Blog #8 and #9 Reflection

I personally found the discussion Board blogs to be fun. I really enjoyed interacting with the entire class. I loved how we were able to express our opinions and experiences. I think with this blog we were better able to receive many different points of view, which I find to be great for these kinds of discussions. The only contraints I found with this assignment was having to wait for others to respond to my blog, so that I can respond back. There are certain times where I am able to get my work done; therefore, I found it difficult to have to wait for someone else in order to complete the assignment successfully. I think that this would be a difficult assignment to assess. I would definitely assess it as I would the other blogs (as a low stakes assignment)focusing on how thoughtful the student was in tehri blogging.

Dear Ritter,

My letter to you has to contain questions and concerns; therefore, I chose to write to you about Berlin. I don't know where to start. He mostly speaks about four groupings of pedagogical approaches. He expresses how three of these groupings are limited in their theories, ideas, and approaches to writing, language, and the teaching of writing and language. He puts the grouping called New Rhetoricians superior to the other three. He speaks highly of this grouping and says many things that I would consider as positive characteristics such as: "It is a relation that is created, not pre-existed and waiting to be discovered.", "Truth is always truth for someone standing in relation to others in a linguistically circumscribed situation"(774), and "...learning to write is not a matter of learning the rules that govern...we must be discoverers of new truth as well as preservers..." (776). A lot of what he says about this specific group seems to be agreeable and convincing; however, others can be open for debate. I sometimes felt as if he was being vague in his descriptions and definitions. I didn't always understand what he meant with these statements which read: "Truth is impossible without language, since it is language that embodies and generates truth" (774), and "The numerous recommendations of the 'process'-centered approaches to writing instruction as superior to the 'product'-centered approaches are not very useful" (777). Some of his justification for New Rhetoric just seemed a little off balanced. I wonder, why he would choose to describe a pedagogical approach in such and unparallel, and inconsistent manner? His language, organization, and style were extremely difficult to follow. There were many things that I agreed with, and other things that (because of its wording or vagueness) were up for debate. If you can clearify some of his general argument that will be very helpful.

-Crystal Rios





Reflection:
I really enjoyed the letter writing. I feel as though I'm connecting with a peer who is facing the same difficulties as I am, and when we speak about these difficulties, we can come up with conclusions, ideas, thoughts etc, together. I can definitely use this assignment in class. It's a great way to get students involved in reading the assignments. I also appreciate this assignment because it involves the active participation of a both you and a peer. There are some students who will probably consider skipping an assignment or two, but knowing that someone else's grade depends upon you writing them a letter, can function as motivation to complete the assignment. This idea can work as a motivation, or the student can chose not to do the assignment, which will make assessing the assignment more difficult for the teacher. If I were to assign this, I would give a due date, and if the letter writer has not yet written to their partner, I will tell their partner to write the letter in order to receive full credit. I also really enjoyed that as the letter writer I was not asked to summarize the readings, instead, we were to raise questions and concerns in our letters. I found this approach to be very helpful.

Dear Ritter,

I agree with your comment on Young's statement. Creative writing is definitely not just for English classes, and it can surely be an academic tool. I think creative writing is an excellent way of introducing and engaging students into their writing. It is also a very useful way of practicing one's writing. You were right on in saying that student's should be using their creative minds in any time of writing assignments including formal assignments. So I wonder why this separation exist? Why do some people think creative writing and formal writing are very distinctive forms of writing that can not overlap? How can we show our students that both forms work hand in hand?

I really enjoyed the idea of : Without writing there is no history, philosophy etc., therefore, WAC has always existed. If we look at it in that general point of view, I agree with Rose as well; however, I think the recent goals of WAC are more specific and detailed. WAC can no longer be satisfied with this general definition and view. There is so much more to WAC and we must embrace all that it has to offer, in every classroom.

Your experience with the professor, clearly shows how every educator seems to have their own definition of what "good" writing should be. As future educators, we should not limit ourselves and our students by doing this. There is no one way or one right way to write. If the writing is legible, and proves a point (like you said), the rest is just technical and that's what the editing process is for. We don't have to stress ourselves out and our students with the technicalities of writing, because that's exactly why many students find themselves distant and incapable toward writing. I can't believe some educators are negative about writing. They are the ones that ruin it for the rest of us. I'm sorry that you had to experience a teacher who feels that way about writing, and I mostly feel sorry for the teacher. I hope the experience allows you to learn and grow as a person and a writer. It's good to see the teacher didn't completely discourage you.

- Crystal Rios

Dear Ritter,

Chapter 1 in WAC For the New Millennium interested me the most of all the readings. My definition of WAC was a lot more limited before reading this chapter. WAC seems to play a critical role in all aspects of education and pedagogy, and it's dealing with much wider goals than one may think it could be capable of. WAC is concerned with all aspects including English Language learners, service learning, community, assessment, peer review, technology, and so much more. The sections of the reading on technology and assesment were very interesting to me. both sections illustrated WAC's abilities to succeed. WAC technology is being used in possitive helpful ways, while WAC is alos playing a significant role in formative assesments. For example, the addition of essays in both the SAT's and in many Regents examinations.

This chapter as well as chapter 2 in Writing to Learn expresses the importance of peer tutoring/response. Clearly, peer tutoring/response is an effective strategy in most class rooms. WACNM says, "...students can learn from each other as well as from teachers and books" (WACNM, 15). Writing to learn agrees when it says, "When students regularly write about the assigned readings for a class and then read and respond to what their classmates have written, they often can learn the concepts and subject matter of a course better, and remember it longer" (Writing to Learn, 41). I have two concerns with this peer tutoring/response. One is I have to wonder if this is something that is taking place in other subject classrooms, or is it mostly in English classes? The other question I had about this is; how should teachers go about peer tutoring/review? Although good examples were brought up in the readings, it seems to be all theory and fewer specifics on practice.

I can see the connection WAC has with many issues and aspects that educators encounter; however WAC's participation in some of these were not made as clear as others. For example how is the author saying that WAC is directly related to "Curriculum-based peer tutoring programs..." (WACNM, 16)? Many tutors in tutoring programs have never even heard of WAC's significance, nor do many tutors receive WAC workshops or guidance.

Another thing about this chapter on WAC that concerned me was the fact that there was an immense amount of talk about WAC's implementation in higher education and universities. Shouldn't we also focus on including WAC at an earlier age for students? WAC's goals will probably be more effective when such strategies and ideas are being practiced earlier on in student's educational careers, so why the focus on higher education?

Engaging ideas by Jean C. Bean relates to the importance of communication when he says, "Good writing, I like to tell my students, grows out of good talking..." (Engaging Ideas, 7). Similarly WACNM says, "...as students learn from each other. Courses move from being lectures to conversations." (WACNM, 11) This goal is at the forefront of most educators; however, I have to wonder what are the next steps and developing ideas that WAC has in mind to continue this approach in our classrooms? What kinds of things should we assume to expect from such an involved education program?

- Crystal Rios

P.S. I'm sure this is more than 300 words (sorry I couldn't help it), so don't feel obligated to respond to and answer every part of this letter.

Gee: "So thinking and reasoning are inherently social. But they are also inherently distributed, and more and more so in our technological world. This means that each of us lets other people and various tools and technologies do some of our thinking for us...This much obvious, though it is not represented in school. In school we test people apart from their thinking tools...We want to know what they can do all by themselves." (197)

Rios: So far Gee has given us the connection between video games and learning for the individual. I was waiting for the social portion of Gee's argument, as I think that is the key to non-traditional learning in schools and in the classrooms. There is technology there for us to look up certain facts, and straight forward questions. What we want students to develop is their thinking skills and abilities, not just their ability to memorize and know certain facts. This definitely promotes higher order thinking and questioning, and puts lower level thinking and questioning in the background. There are some basic and general knowledge that students should know and be given in order to reach the higher level thinking; however, such facts or knowledge should not be the center or only focus. We do forget or need that basic knowledge; we can just look it up. With technology at hand, that information becomes easily accessible; therefore, teachers can spend more time teaching skills, and higher level thinking.

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)

Rios: This sort of highlights what was said before; we learn from our environment and the social interactions that are included within that environment. If we only care about the amount of facts a student can retain, we are neglecting an imperative part of learning. In order to support this important part of learning, and develop it further, social and technology based learning must be included into the schools and classrooms. In the video games Gee mentions, there is an immense amount of social interactions amongst the people playing the games. These interactions are what make the game more appealing to the players; therefore, whether it be Jigsaw or other cooperative learning exercises, there should be activities taking place in classrooms that mimic these kinds of social interactions.

Russel: "Education must begin with the students...thus curriculum and instruction-particularly beyond elementary school-must consciously and carefully weave together the interest of the learner with the structures and activities of the disciplines..." (7)

Rios: Cleary these progressive thoughts about education existed long ago as said by Russel; however, it was a matter of actually implementing them within the classrooms, and some still struggled with teaching writing in all disciplines. Russel also says the ideas of WAC became problematic for many reasons, including the teacher to student ratio, so there were few opportunities to learn specialized discourses. (9) There were numerous barriers preventing WAC from succeeding, but eventually WAC fought its way through. We could not function as successfully if both students and teachers embrace what WAC has to offer. This idea envelops progressive education, and supports inclusive "student-centered" learning. We want to understand the student's experiences, and create opportunities for them in the classrooms that are relatable and cater to their specific learning styles, and WAC makes this possible. A student will understand writing as a form of communication, expression etc. (rather than just a subject they have to pass in English class) if he/she has teachers in other subject areas enforcing their writing abilities.

Pratt: "...our job in the Americas course remains to figure out how to make that crossroads the best site for learning that it can be. We are looking for the pedagogical arts of the contact zone" (6)

Rios: In keeping with the idea that students have experiences, Pratt is adding on their cultural influences on their learning. Students in this country are culturally diverse, and will therefore, feel more disconnected to the English language (as used in America) if their culture is not represented in the language. It's about knowing your audience. Whatever lesson the students are learning, should be reflective of their culture, or make some connections to who the students are. This kind of teaching also promotes integrated lessons. For example, if the majority of my class is African American and I teach an African American historical novel, students will become knowledgeable about the historical events. Other lessons can be made that highlights the historical events when teaching the novel. Also, if a student connects to the novel, he/she is more likely to educate himself/herself further, beyond the classroom, and do their on research for their own personal interests.



2X Journal reflection:
A double entry journal, like everything else, has its advantages and disadvantages. This assignment allows someone to read given material, select a point of personal interest, and expand on that point. It’s provides choices for the reader. It also enables the reader to focus in on one particular portion of the text, rather than commenting on the text as a whole. Expanding on one part of the text, brings forth new ideas, and makes the writing about the text personal, and individualized. I could definitely see double-entry journals used in classrooms. They could be used to asked students to pick quotes from a novel, explain the quote and describe its importance to the text as a whole etc. It can also be used as a creative writing assignment in the classroom. The students can be asked to pick out quotes from the novel, and respond to the quotes by drawing an image, or writing a poem about the quote. I really like the flexibility of the assignment. The only constraints I find in the assignment are that if students are being asked to stay in topic/theme/idea etc. throughout the journal, they will be limited as to which quotes or passages they can choose to comment or discuss. I would assess this assignment by mostly focusing on level of thoughtfulness, and asking questions such as: How much effort was put into this? How do I know? Did the student identify important or meaningful quotes? How do I know? etc.

Gee: "There are nearly always multiple solutions to any given problem. Players can choose strategies that fit with their style of learning, thinking, and acting. This, of course, is highly motivating both for learning and for playing the game and a rich source for reflecting on one’s own styles of learning and problem solving (and perhaps, experimenting with new ones)." (78)

Rios: The ideas of learning styles are a significant issue. I think what is being said is that ideally a teacher creates tasks/activities etc., provides students with choices, and allows them to accomplish HER task in THEIR own way. There is no one route to any given problem or situation, which is why the comparison to the "Deus Ex" game works. The entire game seems to work with how we learn, so that we're in control and in full ownership of the game.

Gee: "When I talk about a person's embodied experiences in the world (virtual or real), I mean to cover perceptions, actions, choices, and mental simulations of action or dialogue." (79)

Rios: This takes to a greater level something that Robin Williams touched upon when speaking about alignment in The Non-Designer's Design Book. Williams says, "'Nothing should be placed on the page arbitrarily. Every item should have a visual connection with something else on the page.'" (33) Williams states the importance of simulating the mind. Although Gee and Williams are referring to two very separate aspects of technology, both authors are concerned with mental simulation. They also share other important concerns as well.

Gee: "The learner understands texts as a family ('genre') of related texts and understands any one such text in relation to others in the family...what helps the learner make sense of such texts." (110)

Williams: "Unity is an important concept in design. to make all the elements on the page appear to be unified, connected, and interrelated, there needs to be some visual tie between the separate elements." (50)

Rios: Both are speaking of the importance in grouping, connecting, and relationships in texts. This way the text can understand it and make sense of it automatically. Without these connections, there can be a sense of confusion, which can create a distance from the text and the reader. The reader doesn't appreciate and is less likely to enjoy text that is not aesthetically pleasing. For example, many students and people in general are more likely to shy away from texts with small font, with uneven margins, or when having to visually connect things because the text did not already do that for them.

Gee: "The problem with the texts associated with video games-the instruction booklets, walkthroughs, and strategy guides-is that they do not make a lot of sense unless one has already experienced and lived in the game world for a while." (98)

Rios: This seems true for all electronic devices, games, computers, cell phones etc., including, non-electronic devices, for example, writing an essay. A teacher can explain a generic or general outline and can instruct a student in the writing and essay process, but until the student has engaged in the actual writing process and use the outline, they do not fully understand the significance, reasoning, or rules of an outline as a guide in writing their essays. Students tend to skip the outline part or instructions when writing their essays. They simply want to go straight to the writing. Once the editing process begins, they then tend to understand the importance of the organization and steps of and outline. When students become familiar with essay writing, the outline portion of the process become automatic because they have lived in the "writing world" for a while.

Murray: "Naturally we try to use our training. It's an investment and so we teach writting as a product, focusing our critical attentions on what our students have done, as if they has passed literature in to us. It isn't literature, of course, and we use our skills, with which we can dissect and sometimes almost destroy Shakespeare or Robert Lowell to prove it." (3)



Rios: Many parts of this statement are true. As readers we tend to try and use what we've learned any and every time we get a chance we can ruin it with our criticism. This is the same for teachers. We primarily focus on the negatives in a piece of writing, perhaps because our eyes are automatically trained to find the flaws and so they stand out more; instead, we should be able to search for the reasoning, meanings, purposes, and accept the writer for what they have created. Students can always improve, so we should first search for the worthiness in their writing before trying to fix the technicalities of it. Many inexperienced writers create straight forward, raw pieces that are perfectly fine stories, and should not be destroyed by overanalyzing. When we don't understand this, we tend to remove the writer from their own work. In order for a writer to continue down a successful path, they should feel a sense of ownership in what they create.



Murray: "The writing process itself can be divided into three stages: prewriting, writing, and rewriting. The amount of time the writer spends in each stage depends on his personality, his work habits, his maturity as a craftsman, and the challenge of what he is trying to say. It is not a rigid lock step process, but most writers most of the time pass through these three steps." (4)



Rios: These are three general, basic, but accurate steps; the process that all students should eventually grasp. Most of us do this naturally and don't even think of it as a three step process. If a piece of writing should always be treated as an unfinished piece, than where in this process does the student continue to edit a piece of writing? How can we get students to understand this process as a continuous circle without confusing them on where and how the editing process develops in this circle? I would assume that the answer would be slightly different for each student based on his/her needs, so we should guide students in identifying their needs and where in the process they should begin their editing. The editing process is one that seems to discourage students most. I'm interested in the editing process, because most students want to finish a piece of work and be done with it forever. Treating their work as unfinished gives them a better sense of ownership, makes them prouder to have accomplished more than they thought they would, and gives them the idea that writing is not solely for a grade.