WoW! What progress these composers have made.

Perhaps it is the second time around, perhaps it is that the class doubled in size, and perhaps it is none of these factors, but the fact remains that the students in my LTED 618 class have most certainly developed some new literacy knowledge and abilities (and possibly also dispositions) this semester.

I cannot wait to read their final blog entries next week to confirm if the areas of growth I have seen match their own self-reflections, but I must say the students have most certainly demonstrated evidence of learning how to learn in the R/Wblogs they have kept this semester.  Furthermore, I think their pieces in for their Genre Pieces Project will illustrate some very interesting types of growth in the area of technology.   I am most certainly curious to see what they say in their final self-analysis report (final class paper) regarding what they think are the most significant new learnings and new awareness they have about themeselves as readers and writers, how to teach reading and writing, and how to use technology in these personal and professional endeavors.

Bless, Press or Address

I think this phrase is so great!  I hope it doesn't lose it's meaningfulness too soon as I have found that at least for my students of late, this simple phrase seems to "turn on the lightbulb" for them in regards to shifting their responses from more monologue responses (where there is little attention to the original writer) to an invitation to start a dialogue about the ideas expressed in each others' reflective entries.  

It is this dialogic stance that is so pivotal as it is when students are in this state that they truly enter that "rhetorical space" which allows them to construct or co-construct new knowledge together.  

It's WEEK 6 already?

Well...here we are again.  We're already a third of the way through the course.  Wow.  Even though I have been teaching in a semester system for 10 years now, I am once again shocked that we have reached Session 6 so quickly -- my oh my!


This week's class will confirm for me how solid the "foundation" is for the remainder of the course.   


Overall, the students' blog posts are showing clear signs that students are re-envisioning their understandings of writing, writing process, the parallel processes of reading and writing and how the principles of writing process pedagogy have only been enhanced by the advent of the digital age.  


At the same time, I think the writing groups and Hicks pairs were well formed and are going to allow the students opportunities for successfully collaboration and co-constructing knowledge together.   There is such an interesting selection of topics for their personal genre pieces projects this semester, I will be interested to see which writers take real risks with their work rather than just creating the typical or expected collection of pieces.  


This week's class will certainly be a telling sign of how deeply the writers have even explored their topic -- and the major ideas related to the topic.   I am confident that the strategy work we will engage in (using the instructional strategies from Kucer and Rhodes as well as some help from Furr) will help them to fully BRAINSTORM their ideas about their topic, the audience(s) and the purpose(s) for writing about this topic.  

Letting Students Struggle Is Part Of The Process

One of the hardest things as a teacher is when I first start writers workshop, it is often very challenging to stay away from the groups.  Especially when they are whispering and I know they are discussing their "private reactions" to the expectations of the assignment.   However, if you want the students to develop the trust they will need to serve as quality critical friends when responding to each other's writing then you have to allow them to "share secrets" -- even if the secrets are their commentary about you as a teacher. 

At the same time, it is super hard to stay away from groups who are easily and freely talking with each other but they are focusing on the TRADITIONAL problems.  Focusing on FORM before FUNCTION.  For example, right now I am listening to a group really trying to help each other out brainstorming ways to approach this writing assignment, but rather than encouraging each other to freewrite (or freespeak) WHY this is an important topic to them (PURPOSE) and WHO the potential audiences are that they could speak to about this topic, they are immediately jumping to the GENRE (FORM). 

Whoops.  Couldn't help myself, I had to jump right in.....

Okay I'm back to writing in this journal and pretending to ignore both of the groups.  I am glad to know the other group is talking although they are still getting to know each other (talking about who they know) rather than talking about their writing assignments.

 

Welcome to My Expert Presentation

Since I am presenting on the genre of JOURNALS and how we can use writing journals as a tool for improving students abilities to read journal, I thought there was no better way to introduce myself than to write a journal entry on the subject.

What I think is most interesting about writing journals --especially e-journals (blogs, individual wiki page, etc.) --  the focus is most heavily on the writer and his/her point of view.   Certainly journals are a genre where "I" is ever present, even when the "I" is a simulated voice -- as is often the case when students complete a RAFT assignment.  

One of the final questions I want to consider with the 618 class as a part of my presentation is whether or not the 6+1 traits of the Journal Genre have dramatically changed....or what I really mean to say is WHICH of the traits have changed.   After all, I don't think the purpose has changed, I don't think there are any new limits placed on what topics or would be appropriate for journal writing.  In regards to VOICE/WORD CHOICE, I think the importance of the writer demonstrating a "legitimate voice" is still required.    

On the other hand, I do think that with the advent of digital composition, the audiences have changed and the format or PRESENTATION has changed.   And because audiences have changed and presentation has changed, I am wondering whether DEVELOPMENT and ORGANIZATION have to change as well?????  This still puzzles me.....

I am also wondering what questions the 618 students will be bringing with them to class tonight about reading/writing journals as well as teaching their students to read/write texts reflecting the journal genre.    I bet there will be at least one or two who bring in one of Cronin's "Diary..." books.

PS  Did you ever notice that is hard to say?   that's hard to say:  journal genre.  I certainly cannot say it as fast as I can type it. 

The Issue of Community

One of the core principles of a quality writing workshop/writing curriculum is the establishment of a cooperative, collaborative learning community.   This is a core principle that has always been at the heart of good writing pedagogy and has maintained its central status to the success of a digital writing classroom. 

What I think is interesting about how a teacher establishes a sense of community is that in many ways the community develops faster because of the digital tools we have at our disposal.  Students talk more with each other, serve as teachers for each other in the first few nights of class because they all have different levels of expertise with using digital writing tools such as blogs.   Even the proximity of their chairs and their "workspace" are closer together in a computer lab than in a traditional classroom.   Perhaps this isn't always conducive to "live" whole class discussions where students can make eye contact, but I do see pairs and small groups of students more easily working together simply because they have sat basically side-by-side (even when they are ultimately writing their own individual piece).  

I also think the fact that digital writing classrooms are still new ("novelty effect") this also generates more discussion and a sense of community (learning the new together) that happens at a much faster pace than in my LTED 618 courses -- even those of 3-4 years ago.   Creating the blogs does seem to shift the students' thinking about themselves as writers and of the types of writing/compositions they will create in this class. 

Okay.  That's all for now.  Need to ask the class to stop composing and make final edits before posting.