important suggestions to common classroom issues such as accommodating student diversity and many useful suggestions on how to deal with grammar and correctness. I also found chapter five, “Formal Writing Assignments,” useful in the sense that it addresses designing problem-based formal writing assignments. This is not only a topic of interest to me, but also one of significance to the writing I may assign in my future classrooms.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Blog #6 + Reflection
Response to my Partner's Letter
Dear Jayme,
I think you have brought up a very good question. Here is my interpretation of that excerpt. I hope you find it useful.
I completely understand “the need to reform pedagogy, taking into account the rise of new technology.” I understand this need as some of the old ways of pedagogy are outdated and either ignore or disserve new technology. I take this as a calling for educators to readjust and improve current pedagogy to accommodate the times we live in and keep up with them in a sense. I also see it as a way to accommodate students better as time progresses.
I also understand that we should consider “the question of WAC and writers whose primary literacy is in languages other than English,” perhaps by allowing these writers to write in both their native language across the curriculum, in order to get a better grasp on the material, and in English, in order to practice their command on their new language. Perhaps they can either alternate between writing in the two languages or write two shorter responses, one in each language.
As for the part that confuses you, the last element that the text suggests we look more closely at, which is “politics, particularly [ ] as reflected in racism.” First, I would like to say that I agree with you when you say that it is “loaded.” I am not quite sure what the author meant by this. Perhaps they are suggesting that minorities have some unfair disadvantages when it comes to WAC.
You could be right when you suggest that she is trying to say that “literacy and [the] act of teaching in itself is much larger and [should] be looked at on a more social political level.” I definitely agree with you when you state “WAC and the communication of teachers across the board [are] important because [they] will change processes that held back the poor, women, and certain ethnicities in the past.” I’m not absolutely sure. I could be wrong about that. But I hope that helped, at least somewhat.
I also agree that communication across the board will encourage mental growth and that "all of us can use the tools at our disposal." To answer your question, I am not sure if “that will end hatred, dominance, and poor who are uneducated” either. It is actually very complicated. It may not end like that for some, because there will always be people that abuse their power. However, it might help others, because there will always be people who are more fortunate and would like to help those who are less fortunate and underprivileged. The world is very complex that way.
I think your second question concerning McCarthy's case study was yet another excellent question. I completely agree that “Dr. Forson should have broken down the assignment into assignments with series of drafts. Students could then use draft 1 to explore poetic terminology and use draft 2 to better develop thoughts and personal input.” I think that was an excellent suggestion on your part.
I also agree with your theory concerning Dave. I absolutely see where you are coming from when you say “Dave should have been given a chance to revise specifically what he was missing from his paper. In other words, if he was using theories incorrectly to support an opinion he should have been shown his mistake and given a chance to correct it. I think as teachers there is something to say about forgetting about grades and actually being concerned with students learning: reforming pedagogy.” I especially agree with the last sentence of your statement. As educators, we need to be primarily concerned with whether or not our students are actually learning and gaining from the assignments we assign, as opposed to worried about grades and or other less meaningful elements. As far as Doctor Forson's teaching method based on the case study and Dave's interpretation of the class, I see eye to eye with you in the sense that I also believe that Dave should have been given more support and that Dr. Forson should have been more flexible.
Hope you enjoyed our letter writing experience, see you in class on Tuesday night!
Sincerely,
Rachael
Reflection
I liked this assignment in the sense that we were able to see someone else’s perspective on the readings. I also agree with Jayme in the sense that these letters allowed us to think in ways we would not have otherwise thought in. I also really like the fact that it was easier to discuss overarching themes that appear in all of the readings, as opposed to isolated quotes. It was also nice to be able to compare and contrast readings. And perhaps the greatest part of the letter format is that you have the option of asking questions/ the open lines of communication. However, I do feel that there are some limitations to this type of blog. First, when responding to your partner’s letter, you are obligated to discuss the elements of the readings that interested/fascinated/confused that person, rather than the elements that interested/fascinated/confused you. Next, it is not simple to discuss readings that are not connected without breaking the flow of the letter in the process. Last, sometimes another person’s interpretation of the readings can confuse you further rather than help you understand better. Their interpretations may nurture your misconceptions or cause you to develop new misconceptions.
Overall, it was a good experience. I would try this format out with my future students. However, I would be sure to closely monitor the benefits and disadvantages and look for ways to constantly improve the format. I would likely give them a focus to write about for each letter. I see how this format can be useful, however I personally like the 2x Journals better for some reason.
Dear Jayme,
I think you have brought up a very good question. Here is my interpretation of that excerpt. I hope you find it useful.
I completely understand “the need to reform pedagogy, taking into account the rise of new technology.” I understand this need as some of the old ways of pedagogy are outdated and either ignore or disserve new technology. I take this as a calling for educators to readjust and improve current pedagogy to accommodate the times we live in and keep up with them in a sense. I also see it as a way to accommodate students better as time progresses.
I also understand that we should consider “the question of WAC and writers whose primary literacy is in languages other than English,” perhaps by allowing these writers to write in both their native language across the curriculum, in order to get a better grasp on the material, and in English, in order to practice their command on their new language. Perhaps they can either alternate between writing in the two languages or write two shorter responses, one in each language.
As for the part that confuses you, the last element that the text suggests we look more closely at, which is “politics, particularly [ ] as reflected in racism.” First, I would like to say that I agree with you when you say that it is “loaded.” I am not quite sure what the author meant by this. Perhaps they are suggesting that minorities have some unfair disadvantages when it comes to WAC.
You could be right when you suggest that she is trying to say that “literacy and [the] act of teaching in itself is much larger and [should] be looked at on a more social political level.” I definitely agree with you when you state “WAC and the communication of teachers across the board [are] important because [they] will change processes that held back the poor, women, and certain ethnicities in the past.” I’m not absolutely sure. I could be wrong about that. But I hope that helped, at least somewhat.
I also agree that communication across the board will encourage mental growth and that "all of us can use the tools at our disposal." To answer your question, I am not sure if “that will end hatred, dominance, and poor who are uneducated” either. It is actually very complicated. It may not end like that for some, because there will always be people that abuse their power. However, it might help others, because there will always be people who are more fortunate and would like to help those who are less fortunate and underprivileged. The world is very complex that way.
I think your second question concerning McCarthy's case study was yet another excellent question. I completely agree that “Dr. Forson should have broken down the assignment into assignments with series of drafts. Students could then use draft 1 to explore poetic terminology and use draft 2 to better develop thoughts and personal input.” I think that was an excellent suggestion on your part.
I also agree with your theory concerning Dave. I absolutely see where you are coming from when you say “Dave should have been given a chance to revise specifically what he was missing from his paper. In other words, if he was using theories incorrectly to support an opinion he should have been shown his mistake and given a chance to correct it. I think as teachers there is something to say about forgetting about grades and actually being concerned with students learning: reforming pedagogy.” I especially agree with the last sentence of your statement. As educators, we need to be primarily concerned with whether or not our students are actually learning and gaining from the assignments we assign, as opposed to worried about grades and or other less meaningful elements. As far as Doctor Forson's teaching method based on the case study and Dave's interpretation of the class, I see eye to eye with you in the sense that I also believe that Dave should have been given more support and that Dr. Forson should have been more flexible.
Hope you enjoyed our letter writing experience, see you in class on Tuesday night!
Sincerely,
Rachael
Reflection
I liked this assignment in the sense that we were able to see someone else’s perspective on the readings. I also agree with Jayme in the sense that these letters allowed us to think in ways we would not have otherwise thought in. I also really like the fact that it was easier to discuss overarching themes that appear in all of the readings, as opposed to isolated quotes. It was also nice to be able to compare and contrast readings. And perhaps the greatest part of the letter format is that you have the option of asking questions/ the open lines of communication. However, I do feel that there are some limitations to this type of blog. First, when responding to your partner’s letter, you are obligated to discuss the elements of the readings that interested/fascinated/confused that person, rather than the elements that interested/fascinated/confused you. Next, it is not simple to discuss readings that are not connected without breaking the flow of the letter in the process. Last, sometimes another person’s interpretation of the readings can confuse you further rather than help you understand better. Their interpretations may nurture your misconceptions or cause you to develop new misconceptions.
Overall, it was a good experience. I would try this format out with my future students. However, I would be sure to closely monitor the benefits and disadvantages and look for ways to constantly improve the format. I would likely give them a focus to write about for each letter. I see how this format can be useful, however I personally like the 2x Journals better for some reason.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Blog #5
Letter to My Partner
Dear Jayme,
The first idea that comes to mind for me concerning this week’s readings is the ever important idea of connecting writing and content in a meaningful way. When Bean provided the example of how some “students complain that a writing teacher has no business criticizing one’s ideas (‘This is a writing class!’) just as a history or science teacher has no business criticizing one’s writing (‘This is not a writing class!’),” (16) this sparked a personal connection for me. As a high school student, I was usually frustrated when a writing teacher only commented on my spelling and grammar and said nothing concerning the content of my writing. It made me feel that the assignment was a waste of time and that I could have written just anything if I was going to be judged and graded based solely on spelling and grammar skills. This emphasis on skill allows writing students to get by without using any critical thinking or engagement in content. Therefore, I would personally disagree with this observation. I think the real problem is teachers who think this way, would you agree?
I believe that a large part of Bean’s underlying argument is that writing is critical for much more than spelling and grammar and I would agree. Good writing can do a lot. Bean describes academic writing, beginning at the bottom of page 17 and continuing at the top of page 18. This reminded me of one significant function of good writing, which is writing as a means of organization of ideas and evidence. I see organization as he describes structure, thesis statement, and supporting evidence. Do you see what I mean and would you agree?
Rose clearly shares Bean’s sentiments concerning writing. He also sees writing as an important component of learning. He demonstrates this as he explores the history of teaching writing and various theories concerning writing. At one point in the article, Rose discusses the strong emphasis that was placed on the scientific ways of teaching writing, such as finding ways to eliminate the production of errors in student writing in earlier times (Page 344-345). I found this portion of the reading interesting. However, I would absolutely agree with Rose when he states “When student writing is viewed in this particularistic, pseudo-scientific way, it gets defined in very limited terms as a narrow band of inadequate behavior separate from the vastly complex composing that faculty members engage in for a living and delve into for work and for play. And such perception yields what it intends: a behavior that is stripped of its rich cognitive and rhetorical complexity” (345). What are your thoughts?
Both Bean and Rose discuss writing as a tool. In certain ways I think it is and in certain ways I think it is much more. What do you think?
One of the largest issues I found in the readings was the problem of how to classify writing (Is it a skill? Is it a tool? Is it something else entirely?) I feel that this is a very complex question and is left somewhat unresolved. I would say it is and isn’t each of these. What are your thoughts?
And did you come across any other interesting quotes or ideas throughout your reading of this week’s texts that you would like to share with me?
Sincerely,
Rachael
Dear Jayme,
The first idea that comes to mind for me concerning this week’s readings is the ever important idea of connecting writing and content in a meaningful way. When Bean provided the example of how some “students complain that a writing teacher has no business criticizing one’s ideas (‘This is a writing class!’) just as a history or science teacher has no business criticizing one’s writing (‘This is not a writing class!’),” (16) this sparked a personal connection for me. As a high school student, I was usually frustrated when a writing teacher only commented on my spelling and grammar and said nothing concerning the content of my writing. It made me feel that the assignment was a waste of time and that I could have written just anything if I was going to be judged and graded based solely on spelling and grammar skills. This emphasis on skill allows writing students to get by without using any critical thinking or engagement in content. Therefore, I would personally disagree with this observation. I think the real problem is teachers who think this way, would you agree?
I believe that a large part of Bean’s underlying argument is that writing is critical for much more than spelling and grammar and I would agree. Good writing can do a lot. Bean describes academic writing, beginning at the bottom of page 17 and continuing at the top of page 18. This reminded me of one significant function of good writing, which is writing as a means of organization of ideas and evidence. I see organization as he describes structure, thesis statement, and supporting evidence. Do you see what I mean and would you agree?
Rose clearly shares Bean’s sentiments concerning writing. He also sees writing as an important component of learning. He demonstrates this as he explores the history of teaching writing and various theories concerning writing. At one point in the article, Rose discusses the strong emphasis that was placed on the scientific ways of teaching writing, such as finding ways to eliminate the production of errors in student writing in earlier times (Page 344-345). I found this portion of the reading interesting. However, I would absolutely agree with Rose when he states “When student writing is viewed in this particularistic, pseudo-scientific way, it gets defined in very limited terms as a narrow band of inadequate behavior separate from the vastly complex composing that faculty members engage in for a living and delve into for work and for play. And such perception yields what it intends: a behavior that is stripped of its rich cognitive and rhetorical complexity” (345). What are your thoughts?
Both Bean and Rose discuss writing as a tool. In certain ways I think it is and in certain ways I think it is much more. What do you think?
One of the largest issues I found in the readings was the problem of how to classify writing (Is it a skill? Is it a tool? Is it something else entirely?) I feel that this is a very complex question and is left somewhat unresolved. I would say it is and isn’t each of these. What are your thoughts?
And did you come across any other interesting quotes or ideas throughout your reading of this week’s texts that you would like to share with me?
Sincerely,
Rachael
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Blog #4
Fulwiler: Each term, I write weekly letters with one of my classes, composing my syllabus as a letter, requesting letters back. I would write letters with all my classes if I had the time and energy, but I don’t. I ask other classes to keep journals and share selected entries with me to which I informally respond (16).
Albanese: Is it just me or does this sound unfair? I completely understand how he would not have the time to write letters with multiple classes. However, it just seems completely unfair to the classes who do not get the opportunity to participate. If Fulwiler is advocating the use of these letters and arguing their effectiveness, then isn’t he also saying that his other classes who are not participating are receiving the short end of the stick? Isn’t he failing them in a sense? This is similar to choosing a favorite student; it is like he is choosing a favorite class and providing them with special treatment. If he cannot do it with all of his classes, then shouldn’t he find a different, more efficient method that he can provide to all of them, a method that doesn’t leave any student or class out?
Fulwiler: Most people write letters in their natural voices: first person pronouns, contradictions, personal asides, digressions, humor, slang, expletives…I prefer dashes to semicolons, ellipses to transitions, sometimes sentence fragments, other times endless sentences (19).
Albanese: In other words, I believe that Fulwiler is trying to say that letter writing is in a sense the most simple and basic form of writing. People generally tend to let their guards down when writing letters because they are not bound by limitations or conventions. They have the freedom to express themselves in their own unique ways, without the risk of being penalized or incorrect. Letter writing seems comfortable. Therefore, anyone can write a letter.
Fulwiler: At term’s end, I move the letters from an informal to a formal assignment-or as Peter Elbow would say, from low to high stakes- and expect now to see more focused, deliberate, and crafted writing examining themes, patterns, and concerns of a term’s worth of correspondence (23).
Albanese: I believe that this can be a good method because students have the opportunity to practice and experiment with their own writing all semester before they are required to present a formal piece of writing. At the point where students are asked to complete a high stakes writing assignment, they have already had enough practice with all of the low stakes writing assignments that have been assigned throughout the semester. Therefore, they are likely better prepared to succeed with their final writing assignments of the semester.
Bean: Although students normally write only a few formal papers for a course, they can do behind the scenes exploratory writing on a daily basis (6).
Albanese: This reminds me of Fulwiler’s letter writing assignments. Those assignments were a form of exploratory writing on a weekly basis. In the letters students grappled with and explored concepts from each of the texts and other class based issues. This is one good example of how to structure a form of low stakes writing. Those students were most definitely expanding their critical thinking skills as they wrote those exploratory letters each week. Journal entries also seem like a good form of exploratory writing.
Bean: Good writing, I like to tell my students, grows out of good talking-either talking with classmates or talking dialogically with oneself through exploratory writing (7).
Albanese: I completely agree with this statement. It is often true that hearing one person’s ideas, whether it be in a classroom discussion, small group, pair, or otherwise, tends to spark a connected or entirely new idea in another person. Hearing a survey of other people’s ideas might also assist in helping one come to their own informed conclusions. What one person knows another might lack knowledge of, talking collaboratively tends to help fill in the gaps.
Bean: No matter how much we exhort students to write several drafts and to collaborate with peers, most of our students will continue to write papers on the night before they are due unless we structure our courses to promote writing as a process (8).
Albanese: I believe that this quote is completely true. Unfortunately, I know people on the graduate level who still write papers the night before they are due! I believe it becomes a force of habit after a while. If we teach our students that writing is a serious process early on and get them into the habit of consistently writing drafts and making revisions for all of their formal writing assignments, then they will likely continue this habit for the rest of their academic careers.
McLeod/ Miraglia/ Soven/ Thaiss: The warning years of the twentieth century mark higher education’s winter of discontent a bleak time of scarce resources and few bright days. Survival is most on our minds, not doing extras that help our students learn more and better. The quest for students, external funding and ways to save money saps most of our institutional energy while faculty busily sandbag against rising teaching loads and class sizes (2).
Albanese: I agree with this quote to a certain extent. However, I recall reading somewhere that the beauty of WAC programs is that they do not necessary require a lot of funding to implement and teachers do not need extensive training in order to incorporate them into their classrooms. WAC is both simple and effective in many ways.
McLeod/ Miraglia/ Soven/ Thaiss: Service learning programs vary considerably across institutions, but they all have one thing in common: they attempt to connect the classroom to the community in a way that encourages experiential learning on the part of the students. In other words, they attempt to link town and gown in ways that simultaneously help the community and fulfill educational objectives (9).
Albanese: This reminds me of a project in which I participated in when I was in the seventh grade. Our science teacher had brought the class on a trip to a local park to plant flowers in the garden. We had a connected writing project in the classroom. I both enjoyed the project and learned more than I usually did in the science classroom. I still remember it to this day, it must have been effective. Therefore, I personally believe in the effectiveness of this method.
McLeod/ Miraglia/ Soven/ Thaiss: By its very nature, then, WAC has been and continues to be a dynamic movement, one well suited to a postmodern paradigm of change in higher education (22).
Albanese: This quote specifies the usefulness of WAC programs in ‘higher education.’ If WAC programs are appropriate for all school levels (elementary, middle, high school and so on), I am wondering why this chapter repeatedly focuses solely on higher education, failing to mention WAC’s use or effectiveness at any other level. I would like to read about WAC programs used on the secondary level because I feel that that would be most beneficial to me as a secondary teacher in training.
Williams: The great thing about repetition is that it makes items look like they belong together, even if the elements are not exactly the same. You can see here that once you establish a couple of key repetitive items, you can vary those items and still create a consistent look (59).
Albanese: The information in this particular quote sounds like it can be very useful to our individual website creation projects. I have highlighted and noted this quote to refer back to during the process of creating my website.
Williams: Don’t overdo it with repetition, but try to ‘unify with variety’ (61).
Albanese: I believe that this is a very important suggestion to be conscious of when creating any visual design. It is important to be cautious because if the repetition is overdone, the design can appear very cluttered and or overcrowded and therefore, visually displeasing to the reader.
Williams: A repetition of visual elements throughout the design unifies and strengthens a piece by tying together otherwise separate parts. Repetition is very useful on one-page pieces, and is critical in multi-page documents (where we often just call it being consistent).
Albanese: I have observed that each of the principles mentioned thus far, serve, in part, to unify the design. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that unity must be one of the top priorities in a design. Second, I have learned that repetition will be essential in our web design projects because they will each be ‘multi-page documents,’ where we need that consistency in order to create unity in each of our designs.
Emig: Critics of these terms like Louise Rosenblatt rightfully point out that the connotation of passivity too often accompanies the notion of receptivity when reading, like listening, is a vital, construing act (123).
Albanese: I agree with Rosenblatt as well. I also believe that reading should be an active activity as opposed to a passive one. A reader should be continuously attempting to make meaning of the words on the pages and to make connections as they are reading.
Emig: But to say that talking is a valuable form of prewriting is not to say that writing is talk recorded, an inaccuracy appearing in far too many composition texts (123).
Albanese: I believe that talking as pre-writing is more like of brain storming. Speaking is typically more spontaneous, while writing is typically more crafted, except in special cases, such as making a speech or presentation.
Britton: An ‘illusion of life’ she says, ‘is the primary illusion of all poetic art. It is at least tentatively established by the very first sentence, which has to switch the reader’s or hearer’s attitude from conversational interest to literary interest, i.e., from actuality to fiction. We make this shift with great care, and much more often than we realize, even in the midst of conversation; one has to say ‘You know about the two Scotchmen, who…,’ to make everybody in earshot suspend the actual conversation and attend to ‘the’ two Scots and ‘their’ absurdities. Jokes are a special literary form to which people will attend on the spur of the moment [1953 p.23] (153).
Albanese: I disagree with this quote. I believe that even a literary piece can begin sounding like a conversation and that a conversation can at times begin sounding like a literary piece. I believe the distinction between whether it is literary or conversational can come later, not always at the beginning. This can happen in cases where an artist is using the element of surprise and when everyday people attempt to sound more intellectual or artistic. In a way I believe that the two can be interchangeable at certain points. The ‘shift’ that she speaks of can take place later than she assumes.
Letter to My Partner
Dear Jayme,
This week I came across many interesting quotes in the readings. Some really stood out to me. I have passionate responses to some of these quotes, especially some of those I found in Fulwiler and Bean’s pieces. I found those two pieces to be the most compelling and most interesting readings of all of this week's readings. I also believe that they connect the most as well. In some instances, it seems as if the two authors are in dialogue with each other. I was wondering if you agree with my responses to some of their quotes or if you have a differing opinion that you would like to share with me.
The following are some of the Fulwiler quotes I found, my responses to them, and some questions for you.
“Each term, I write weekly letters with one of my classes, composing my syllabus as a letter, requesting letters back. I would write letters with all my classes if I had the time and energy, but I don’t. I ask other classes to keep journals and share selected entries with me to which I informally respond” (16).
Is it just me or does this sound unfair? I completely understand how he would not have the time to write letters with multiple classes. However, it just seems completely unfair to the classes who do not get the opportunity to participate. If Fulwiler is advocating the use of these letters and arguing their effectiveness, then isn’t he also saying that his other classes who are not participating are receiving the short end of the stick? Isn’t he failing them in a sense? This is similar to choosing a favorite student; it is like he is choosing a favorite class and providing them with special treatment. If he cannot do it with all of his classes, then shouldn’t he find a different, more efficient method that he can provide to all of them, a method that doesn’t leave any student or class out?
“Most people write letters in their natural voices: first person pronouns, contradictions, personal asides, digressions, humor, slang, expletives…I prefer dashes to semicolons, ellipses to transitions, sometimes sentence fragments, other times endless sentences” (19).
In other words, I believe that Fulwiler is trying to say that letter writing is in a sense the most simple and basic form of writing. People generally tend to let their guards down when writing letters because they are not bound by limitations or conventions. They have the freedom to express themselves in their own unique ways, without the risk of being penalized or incorrect. Letter writing seems comfortable. Do you agree with my observations?
“At term’s end, I move the letters from an informal to a formal assignment-or as Peter Elbow would say, from low to high stakes- and expect now to see more focused, deliberate, and crafted writing examining themes, patterns, and concerns of a term’s worth of correspondence” (23).
Do you believe that this can be a good method because students have the opportunity to practice and experiment with their own writing all semester before they are required to present a formal piece of writing? At the point where students are asked to complete a high stakes writing assignment, they have already had enough practice with all of the low stakes writing assignments that have been assigned throughout the semester. Do you think they are likely better prepared to succeed with their final writing assignments of the semester?
The following are some of the Bean quotes I found, my responses to them, and some questions for you.
“Although students normally write only a few formal papers for a course, they can do behind the scenes exploratory writing on a daily basis” (6).
This reminds me of Fulwiler’s letter writing assignments. Those assignments were a form of exploratory writing on a weekly basis. In the letters students grappled with and explored concepts from each of the texts and other class based issues. This is one good example of how to structure a form of low stakes writing. Those students were most definitely expanding their critical thinking skills as they wrote those exploratory letters each week. Do you agree? Do you think journal entries also seem like a good form of exploratory writing?
“Good writing, I like to tell my students, grows out of good talking-either talking with classmates or talking dialogically with oneself through exploratory writing” (7).
I completely agree with this statement, do you agree? It is often true that hearing one person’s ideas, whether it be in a classroom discussion, small group, pair, or otherwise, tends to spark a connected or entirely new idea in another person. Hearing a survey of other people’s ideas might also assist in helping one come to their own informed conclusions. Do you think what one person knows another might lack knowledge of? Do you also think that talking collaboratively tends to help fill in the gaps?
“No matter how much we exhort students to write several drafts and to collaborate with peers, most of our students will continue to write papers on the night before they are due unless we structure our courses to promote writing as a process” (8).
I believe that this quote is completely true. Unfortunately, I know people on the graduate level who still write papers the night before they are due! I believe it becomes a force of habit after a while. Do you think if we teach our students that writing is a serious process early on we will get them into the habit of consistently writing drafts and making revisions for all of their formal writing assignments, then they will likely continue this habit for the rest of their academic careers?
Lastly, there is one quote from McLeod/ Miraglia/ Soven/ Thaiss’ piece that I would like to share.
“By its very nature, then, WAC has been and continues to be a dynamic movement, one well suited to a postmodern paradigm of change in higher education” (22).
This quote specifies the usefulness of WAC programs in ‘higher education.’ If WAC programs are appropriate for all school levels (elementary, middle, high school and so on), Does this chapter make you wonder why it repeatedly focuses solely on higher education, failing to mention WAC’s use or effectiveness at any other level? Wouldn’t you like to read about WAC programs used on the secondary level because they would be most beneficial to you as a secondary teacher in training?
Sincerely,
Rachael
Response to my Partner's Letter
Dear Jayme,
I do agree with your theory that Chapter 1 of WAC is a great outline for thinking about Writing Across the Curriculum as a whole. I think that is an excellent observation.
Also, I completely agree with your notion that students should be learning integration at an even earlier level in high school. In fact, I even asked you a similar question in my letter prior to reading your letter. High school definitely should not be for learning information and fact only, leaving college as the time to actually start thinking critically! And to answer your question, I do not think that critical thinking can be separated from active learning. In fact, I believe the two go hand in hand with each other.
Also, Yes, I do think that WAC should be a part of all levels of schooling, since writing is needed for students to think critically and make connections.
And yes, I do think that WAC has become ECAC (Electronic Communication Across the Curriculum). I also do think that WAC changing to ECAC is just another restructuring and transformation to allow for more critical and active thinking and if students are comfortable with technology and will likely need to be familiar with different forms of technology for most future careers, then why not?
Lastly, I am not completely sure of what you mean when you say “Would [that] mean that WAC has integrated into another domain?” I believe that WAC is its own domain in certain ways. However, I apologize, I cannot answer that question directly and specifically because I'm not exactly sure what you mean.
Sincerely,
Rachael
Albanese: Is it just me or does this sound unfair? I completely understand how he would not have the time to write letters with multiple classes. However, it just seems completely unfair to the classes who do not get the opportunity to participate. If Fulwiler is advocating the use of these letters and arguing their effectiveness, then isn’t he also saying that his other classes who are not participating are receiving the short end of the stick? Isn’t he failing them in a sense? This is similar to choosing a favorite student; it is like he is choosing a favorite class and providing them with special treatment. If he cannot do it with all of his classes, then shouldn’t he find a different, more efficient method that he can provide to all of them, a method that doesn’t leave any student or class out?
Fulwiler: Most people write letters in their natural voices: first person pronouns, contradictions, personal asides, digressions, humor, slang, expletives…I prefer dashes to semicolons, ellipses to transitions, sometimes sentence fragments, other times endless sentences (19).
Albanese: In other words, I believe that Fulwiler is trying to say that letter writing is in a sense the most simple and basic form of writing. People generally tend to let their guards down when writing letters because they are not bound by limitations or conventions. They have the freedom to express themselves in their own unique ways, without the risk of being penalized or incorrect. Letter writing seems comfortable. Therefore, anyone can write a letter.
Fulwiler: At term’s end, I move the letters from an informal to a formal assignment-or as Peter Elbow would say, from low to high stakes- and expect now to see more focused, deliberate, and crafted writing examining themes, patterns, and concerns of a term’s worth of correspondence (23).
Albanese: I believe that this can be a good method because students have the opportunity to practice and experiment with their own writing all semester before they are required to present a formal piece of writing. At the point where students are asked to complete a high stakes writing assignment, they have already had enough practice with all of the low stakes writing assignments that have been assigned throughout the semester. Therefore, they are likely better prepared to succeed with their final writing assignments of the semester.
Bean: Although students normally write only a few formal papers for a course, they can do behind the scenes exploratory writing on a daily basis (6).
Albanese: This reminds me of Fulwiler’s letter writing assignments. Those assignments were a form of exploratory writing on a weekly basis. In the letters students grappled with and explored concepts from each of the texts and other class based issues. This is one good example of how to structure a form of low stakes writing. Those students were most definitely expanding their critical thinking skills as they wrote those exploratory letters each week. Journal entries also seem like a good form of exploratory writing.
Bean: Good writing, I like to tell my students, grows out of good talking-either talking with classmates or talking dialogically with oneself through exploratory writing (7).
Albanese: I completely agree with this statement. It is often true that hearing one person’s ideas, whether it be in a classroom discussion, small group, pair, or otherwise, tends to spark a connected or entirely new idea in another person. Hearing a survey of other people’s ideas might also assist in helping one come to their own informed conclusions. What one person knows another might lack knowledge of, talking collaboratively tends to help fill in the gaps.
Bean: No matter how much we exhort students to write several drafts and to collaborate with peers, most of our students will continue to write papers on the night before they are due unless we structure our courses to promote writing as a process (8).
Albanese: I believe that this quote is completely true. Unfortunately, I know people on the graduate level who still write papers the night before they are due! I believe it becomes a force of habit after a while. If we teach our students that writing is a serious process early on and get them into the habit of consistently writing drafts and making revisions for all of their formal writing assignments, then they will likely continue this habit for the rest of their academic careers.
McLeod/ Miraglia/ Soven/ Thaiss: The warning years of the twentieth century mark higher education’s winter of discontent a bleak time of scarce resources and few bright days. Survival is most on our minds, not doing extras that help our students learn more and better. The quest for students, external funding and ways to save money saps most of our institutional energy while faculty busily sandbag against rising teaching loads and class sizes (2).
Albanese: I agree with this quote to a certain extent. However, I recall reading somewhere that the beauty of WAC programs is that they do not necessary require a lot of funding to implement and teachers do not need extensive training in order to incorporate them into their classrooms. WAC is both simple and effective in many ways.
McLeod/ Miraglia/ Soven/ Thaiss: Service learning programs vary considerably across institutions, but they all have one thing in common: they attempt to connect the classroom to the community in a way that encourages experiential learning on the part of the students. In other words, they attempt to link town and gown in ways that simultaneously help the community and fulfill educational objectives (9).
Albanese: This reminds me of a project in which I participated in when I was in the seventh grade. Our science teacher had brought the class on a trip to a local park to plant flowers in the garden. We had a connected writing project in the classroom. I both enjoyed the project and learned more than I usually did in the science classroom. I still remember it to this day, it must have been effective. Therefore, I personally believe in the effectiveness of this method.
McLeod/ Miraglia/ Soven/ Thaiss: By its very nature, then, WAC has been and continues to be a dynamic movement, one well suited to a postmodern paradigm of change in higher education (22).
Albanese: This quote specifies the usefulness of WAC programs in ‘higher education.’ If WAC programs are appropriate for all school levels (elementary, middle, high school and so on), I am wondering why this chapter repeatedly focuses solely on higher education, failing to mention WAC’s use or effectiveness at any other level. I would like to read about WAC programs used on the secondary level because I feel that that would be most beneficial to me as a secondary teacher in training.
Williams: The great thing about repetition is that it makes items look like they belong together, even if the elements are not exactly the same. You can see here that once you establish a couple of key repetitive items, you can vary those items and still create a consistent look (59).
Albanese: The information in this particular quote sounds like it can be very useful to our individual website creation projects. I have highlighted and noted this quote to refer back to during the process of creating my website.
Williams: Don’t overdo it with repetition, but try to ‘unify with variety’ (61).
Albanese: I believe that this is a very important suggestion to be conscious of when creating any visual design. It is important to be cautious because if the repetition is overdone, the design can appear very cluttered and or overcrowded and therefore, visually displeasing to the reader.
Williams: A repetition of visual elements throughout the design unifies and strengthens a piece by tying together otherwise separate parts. Repetition is very useful on one-page pieces, and is critical in multi-page documents (where we often just call it being consistent).
Albanese: I have observed that each of the principles mentioned thus far, serve, in part, to unify the design. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that unity must be one of the top priorities in a design. Second, I have learned that repetition will be essential in our web design projects because they will each be ‘multi-page documents,’ where we need that consistency in order to create unity in each of our designs.
Emig: Critics of these terms like Louise Rosenblatt rightfully point out that the connotation of passivity too often accompanies the notion of receptivity when reading, like listening, is a vital, construing act (123).
Albanese: I agree with Rosenblatt as well. I also believe that reading should be an active activity as opposed to a passive one. A reader should be continuously attempting to make meaning of the words on the pages and to make connections as they are reading.
Emig: But to say that talking is a valuable form of prewriting is not to say that writing is talk recorded, an inaccuracy appearing in far too many composition texts (123).
Albanese: I believe that talking as pre-writing is more like of brain storming. Speaking is typically more spontaneous, while writing is typically more crafted, except in special cases, such as making a speech or presentation.
Britton: An ‘illusion of life’ she says, ‘is the primary illusion of all poetic art. It is at least tentatively established by the very first sentence, which has to switch the reader’s or hearer’s attitude from conversational interest to literary interest, i.e., from actuality to fiction. We make this shift with great care, and much more often than we realize, even in the midst of conversation; one has to say ‘You know about the two Scotchmen, who…,’ to make everybody in earshot suspend the actual conversation and attend to ‘the’ two Scots and ‘their’ absurdities. Jokes are a special literary form to which people will attend on the spur of the moment [1953 p.23] (153).
Albanese: I disagree with this quote. I believe that even a literary piece can begin sounding like a conversation and that a conversation can at times begin sounding like a literary piece. I believe the distinction between whether it is literary or conversational can come later, not always at the beginning. This can happen in cases where an artist is using the element of surprise and when everyday people attempt to sound more intellectual or artistic. In a way I believe that the two can be interchangeable at certain points. The ‘shift’ that she speaks of can take place later than she assumes.
Letter to My Partner
Dear Jayme,
This week I came across many interesting quotes in the readings. Some really stood out to me. I have passionate responses to some of these quotes, especially some of those I found in Fulwiler and Bean’s pieces. I found those two pieces to be the most compelling and most interesting readings of all of this week's readings. I also believe that they connect the most as well. In some instances, it seems as if the two authors are in dialogue with each other. I was wondering if you agree with my responses to some of their quotes or if you have a differing opinion that you would like to share with me.
The following are some of the Fulwiler quotes I found, my responses to them, and some questions for you.
“Each term, I write weekly letters with one of my classes, composing my syllabus as a letter, requesting letters back. I would write letters with all my classes if I had the time and energy, but I don’t. I ask other classes to keep journals and share selected entries with me to which I informally respond” (16).
Is it just me or does this sound unfair? I completely understand how he would not have the time to write letters with multiple classes. However, it just seems completely unfair to the classes who do not get the opportunity to participate. If Fulwiler is advocating the use of these letters and arguing their effectiveness, then isn’t he also saying that his other classes who are not participating are receiving the short end of the stick? Isn’t he failing them in a sense? This is similar to choosing a favorite student; it is like he is choosing a favorite class and providing them with special treatment. If he cannot do it with all of his classes, then shouldn’t he find a different, more efficient method that he can provide to all of them, a method that doesn’t leave any student or class out?
“Most people write letters in their natural voices: first person pronouns, contradictions, personal asides, digressions, humor, slang, expletives…I prefer dashes to semicolons, ellipses to transitions, sometimes sentence fragments, other times endless sentences” (19).
In other words, I believe that Fulwiler is trying to say that letter writing is in a sense the most simple and basic form of writing. People generally tend to let their guards down when writing letters because they are not bound by limitations or conventions. They have the freedom to express themselves in their own unique ways, without the risk of being penalized or incorrect. Letter writing seems comfortable. Do you agree with my observations?
“At term’s end, I move the letters from an informal to a formal assignment-or as Peter Elbow would say, from low to high stakes- and expect now to see more focused, deliberate, and crafted writing examining themes, patterns, and concerns of a term’s worth of correspondence” (23).
Do you believe that this can be a good method because students have the opportunity to practice and experiment with their own writing all semester before they are required to present a formal piece of writing? At the point where students are asked to complete a high stakes writing assignment, they have already had enough practice with all of the low stakes writing assignments that have been assigned throughout the semester. Do you think they are likely better prepared to succeed with their final writing assignments of the semester?
The following are some of the Bean quotes I found, my responses to them, and some questions for you.
“Although students normally write only a few formal papers for a course, they can do behind the scenes exploratory writing on a daily basis” (6).
This reminds me of Fulwiler’s letter writing assignments. Those assignments were a form of exploratory writing on a weekly basis. In the letters students grappled with and explored concepts from each of the texts and other class based issues. This is one good example of how to structure a form of low stakes writing. Those students were most definitely expanding their critical thinking skills as they wrote those exploratory letters each week. Do you agree? Do you think journal entries also seem like a good form of exploratory writing?
“Good writing, I like to tell my students, grows out of good talking-either talking with classmates or talking dialogically with oneself through exploratory writing” (7).
I completely agree with this statement, do you agree? It is often true that hearing one person’s ideas, whether it be in a classroom discussion, small group, pair, or otherwise, tends to spark a connected or entirely new idea in another person. Hearing a survey of other people’s ideas might also assist in helping one come to their own informed conclusions. Do you think what one person knows another might lack knowledge of? Do you also think that talking collaboratively tends to help fill in the gaps?
“No matter how much we exhort students to write several drafts and to collaborate with peers, most of our students will continue to write papers on the night before they are due unless we structure our courses to promote writing as a process” (8).
I believe that this quote is completely true. Unfortunately, I know people on the graduate level who still write papers the night before they are due! I believe it becomes a force of habit after a while. Do you think if we teach our students that writing is a serious process early on we will get them into the habit of consistently writing drafts and making revisions for all of their formal writing assignments, then they will likely continue this habit for the rest of their academic careers?
Lastly, there is one quote from McLeod/ Miraglia/ Soven/ Thaiss’ piece that I would like to share.
“By its very nature, then, WAC has been and continues to be a dynamic movement, one well suited to a postmodern paradigm of change in higher education” (22).
This quote specifies the usefulness of WAC programs in ‘higher education.’ If WAC programs are appropriate for all school levels (elementary, middle, high school and so on), Does this chapter make you wonder why it repeatedly focuses solely on higher education, failing to mention WAC’s use or effectiveness at any other level? Wouldn’t you like to read about WAC programs used on the secondary level because they would be most beneficial to you as a secondary teacher in training?
Sincerely,
Rachael
Response to my Partner's Letter
Dear Jayme,
I do agree with your theory that Chapter 1 of WAC is a great outline for thinking about Writing Across the Curriculum as a whole. I think that is an excellent observation.
Also, I completely agree with your notion that students should be learning integration at an even earlier level in high school. In fact, I even asked you a similar question in my letter prior to reading your letter. High school definitely should not be for learning information and fact only, leaving college as the time to actually start thinking critically! And to answer your question, I do not think that critical thinking can be separated from active learning. In fact, I believe the two go hand in hand with each other.
Also, Yes, I do think that WAC should be a part of all levels of schooling, since writing is needed for students to think critically and make connections.
And yes, I do think that WAC has become ECAC (Electronic Communication Across the Curriculum). I also do think that WAC changing to ECAC is just another restructuring and transformation to allow for more critical and active thinking and if students are comfortable with technology and will likely need to be familiar with different forms of technology for most future careers, then why not?
Lastly, I am not completely sure of what you mean when you say “Would [that] mean that WAC has integrated into another domain?” I believe that WAC is its own domain in certain ways. However, I apologize, I cannot answer that question directly and specifically because I'm not exactly sure what you mean.
Sincerely,
Rachael
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Blog #3 + Reflection
Gee: Schools tend to care only about what is inside students’ heads as their heads and bodies are isolated from others, from tools and technologies, and from rich environments that help make them powerful nodes in networks (202).
Albanese: For the most part, I would say that I agree with this statement. However, I feel as if Gee is oversimplifying the problem for many reasons, including three very significant reasons which I feel Gee has carelessly neglected. First, I believe it is safe to say that as of recent years, those concerned with education have taken multiple measures to try to correct this issue by actively educating teachers (with professional development) and teachers in training (with improved teacher training programs) about the benefits of collaborative and cooperative learning, which would encourage them to implement activities like reciprocal teaching, the jigsaw and others like it, in their classrooms. However, making a widespread transition into new methods of teaching doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time and patience. And second, as far as seeking other people for assistance, I think it is important to find a good balance between collaborative and cooperative learning, and independent learning. I don’t think it is wise to encourage one way of learning over the other because it is highly important for students to become experts in both arenas. We most definitely want students to know how to reach out to the right people for help, when help is needed, to know who and where to go to for that assistance, and to be able to work along with others cooperatively and productively. However, I believe it is equally important that they learn how to seek out knowledge on their own, without always relying-or relying too much on others. Third, it is difficult to assess how much students have actually learned when they are allowed to consult other people and use all sorts of tools. Yes, learning how to use tools is very important in and of itself but in order to excel in the world students need to learn how to be creative and figure some things out without the help of another person or a tool.
Gee: We must more and more come to see ourselves not in terms of a linear progression up a ‘career ladder’ in one single job but as a ‘portfolio’ composed of the rearrangeable skills and identities we have acquired in our trajectory through diverse projects inside and outside of ‘workplaces,’ as we move from job to job, project to project, and career to career in a fast-changing world (203).
Albanese: I believe that the ideas found in this passage of the text can be applied to people in today’s economic crisis. Those individuals that were laid off should personally understand the relevance of this quote. Many of those who were laid off were forced to find jobs in new careers. Every day many others leave one career to enter a new one by choice. Therefore, it is important that people see themselves as Gee has described as opposed to limiting themselves to only one expertise.
Gee: They allow players to customize the game to fit their learning and playing styles (216).
Albanese: I found this quote interesting because it reminded me of how, in the way schools are set up today, teachers are the ones who customize lessons to fit different learning styles as opposed to students doing the customizing for themselves, as they do in their video games.
Gee: In fact, it is a crucial learning principle that people learn best when they have an opportunity to talk (and write) about what they are learning (219).
Albanese: This closing statement by Gee, coincidentally, seems like a really convenient and great segue into the ideas of WAC.
Williams: Do you tend to center everything? A centered alignment is the most common alignment that beginners use –it’s very safe, it feels comfortable (36).
Albanese: When I read this statement, I was able to identify with it. I do usually center everything. It was interesting to have this pointed out. Now that I am aware of this tendency, I can consciously work to eliminate it.
Williams: This text is justified. Some people call it quad left and right, and some call it blocked- the text lines up on both sides (40).
Albanese: I have never heard of justified text prior to reading this passage and if I have seen it before I wouldn’t have known it. However, now that I have both seen it and learned its title, I can identify it and apply it in my own work, when applicable. This text is helping us begin to enter the discourse community of designers.
Williams: First paragraphs are traditionally not indented. The purpose of indenting a paragraph is to tell you there is a new paragraph, but you always know the first one is a new paragraph. On a typewriter, an indent was five spaces. With the proportional type you are using on your computer, the standard typographic indent is one em (an em is as wide as the point size of your type), which is more like two spaces (45).
Albanese: I never knew that ‘first paragraphs are traditionally not indented.’ This is the first I have ever heard about that. However, after reading the explanation, it seems to make perfect sense to me. I also never knew what an ‘em’ was prior to reading about it. This is good to know.
Pratt: Literacy began for Sam with the newly pronounceable names on the picture cards and brought him what has been easily the broadest, most varied, most enduring, and most integrated experience of his thirteen year life (1).
Albanese: I believe that this was an excellent example of literacy. Not only was Sam able to become a part of a new discourse community, but he was also able to experience various other types of literacy through this discourse community. He was also able to make many relevant connections between this discourse community and various other school related discourse communities.
Russell: But from the first ‘literacy crisis,’ in the 1870s-precipitated by new discipline-specific writing requirements and the entry of students from previously excluded groups into the nascent mass education system- the academic disciplines have taken little direct interest in writing, either by consciously investigating their own conventions of scholarly writing or by teaching their students those conventions in a deliberate, systematic way-despite a century long tradition of complaints by faculty members and other professionals about the poor writing of students (3).
Albanese: This passage reminds me of the intense debate we were having the other night in class- concerning whether or not teachers of other disciplines, aside from English, should teach and evaluate writing in their classrooms.
Russell: But the WAC movement has deep, though rarely exposed, roots in the recurring debates over approaches to writing and pedagogy-especially in the American tradition of progressive education (3).
Albanese: I was surprised to read this fact because I have always thought that the progressive education movement was more focused on trade and job preparation and not as much on academic aspects of education. However, when I continued reading and discovered that it was Dewey that was for the WAC movement, I was not as surprised because Dewey seems to have always been one step ahead of all the other educators of his time.
Russell: In the committee’s final report before it disbanded (for lack of departments willing to use its services), the chair, Ralph Rader wrote: When student writing is deficient, then, it is deficient…in ways having directly to do with the student’s real control of the subject matter of his discipline and not in ways having to do with the special disciplines of English or speech departments. To raise the level of student writing…would be in effect to raise the student’s level of intellectual attainment in the subject matter itself. To say this is to indicate…the reason for the lack of the response to the committee program: faculty are by and large satisfied with the intellectual attainment of their students. The committee is suggesting, then…that faculty should not be so easily satisfied (8).
Albanese: I completely agree with this statement made by Ralph Rader. I think he very eloquently explained the importance of writing to learn and writing across the curriculum.
Russell: Indeed, a 1988 survey of all 2,735 institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada found that, of 1,113 that replied, 427 (38 percent) has some WAC program, and 235 of these programs had been in existence for three years or more (17).
Albanese: This is a perfect example of what I stated earlier in this blog entry. I believe that widespread educational reforms do not happen overnight, they take a lot of time to come into common practice.
Reflection
I find that the 2x entry journal is very useful in the sense that it allows us to chose particular direct quotes and immediately reflect on them by using our own personal reactions and ideas, as opposed to writing a summative journal that focuses on the overarching themes or the big picture. It provides us with the opportunity to pick and chose elements of the readings that we can best connect and respond to. I enjoy writing this type of journal because it is both useful and refreshing.
I would certainly implement this type of journal writing into my own future classroom because I believe that it has much to offer students. Aside from allowing them the freedom of choosing which ideas to reflect on, it also provides them with an opportunity to develop better paper writing skills, in the sense that they can practice defending their ideas with evidence from the text. I feel it is an excellent alternative to the typical journal structure.
Albanese: For the most part, I would say that I agree with this statement. However, I feel as if Gee is oversimplifying the problem for many reasons, including three very significant reasons which I feel Gee has carelessly neglected. First, I believe it is safe to say that as of recent years, those concerned with education have taken multiple measures to try to correct this issue by actively educating teachers (with professional development) and teachers in training (with improved teacher training programs) about the benefits of collaborative and cooperative learning, which would encourage them to implement activities like reciprocal teaching, the jigsaw and others like it, in their classrooms. However, making a widespread transition into new methods of teaching doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time and patience. And second, as far as seeking other people for assistance, I think it is important to find a good balance between collaborative and cooperative learning, and independent learning. I don’t think it is wise to encourage one way of learning over the other because it is highly important for students to become experts in both arenas. We most definitely want students to know how to reach out to the right people for help, when help is needed, to know who and where to go to for that assistance, and to be able to work along with others cooperatively and productively. However, I believe it is equally important that they learn how to seek out knowledge on their own, without always relying-or relying too much on others. Third, it is difficult to assess how much students have actually learned when they are allowed to consult other people and use all sorts of tools. Yes, learning how to use tools is very important in and of itself but in order to excel in the world students need to learn how to be creative and figure some things out without the help of another person or a tool.
Gee: We must more and more come to see ourselves not in terms of a linear progression up a ‘career ladder’ in one single job but as a ‘portfolio’ composed of the rearrangeable skills and identities we have acquired in our trajectory through diverse projects inside and outside of ‘workplaces,’ as we move from job to job, project to project, and career to career in a fast-changing world (203).
Albanese: I believe that the ideas found in this passage of the text can be applied to people in today’s economic crisis. Those individuals that were laid off should personally understand the relevance of this quote. Many of those who were laid off were forced to find jobs in new careers. Every day many others leave one career to enter a new one by choice. Therefore, it is important that people see themselves as Gee has described as opposed to limiting themselves to only one expertise.
Gee: They allow players to customize the game to fit their learning and playing styles (216).
Albanese: I found this quote interesting because it reminded me of how, in the way schools are set up today, teachers are the ones who customize lessons to fit different learning styles as opposed to students doing the customizing for themselves, as they do in their video games.
Gee: In fact, it is a crucial learning principle that people learn best when they have an opportunity to talk (and write) about what they are learning (219).
Albanese: This closing statement by Gee, coincidentally, seems like a really convenient and great segue into the ideas of WAC.
Williams: Do you tend to center everything? A centered alignment is the most common alignment that beginners use –it’s very safe, it feels comfortable (36).
Albanese: When I read this statement, I was able to identify with it. I do usually center everything. It was interesting to have this pointed out. Now that I am aware of this tendency, I can consciously work to eliminate it.
Williams: This text is justified. Some people call it quad left and right, and some call it blocked- the text lines up on both sides (40).
Albanese: I have never heard of justified text prior to reading this passage and if I have seen it before I wouldn’t have known it. However, now that I have both seen it and learned its title, I can identify it and apply it in my own work, when applicable. This text is helping us begin to enter the discourse community of designers.
Williams: First paragraphs are traditionally not indented. The purpose of indenting a paragraph is to tell you there is a new paragraph, but you always know the first one is a new paragraph. On a typewriter, an indent was five spaces. With the proportional type you are using on your computer, the standard typographic indent is one em (an em is as wide as the point size of your type), which is more like two spaces (45).
Albanese: I never knew that ‘first paragraphs are traditionally not indented.’ This is the first I have ever heard about that. However, after reading the explanation, it seems to make perfect sense to me. I also never knew what an ‘em’ was prior to reading about it. This is good to know.
Pratt: Literacy began for Sam with the newly pronounceable names on the picture cards and brought him what has been easily the broadest, most varied, most enduring, and most integrated experience of his thirteen year life (1).
Albanese: I believe that this was an excellent example of literacy. Not only was Sam able to become a part of a new discourse community, but he was also able to experience various other types of literacy through this discourse community. He was also able to make many relevant connections between this discourse community and various other school related discourse communities.
Russell: But from the first ‘literacy crisis,’ in the 1870s-precipitated by new discipline-specific writing requirements and the entry of students from previously excluded groups into the nascent mass education system- the academic disciplines have taken little direct interest in writing, either by consciously investigating their own conventions of scholarly writing or by teaching their students those conventions in a deliberate, systematic way-despite a century long tradition of complaints by faculty members and other professionals about the poor writing of students (3).
Albanese: This passage reminds me of the intense debate we were having the other night in class- concerning whether or not teachers of other disciplines, aside from English, should teach and evaluate writing in their classrooms.
Russell: But the WAC movement has deep, though rarely exposed, roots in the recurring debates over approaches to writing and pedagogy-especially in the American tradition of progressive education (3).
Albanese: I was surprised to read this fact because I have always thought that the progressive education movement was more focused on trade and job preparation and not as much on academic aspects of education. However, when I continued reading and discovered that it was Dewey that was for the WAC movement, I was not as surprised because Dewey seems to have always been one step ahead of all the other educators of his time.
Russell: In the committee’s final report before it disbanded (for lack of departments willing to use its services), the chair, Ralph Rader wrote: When student writing is deficient, then, it is deficient…in ways having directly to do with the student’s real control of the subject matter of his discipline and not in ways having to do with the special disciplines of English or speech departments. To raise the level of student writing…would be in effect to raise the student’s level of intellectual attainment in the subject matter itself. To say this is to indicate…the reason for the lack of the response to the committee program: faculty are by and large satisfied with the intellectual attainment of their students. The committee is suggesting, then…that faculty should not be so easily satisfied (8).
Albanese: I completely agree with this statement made by Ralph Rader. I think he very eloquently explained the importance of writing to learn and writing across the curriculum.
Russell: Indeed, a 1988 survey of all 2,735 institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada found that, of 1,113 that replied, 427 (38 percent) has some WAC program, and 235 of these programs had been in existence for three years or more (17).
Albanese: This is a perfect example of what I stated earlier in this blog entry. I believe that widespread educational reforms do not happen overnight, they take a lot of time to come into common practice.
Reflection
I find that the 2x entry journal is very useful in the sense that it allows us to chose particular direct quotes and immediately reflect on them by using our own personal reactions and ideas, as opposed to writing a summative journal that focuses on the overarching themes or the big picture. It provides us with the opportunity to pick and chose elements of the readings that we can best connect and respond to. I enjoy writing this type of journal because it is both useful and refreshing.
I would certainly implement this type of journal writing into my own future classroom because I believe that it has much to offer students. Aside from allowing them the freedom of choosing which ideas to reflect on, it also provides them with an opportunity to develop better paper writing skills, in the sense that they can practice defending their ideas with evidence from the text. I feel it is an excellent alternative to the typical journal structure.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Blog #2
Gee: Ironically, though, the process that is basic to young children’s learning and to adult’s expert practice is too often discounted and unused in school learning (92).
Albanese: It is likely very clear to anyone reading this book (especially those who have reached this chapter) that Gee is very openly and overtly critical of learning in schools. This quote is just one of the many, many, MANY, examples found in the book of him making one of these criticisms. Although I do see his points and cannot completely dispute them, I still question if he is being objectively fair. His agenda is so evident that one cannot help but question his claims. His argument seems to lack balance. Are schools really as ineffective and flawed as Gee claims?
Gee: 15. Probing Principle: Learning is a cycle of probing the world (doing something); reflecting in and on this action and, on this basis, forming a hypothesis; reprobing the world to test this hypothesis; and then accepting or rethinking the hypothesis (105).
Albanese: This learning principle is similar to both Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories of child learning. Both theorists believed that a critical element of learning for children was interacting with their environment. Each of their theories was similar to Gee’s Probing Principle in the sense that they each involved the learner exploring their environment, creating a hypothesis, testing that hypothesis, and either confirming or discarding that hypothesis.
Gee: In the end, my claim is that people have situated meanings for words when they can associate these words with images, actions, experiences, or dialogue in a real or imagined world (105).
Albanese: What Gee is describing here sounds a lot like the concept of meaningful learning, which refers to the idea that the learned knowledge (let’s say a fact) is fully understood by the individual and that the individual knows how that specific fact relates to other stored facts (stored in your brain that is). This can be accomplished through making connections between the material at hand, in Gee’s example ‘words,’ and something more concrete and established to the learner, like prior knowledge or a personal connection. In English Language Arts classrooms, we already encourage students to do this by asking them to make text-to-self, text-to-world, and text-to-text connections.
Gee: Now they believe that transfer is crucial to learning but not at all easy to trigger in learners, especially in school (126).
Albanese: I was just reading about this same exact theory in another text, which I am reading for another course. The text is entitled, Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas by Patricia L. Anders and Barbara J. Guzzetti, which coincidentally makes many references to Gee and specifically this Gee text in particular. Anders and Guzzetti are in agreement with Gee about many of the concepts which he discusses in this text. Transfer is one of the concepts which Anders and Guzzetti discuss in chapter three of their text.
Gee: The problem is that often students continue to make this ‘mistake’ even after they have taken a good deal of physics and learned that it is a ‘mistake’ (169).
Albanese: Here Gee is talking about misconceptions, which is another concept that Anders and Guzzetti discuss in their text. In fact, Anders and Guzzetti devote much of the latter portion of chapter three of their text to discussing the concept of misconceptions in great detail. Once again, they are in agreement with Gee, stating “Conceptual change is difficult; it is the hardest teaching you will ever do. Several studies have shown that learners hang on to their previous understandings with great tenacity” (Anders & Guzzetti, 82). I have chosen this quote because it offers an explanation for the Gee quote I have listed above.
Gee: Cultural models play a crucial role in school. Let me give you a specific example from a science classroom (166).
Albanese: All I would like to say about this quote is that it annoys me that Gee continuously uses the science classroom as an example throughout the entire book thus far. This is merely one of the many examples where he uses the science classroom as an example to explain one of his theories or learning principles. If he is trying to demonstrate that learning in video games can be compared to learning in all content areas, then he should consider using a different content area aside from science for once. In my opinion, he has even had several opportunities where he could have possibly used the English Language Arts classroom as an example, but decided, instead, to use the science classroom as an example, over and over again.
Gee: Certain circumstances can, however, force us to think overtly and reflectively about our cultural models. We certainly don’t want or need to think overtly about all of them. But we do need to think about those that, in certain situations or at certain points in our lives, have the potential to do more harm than good (154).
Albanese: As I was reading this particular portion of text, it made me think of something that I believe would be one such example of what Gee is describing in the quote above. I am not sure if I am correct, however, as I understand it, I believe that the media’s portrayal of perfect or even acceptable body image, especially for females, is a cultural model which ‘we do need to think about’ because it does ‘in certain situations or at certain points in our lives, have the potential to do more harm than good,’ by leading to such extreme measurements and disorders as Anorexia and Bulimia.
Williams: Very often in the work of new designers, the words and phrases and graphics are strung out all over the place, filling corners and taking up lots of room so there won’t be any empty space (15).
Albanese: This first sentence of the chapter jumped out at me, reminding me of that awful website we looked at as a class. I forget the name of the website. However, I remember she had gowns and thousands of links to related and unrelated things. Both that website and the Peter Pan website we looked at seem to fit the description Williams is making here.
Williams: Robin’s Principle of Proximity states that you group related items together, move them physically close to each other so the related items are seen as one cohesive group rather than a bunch of unrelated bits (15).
Albanese: This principle definitely seems logical and simple enough. It makes perfect sense to me.
Williams: Once you become aware of the importance of the relationships between lines of type, you will start noticing its effect. Once you start noticing its effect, you own it, you have power over it, you are in control (26).
Albanese: Once again, as I have already stated in my prior blog, Williams sounds like a motivational speaker here. It is almost kind of humorous. ‘you own it, you have power over it, you are in control,’ the only thing that is missing here is the exclamation point.
Williams: And it’s okay to set the type smaller than 12 point! Really! (27).
Albanese: I actually learned something here. I had thought it was never okay to use a font size smaller than 12 point on any document. I am still unsure if that is a good idea. I feel it may be too small and that people may have to strain in order to read it, especially those with less than perfect eyesight.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Blog #1
Gee: Finally, all design features discussed so far work to ensure that a good video game operates within the learner’s “regime of competence.” By this I mean that the game is felt as challenging but not “undoable” (67).
Albanese: The “regime of competence” that Gee speaks about in this section of the text sounds very similar to Lev Vygotsky’s concept of the zone of proximal development and the ideas surrounding it. The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can do with help. The help which Vygotsky was speaking of was the help of an adult. However, I believe that a video game can serve as an aid to help students learn as well, if implemented properly of course. I wonder if Gee was thinking of zone of proximal development when he came up with the concept of “regime of competence.”
Gee: I believe, for example, that the identity of Pikman recruits relates rather well to the sort of identity a learner is called on to assume in the best active science learning in schools and other sites (37).
Albanese: This quote from the text is a continuation of Gee’s discussion concerning the idea that students will actively learn best when they can assume a new identity that is interactive with the material at hand. I agree with this argument. However, I resent the fact that Gee repeatedly uses the science classroom as an example. While reading this section of the text, I immediately thought of one particular example of how this concept can be used in an English Language Arts classroom setting.
Elbow: We can see better the interactions between their thinking about course material and their thinking about other realms of their life, between their thinking and their feeling. We get better glimpses of them as people (292).
Albanese: I particularly agree with this statement by Elbow. In this case it becomes easier for teachers to decipher whether or not students are truly grasping and comprehending course material to spite difficultly in other arenas, such as exams and formal writing.
Elbow: Researchers have trouble finding good evidence that [teachers’] comments on student writing actually help students learn more or write better (292).
Albanese: At first read, I was truly surprised and fascinated by this statement. However, after I read Elbow’s explanation of why this may be so, it made perfect sense to me. He described the conditions in which teachers write comments and in which students read comments. I found these descriptions to make perfect sense. I suppose I just never thought about the issues in those ways prior to reading about them.
Murray: We have to respect that student, not for his product, not for the paper we call literature by giving it a grade, but for the search for truth in which he is engaged. We must listen carefully for those words that may reveal the truth that may reveal a voice. We are coaches, encouragers, developers, creators of environments in which our students can experience the writing process for themselves (5).
Albanese: I like this quote and am in agreement with Murray’s sentiments. I also believe that the process of writing should be valued just as much, if not more than the final product at early stages of student writing. This portion of the text sounds like a pep talk for writing teachers or a motivational speaker.
Murray: Implication No. 4 The student should have the opportunity to write all the drafts necessary for him to discover what he has to say on this particular subject (5-6).
Albanese: The idea of students being able to write as many drafts as necessary is a wonderful and ideal one. However, it is just unrealistic for the average public school English Language Arts classroom. Although, both teachers and students would enjoy and benefit from the opportunity, time will not allow for it. There is so much to teach in an English Language Arts classroom that teachers must budget their time wisely. Unfortunately, both teachers and students must devote much time to practicing for standardized tests. It is just not possible to spend so much time on one assignment.
Williams: Once you could name something, you’re conscious of it. You have power over it. You own it. You’re in control (12).
Albanese: I found this quote to be an interesting observation. I have never thought about it before, but I suppose it is true. I thought the Joshua tree example was a good example because it was very simple, straight to the point, and easy to get right away. It reminds me of when small children learn to name certain objects for the first time and walk around pointing out that object whenever they see it. It seems like this is the same concept, only on a higher, more sophisticated level.
Williams: When gathering these four principles from the vast maze of design theory, I thought there must be some appropriate and memorable acronym within these conceptual ideas that would help people remember them. Well, uh, there is a memorable-but rather inappropriate-acronym. Sorry (13).
Albanese: After reading this quote, I scrolled back up the screen to try to figure out what that ‘memorable-but rather inappropriate-acronym’ might be. After immediately realizing what that acronym was I had a short laugh. I appreciate the humor Williams uses to convey his intentions. Now I think I will remember that acronym whether I would like to or not.
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