WRITING TO LEARN: STRATEGIES FOR ASSIGNING AND RESPONDING TO
WRITING ACROSS THE DISCIPLINES
Fulwiler: "Writing letters back and forth with your students increases dialogue, suggests rethinking, and encourages rewriting, yet the stakes remain low. Weekly letters promote the give and take of learning rather than the finality of testing and measuring" (15).
Sloven: I agree with you, Fulwiler, that writing letters back and forth between teacher and students would be a great way to encourage rewriting and also establish a unique relationship so that the students could feel at ease and possibly learn in a stress-free environment. It would also be a different means of assessment instead of the dreaded test taking method. However, I believe it would be virtually impossible in my classes due to the fact that I teach five separate English classes with 34 students in each class. Essay writing is imperative for all students so that they will succeed and pass the English Regents with a grade of 75. I do not honestly believe that the "powers that be" would permit so informal an English class - maybe if I were fortunate enough to be permitted to conduct a class in informal writing I would be able to introduce letter writing.
Fulwiler: "In public schools, students saturate their classrooms with unassigned letters--called notes--with or without teacher approval. Letter writing is as natural and easy as writing ever gets" (17).
Sloven: Yes, students saturate my classroom with numerous notes. However, the language the students use and the subject matter would curl your hair. So, I'm thinking that this is not a good example to promote your letter-writing curriculum.
Fulwiler: Letters are good places to try out ideas, see how they are received, listen to reactions" (17).
Sloven: Instead of letters, I use journals - my students can do the above and I give them the appropriate feedback. I link journal entries to the literature being covered in class - it seems to work.
WAC FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
McLeod and Miraglia: "If writing is a mode of learning, if it is a way of constructing knowledge, then the integration of writing with learning will continue, in one way or another, to be seen as a central feature of the learning process" (3).
Sloven: Writing is a mode of learning. It is my opinion that the integration of writing with learning should and must continue. I think that when you can write about what you have learned in your own words you truly understand the subject matter.
McLeod and Miraglia: "...this pedagogy encourages teachers to use ungraded writing (writing to the self as audience) in order to have students think on paper, to objectify their knowledge, and therefore to help them discover both what they know and what they need to learn" (5).
Sloven: Again, one of my favorite writing exercises - the journal - a way for students to put down their thoughts and think about what is going on in class - low stakes writing. I find it very useful in so many ways - all my classes have journal writing at the beginning of the period for a Do Now.
McLeod and Miraglia: "Programs of peer tutoring, like learning community programs, grow out of the same rather simple conceptual base: students can learn from each other as well as from teachers and books" (15).
Sloven: I totally agree with and like the idea of peer tutoring. When my students are engaged in group work, I circle the room and listen in on the group discussions. This way I can focus in on those who have grasped the lesson. Later on in the week, I break my class into groups again and have these students take the lead and help their peers understand the work - they explain it in terms their fellow students can understand. It works most of the time.
ENGAGING IDEAS
Bean: "Problems, for Dewey, evoke students' natural curiosity and stimulate both learning and critical thought. 'Only by wrestling with the conditions of the problem at first hand, seeking and finding his own way out, does [the student] think'" (2).
Sloven: I agree that students are naturally curious but, unfortunately, we tend to spoon feed out students, giving them the answers and not allowing them to think for themselves.
Bean: "Students are required to formulate and justify their ideas in writing or other appropriate modes" (4).
Sloven: This is done with the Critical Lens portion of the ELA Regents. The students are given a quote, they agree or disagree with it and interpret it using works of literature they have read. In other words, they have to justify their interepretation.
Bean: "An equally important aspect of coaching is providing a supportive, open classroom that values the worth and dignity of students" (8).
Sloven: Bean, so true - students need to feel comfortable in their classes and know that their opinions will be accepted and not made fun of. I endeavor to have all my students respect and listen to the ideas of others. I do not tolerate any form of disrepect or verbal abuse in my classes and make that known from the very first day.
THE NON-DESIGNERS'S DESIGN BOOK
Williams: "To create a consistent business package with a business card, letterhead, and envelope, use a strong display of repetition, not only within each piece, but between all the pieces" (54).
Sloven: I like this idea, Williams, because by using a unified display of repetition with all the pieces, you make a strong statement. It is difficult to ignore details and help create a strong impression. Also, as I have told you in previous blogs, I like organization and repetition helps one to be organized.
Williams: "Sometimes the repeated items are not exactly the same objects, but objects so closely related that their connection is very clear" (57).
Sloven: Again, this is a good element to include - connecting similiar things through visualization, making it hard to forget the point you are trying to make.
WRITING AS A MODE OF LEARNING
Emig: "Writing is learned behavior; talking is natural, even irrepressible, behavior" (123).
Sloven: Unlike speaking, you have to learn how to write. It just doesn't come naturally. You learn to speak by listening but you learn to write by doing it.
Emig: "Perhaps because there is a product involved, writing tends to be a more responsible and commited act than talking" (124).
Sloven: Very true, Emig. Sometimes you speak without thinking and you cannot take back the things you have said which, may be hurtful to others. However, when you write your thoughts and words, you actually see them and can modify what you are trying to express and say. You have the opportunity to write and rewrite, something you cannot do when talking - once you express your thoughts verbally, they are out there for the whole world to hear.
SPECTATOR ROLE AND THE BEGINNINGS OF WRITING
Britton: "In efferent reading the reader's concern is with what he takes away from the reading (hence "efferent" from effero [I carry away]). In aesthetic reading, in contrast, 'the reader's primary concern is with what happens during the actual reading event...The reader's attention is centered directly on what he is living through during his relationship with that particular text" (153).
Sloven: Britton, it just goes to show you that you learn something new each day. I had no idea that there were two types of reading processes - efferent reading and aesthetic reading. I am thinking that efferent reading has to do with educational reading, something you need for school, knowledge obtained from text books. While aesthetic reading is for your own pleasure - you read and become part of the book, engulf yourself in a character's life. Do not know if that is what you mean but that is how I interpret it.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Here comes Fall....................love all those magnificant colors!
Blog #3
WHAT VIDEO GAMES HAVE TO TEACH US ABOUT LEARNING AND LITERACY
Gee: "So I was killed. Whenever you die, you can come back to life, but you lose experience. I came back to life at level 44-so I lost two levels. It had taken me about 12 hours of playing the game to gain those two levels. It would take me 12 more to get them back. I was very upset. I was mad...." (184).
Sloven: I do not know Gee-talking about getting killed, coming back to life - way too much of a fantasy world for me; not a good idea for children to think they can die, kill others and come back to life. Also, all that time spent playing a game and what did it get you-mad and upset. I do not see any worthwhile learning in this.
Gee: "He plays in a team with others. His team is part of a much larger group to which he belongs. The 15-year-old regularly chatted with these professors, while playing, both in the context of their in-game fantasy roles and their real-world identites" (187).
Sloven: Sorry, Gee, but this presents a huge problem for me. How do you know these people were professors? I would not want my 15-year-old to chat regularly with an "unknown" person claiming to be whatever he/she wants to be. I certainly would not want any child of mine to reveal their real world identities to anyone on line. The internet can be a very dangerous place for chidren-too many nuts out there.
Gee: "So we humans often think in terms of patterns. Pattern thinking is very powerful....it allows us to think and reason by using the experiences we have had in life" (190).
Sloven: Finally, we agree on something in this chapter. I try to incorporate my students' experiences in my class lessons. I try to discover who my students are in the first few weeks of class by randomly asking questions about their lives outside of school. This way I can relate to their lives and maybe create a pattern that we can all understand and remember sort of like a learning tool.
Gee: "Affinity groups are groups wherein people primarily orient toward a common set of endeavors and social practices in terms of which they attempt to realize these endeavors" (196).
Sloven: Gee, when I read your definition of affinity groups, I immediately related it to school. At New Dorp, the entire staff is working toward one goal across the curriculum and that is to make all of our students better writers. The administration has changed the Freshman curriculum so that everyone will be on the same page with regard to writing skills - every subject teacher is working towards this goal.
Gee: "We can learn evil things as easily as we can learn moral ones. To make good learning moral learning requires that learners are participating in a moral community-and that requires looking beyond ames and software" (216).
Sloven: I agree with you about learning evil things just as easily as learning moral ones. However, if you are spending all of your leisure time in a video, fantasy world that is filled with violence, what are you really learning?
THE NON-DESIGNER'S DESIGN BOOK
Williams: "A centered alignment is the most common alignment that beginners use-it's very safe, it feels comfortable. A centered alignment creates a more formal look, a more sedate look, a more ordinary and oftentimes downright dull look" (34).
Sloven: Thanks, Williams, I have just discovered that I must be dull and boring because I seem to lean toward centered alignment. LOL - I do not believe that I am dull and boring but I do like to be safe and comfortable. I will try to be more experimental when I do design my web site.
Williams: Lack of alignment is probably the biggest cause of unpleasant-looking documents. Our eyes like to see order; it creates a calm, secure feeling" (41).
Sloven: Yes, I totally agree with you Williams (not that you care). I like my live to be in order and definitely calm and secure.
ARTS OF THE CONTACT ZONE
Pratt: "Like many parents, I was delighted to see schooling give Sam the tools with which to find and open all these doors. At the same time I found it unforgivable that schooling itself gave him nothing remotely as meaningful to do, let along anything that would actually take him beyond the referential, masculinist ethos of baseball and its lore" (1).
Sloven: I am sorry, Pratt, but I have to disagree with you. School did give Sam something - the ability to find and open doors in search of what was meaningful to him alone. You have to spark interest, have a hook to bring them in so that once you have them, you can move on to bigger and better things.
Pratt: "If a classroom is analyzed as a social world unified and homogenized with respect to the teacher, whatever students do other than what the teacher specifies is invisible or anomalous to the analysis" (5).
Sloven: Again, Pratt, have to disagree with this statement. True, I attempt to specifiy what I want my students to learn. However, I am not a dictate and allow my students to express themselves, to be creative - not all learn the same way.
AMERICAN ORIGINS OF THE WRITING-ACROSS-THE-CURRICULUM MOVEMENT
Russell: "These workshops treated writing (and teaching) as a serious intellectual and scholarly activity intimately related to disciplinary interests, not as a generalizable elementary skill..." (16).
Sloven: First, Russell, let me start off with telling you that your article was long, and at times, difficult to understand. I was in high school in the 1970s and I learned how to write (at least I think I did) - who knows, maybe it was because of those Catholic nuns. With regard to the above quote, the way I understand it is that writing should be in every subject area and not just the responsibility of English teachers. All teachers should be involved in helping their students write well.
WHAT VIDEO GAMES HAVE TO TEACH US ABOUT LEARNING AND LITERACY
Gee: "So I was killed. Whenever you die, you can come back to life, but you lose experience. I came back to life at level 44-so I lost two levels. It had taken me about 12 hours of playing the game to gain those two levels. It would take me 12 more to get them back. I was very upset. I was mad...." (184).
Sloven: I do not know Gee-talking about getting killed, coming back to life - way too much of a fantasy world for me; not a good idea for children to think they can die, kill others and come back to life. Also, all that time spent playing a game and what did it get you-mad and upset. I do not see any worthwhile learning in this.
Gee: "He plays in a team with others. His team is part of a much larger group to which he belongs. The 15-year-old regularly chatted with these professors, while playing, both in the context of their in-game fantasy roles and their real-world identites" (187).
Sloven: Sorry, Gee, but this presents a huge problem for me. How do you know these people were professors? I would not want my 15-year-old to chat regularly with an "unknown" person claiming to be whatever he/she wants to be. I certainly would not want any child of mine to reveal their real world identities to anyone on line. The internet can be a very dangerous place for chidren-too many nuts out there.
Gee: "So we humans often think in terms of patterns. Pattern thinking is very powerful....it allows us to think and reason by using the experiences we have had in life" (190).
Sloven: Finally, we agree on something in this chapter. I try to incorporate my students' experiences in my class lessons. I try to discover who my students are in the first few weeks of class by randomly asking questions about their lives outside of school. This way I can relate to their lives and maybe create a pattern that we can all understand and remember sort of like a learning tool.
Gee: "Affinity groups are groups wherein people primarily orient toward a common set of endeavors and social practices in terms of which they attempt to realize these endeavors" (196).
Sloven: Gee, when I read your definition of affinity groups, I immediately related it to school. At New Dorp, the entire staff is working toward one goal across the curriculum and that is to make all of our students better writers. The administration has changed the Freshman curriculum so that everyone will be on the same page with regard to writing skills - every subject teacher is working towards this goal.
Gee: "We can learn evil things as easily as we can learn moral ones. To make good learning moral learning requires that learners are participating in a moral community-and that requires looking beyond ames and software" (216).
Sloven: I agree with you about learning evil things just as easily as learning moral ones. However, if you are spending all of your leisure time in a video, fantasy world that is filled with violence, what are you really learning?
THE NON-DESIGNER'S DESIGN BOOK
Williams: "A centered alignment is the most common alignment that beginners use-it's very safe, it feels comfortable. A centered alignment creates a more formal look, a more sedate look, a more ordinary and oftentimes downright dull look" (34).
Sloven: Thanks, Williams, I have just discovered that I must be dull and boring because I seem to lean toward centered alignment. LOL - I do not believe that I am dull and boring but I do like to be safe and comfortable. I will try to be more experimental when I do design my web site.
Williams: Lack of alignment is probably the biggest cause of unpleasant-looking documents. Our eyes like to see order; it creates a calm, secure feeling" (41).
Sloven: Yes, I totally agree with you Williams (not that you care). I like my live to be in order and definitely calm and secure.
ARTS OF THE CONTACT ZONE
Pratt: "Like many parents, I was delighted to see schooling give Sam the tools with which to find and open all these doors. At the same time I found it unforgivable that schooling itself gave him nothing remotely as meaningful to do, let along anything that would actually take him beyond the referential, masculinist ethos of baseball and its lore" (1).
Sloven: I am sorry, Pratt, but I have to disagree with you. School did give Sam something - the ability to find and open doors in search of what was meaningful to him alone. You have to spark interest, have a hook to bring them in so that once you have them, you can move on to bigger and better things.
Pratt: "If a classroom is analyzed as a social world unified and homogenized with respect to the teacher, whatever students do other than what the teacher specifies is invisible or anomalous to the analysis" (5).
Sloven: Again, Pratt, have to disagree with this statement. True, I attempt to specifiy what I want my students to learn. However, I am not a dictate and allow my students to express themselves, to be creative - not all learn the same way.
AMERICAN ORIGINS OF THE WRITING-ACROSS-THE-CURRICULUM MOVEMENT
Russell: "These workshops treated writing (and teaching) as a serious intellectual and scholarly activity intimately related to disciplinary interests, not as a generalizable elementary skill..." (16).
Sloven: First, Russell, let me start off with telling you that your article was long, and at times, difficult to understand. I was in high school in the 1970s and I learned how to write (at least I think I did) - who knows, maybe it was because of those Catholic nuns. With regard to the above quote, the way I understand it is that writing should be in every subject area and not just the responsibility of English teachers. All teachers should be involved in helping their students write well.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Summer....already a distant memory (sigh)
THE NON-DESIGNER'S DESIGN BOOK - Proximity
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Williams: "Principal 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....That's the concept of proximity--on a page (as in life), physical closeness implies a relationship" (1).
Sloven: I like your definition of proximity. It is so much easier to understand when you put it in "human" terms. When you have a close relationship with someone, you usually spend time together enjoying and doing the same things; sometimes when you are really close to another person you become as one.
On another note,with regard to the menu from Gertrude's Piano Bar, I would have listed the fish items together, the meat items together, etc. - I just think it would be easier to read.
WHAT VIDEO GAMES HAVE TO TEACH US ABOUT LEARNING AND LITERACY
Gee: "This view holds that humans learn, think, and solve problems by reflecting on their previous experiences in the world. That is, humans have experiences, store these experiences, and make connections or associations among them" (71).
Sloven: I agree with your statement, Gee. As humans it is extremely difficult to separate youself from your life experiences and not incorporate them in your daily life. This is how you learn and these experiences make you who and what you are. You learn from each and every experience you have and build upon each one.
Gee: " l. The game designers' ("authors") choices. 2. Your own imaginative projection about the charaters, plot and world of the story" (79).
Sloven: Gee, this is the first time that you mention items that are true of books and not just video games - OK, now you have my attentio, there may be something to your theory that video games can teach us something.
Gee: "When the character you are playing dies in a video game (and it is always, of course, a main character), you can get sad and upset, but you also usually get "pissed" that you (the player) have failed....The emotional investments you have in a video-game story are different from the emotional investments you have in a book or movie" (80).
Sloven: With regard to the above, Gee I am back to not believing. I do agree that the emotional investments you have in a video game are different from the ones you have in a book; however, I, and none of my students to my knowledge, have every gotten "pissed" because a character has died - sad, maybe, but definitely not "pissed".
Gee: "Texts are not understood purely verbally (i.e., only in terms of the definitions of the words in the text and their text-internal relationships to each other) but are understood in terms of embodied experiences. Learners move back and forth between texts and embodied experiences" (106).
Sloven: Ok, I think we are on the same page again. When I teach a novel with my class, I try to get my students to talk about their experiences, maybe an experience similiar to the protagonist in the novel. For instance, in the novel PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, the protagonist is struggling with his sexuality, experimenting with drugs and alchol and suffering from the aftermath of being sexually abused by his aunt. Because the subject matter of the book is extremely sensitive in nature, I ask my students if they know anyone with the above issues. The students are more open that way and can make connections to the novel which leads to very interesting and sometimes heated class discussions.
Gee: "Bottom-Up Basic Skills Principle - Basic skills are not learned in isolation or out of context; rather, what counts as a basic skill is discovered bottom up by engaging in more and more of the game/domain or game/domains like it. Basic skills are genre elements of a given type of game/domain" (142).
Sloven: Gee, I believe I use your Bottom-Up principle in my classes. Before I begin a new novel, I give my students background information starting with the author and events in his/her life that may have inspired the writing. I also give them vocabulary, info on the characters, on-going themes and motiffs and any conflicts that are present. I guess you could call it a preview or trailer of the book so that the students know a little before we jump in and start.
>
Williams: "Principal 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....That's the concept of proximity--on a page (as in life), physical closeness implies a relationship" (1).
Sloven: I like your definition of proximity. It is so much easier to understand when you put it in "human" terms. When you have a close relationship with someone, you usually spend time together enjoying and doing the same things; sometimes when you are really close to another person you become as one.
On another note,with regard to the menu from Gertrude's Piano Bar, I would have listed the fish items together, the meat items together, etc. - I just think it would be easier to read.
WHAT VIDEO GAMES HAVE TO TEACH US ABOUT LEARNING AND LITERACY
Gee: "This view holds that humans learn, think, and solve problems by reflecting on their previous experiences in the world. That is, humans have experiences, store these experiences, and make connections or associations among them" (71).
Sloven: I agree with your statement, Gee. As humans it is extremely difficult to separate youself from your life experiences and not incorporate them in your daily life. This is how you learn and these experiences make you who and what you are. You learn from each and every experience you have and build upon each one.
Gee: " l. The game designers' ("authors") choices. 2. Your own imaginative projection about the charaters, plot and world of the story" (79).
Sloven: Gee, this is the first time that you mention items that are true of books and not just video games - OK, now you have my attentio, there may be something to your theory that video games can teach us something.
Gee: "When the character you are playing dies in a video game (and it is always, of course, a main character), you can get sad and upset, but you also usually get "pissed" that you (the player) have failed....The emotional investments you have in a video-game story are different from the emotional investments you have in a book or movie" (80).
Sloven: With regard to the above, Gee I am back to not believing. I do agree that the emotional investments you have in a video game are different from the ones you have in a book; however, I, and none of my students to my knowledge, have every gotten "pissed" because a character has died - sad, maybe, but definitely not "pissed".
Gee: "Texts are not understood purely verbally (i.e., only in terms of the definitions of the words in the text and their text-internal relationships to each other) but are understood in terms of embodied experiences. Learners move back and forth between texts and embodied experiences" (106).
Sloven: Ok, I think we are on the same page again. When I teach a novel with my class, I try to get my students to talk about their experiences, maybe an experience similiar to the protagonist in the novel. For instance, in the novel PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, the protagonist is struggling with his sexuality, experimenting with drugs and alchol and suffering from the aftermath of being sexually abused by his aunt. Because the subject matter of the book is extremely sensitive in nature, I ask my students if they know anyone with the above issues. The students are more open that way and can make connections to the novel which leads to very interesting and sometimes heated class discussions.
Gee: "Bottom-Up Basic Skills Principle - Basic skills are not learned in isolation or out of context; rather, what counts as a basic skill is discovered bottom up by engaging in more and more of the game/domain or game/domains like it. Basic skills are genre elements of a given type of game/domain" (142).
Sloven: Gee, I believe I use your Bottom-Up principle in my classes. Before I begin a new novel, I give my students background information starting with the author and events in his/her life that may have inspired the writing. I also give them vocabulary, info on the characters, on-going themes and motiffs and any conflicts that are present. I guess you could call it a preview or trailer of the book so that the students know a little before we jump in and start.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Part II - September Blues Continued............
WRITING to LEARN: STRATEGIES for ASSIGNING and RESPONDING to WRITING ACROSS the DISCIPLINES
Elbow: "In fact, many teachers require some low stakes writing that they don't even read. Students can appreciate and benefit from the freedom of this private writing." (9)
Sloven: In all of my English classes, the students are required to keep a journal. The journal stays in the classroom and several times a week the students are required to write at least half a page in their journal. Most days I assign the topic for the journal entry but there are occasions when I permit the students to free write and they can pick anything they want to write about. No one sees these journals except myself and, if they write something that is so private that they do not want me to read it,I tell them to fold the paper in half. I respect their privacy and, when I check to see if the assignment was done, I pass over the folded papers (truly, without reading it) and just mark my grade book to note that they did do the assignment. The writing is very informal and I believe it is important for the students to have the freedom of this private writing.
WHAT VIDEO GAMES HAVE TO TEACH US ABOUT LEARNING AND LITERACY
Gee: "If learning is to be active, it must involve experiencing the world in new ways." (31).
Sloven: I am okay with this statement from Gee. In order to learn, you have to be open to different experiences and look at things in a new light. Therefore, I am trying, with difficulty, to read his book with an open mind and try to understand his way of thinking that video games can be used in teaching literacy. However, as a mother of three, who battled for years with her children to stop playing their video games and do their homework and chores, I still view these "games" as "meaningless play ". So, Mr. Gee, I challenge you to convince me that video games are teaching tools truly worthwhile and not just a waste of time. Also, that the games are not a means of torture that parents must endure in finding and buying these games for their children.
Elbow: "In fact, many teachers require some low stakes writing that they don't even read. Students can appreciate and benefit from the freedom of this private writing." (9)
Sloven: In all of my English classes, the students are required to keep a journal. The journal stays in the classroom and several times a week the students are required to write at least half a page in their journal. Most days I assign the topic for the journal entry but there are occasions when I permit the students to free write and they can pick anything they want to write about. No one sees these journals except myself and, if they write something that is so private that they do not want me to read it,I tell them to fold the paper in half. I respect their privacy and, when I check to see if the assignment was done, I pass over the folded papers (truly, without reading it) and just mark my grade book to note that they did do the assignment. The writing is very informal and I believe it is important for the students to have the freedom of this private writing.
WHAT VIDEO GAMES HAVE TO TEACH US ABOUT LEARNING AND LITERACY
Gee: "If learning is to be active, it must involve experiencing the world in new ways." (31).
Sloven: I am okay with this statement from Gee. In order to learn, you have to be open to different experiences and look at things in a new light. Therefore, I am trying, with difficulty, to read his book with an open mind and try to understand his way of thinking that video games can be used in teaching literacy. However, as a mother of three, who battled for years with her children to stop playing their video games and do their homework and chores, I still view these "games" as "meaningless play ". So, Mr. Gee, I challenge you to convince me that video games are teaching tools truly worthwhile and not just a waste of time. Also, that the games are not a means of torture that parents must endure in finding and buying these games for their children.
September Blues....................:-(
TEACH WRITING as a PROCESS NOT PRODUCT
Murray: "To be a teacher of a process such as this takes qualities too few of us have, but which most of us can develop. We have to be quiet, to listen, to respond. We are not the initiator or the motivator; we are the reader, the recipient" (5).
Sloven: Murray has a very excellent point. After we explain to our students what we except of them and teach them the tools they need to write, we should take a step back and allow our students to experiment in order to discover their own writing technique. Our role should become one of a facilitator, gently guiding our students to their full potential.
WRITING TO LEARN: STRATEGIES FOR ASSIGNING and RESPONDING to
WRITING ACROSS the DISCIPLINES
Elbow: "Low stakes writing gives us a better view of how students are understanding the course material and reacting to our teaching. We get a better sense of how their minds work" (8).
Sloven: I do this in my classes but until now was not aware there was a name for it (low stakes writing). At the end of each class, the students answer the lesson's AIM on index cards - the answers do not have to be in complete sentences; it is very informal and this process gives me a sense of who "got" the lesson and who did not.
THE NON-DESIGNER'S DESIGN BOOK
Williams: "I took a walk around the block, and there must have been a sale at the nursery when everyone was landscaping their homes--at least 80 percent of the homes had Joshua trees in the front yards. And I had never seen one before! Once I was conscious of the tree--once I could name it--I saw it everywhere.
Sloven: That is so true. I remember when I first bought my Nissan Sentra. I never paid attention to the car before but after I had one, they were all over the road and the only reason I was conscious of that car was because I owned one. Also, several of my students told me they were watching an episode of THE SIMPSONS. Although they had seen it several times before, they were not aware that it was loosely based on A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE which we were currently reading in class. They knew the story, some of the dialogue and were able to make the connection.
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