Although I've taught for many years, and have had national, state, and district curriculum guidelines to follow, I've typically presented information and skills in the order I believed was most useful to the group of learners before me--but always needed a baseline in order to proceed. I don't want to spend time on concepts they've mastered, but am also concerned that students have what they need to succeed in future writing intensive classes. I'd ask them to write about who they are as a reader and writer--might use the "Where I'm From" poem exercise to promote and establish classroom culture first--then move on to the reader/writer survey. I'd very likely have students pair up and tell each other what they've written, so each pair will introduce each other.
I think the idea of having students actively engaged in their own learning is most beneficial to them, but I've had students who were highly annoyed when asked to do anything but listen. Once they have a seat, they've established a nest/beachhead and they don't want to move unless it is to get up for refreshments, or flee the building. Given a preference, I think I'd rather have students for 2 or 3 short class periods than all at once. I had a 3 credit hour Statistics class last semester that would have been much more beneficial in smaller chunks. Quite frankly, 15 minute chunks of problem solving, followed by 5 minutes to review what we had just done and why--and a 10 minute break to meditate and/or obtain additional caffeine would have been the ideal learning environment for me--but that was not what happened.
What I find out from students the first day will help me decide how to proceed. If I have a group of confident writers, there will be less need for remediation and so I'll plan for them to employ and discuss a wide variety of writing exercises. I'm with our guest speaker in that I'll strive to make the exercises enticing so that they will be inspired/tricked into producing rafts of writing and beg for more...or at least not howl in agony when they receive a new assignment.
The syllabus will be subject to adjustment/change and while I will most likely have a schedule of activities for the first month, I'll see where the students are individually and as a group and tweak the syllabus to reflect the direction class should go, based on the input received and graded. If I have a group of writers who have not been successful writers in the past, and do not expect to be successful in the future, we'll proceed at a different rate. Pairing the students according to their ability levels works, but they should have the opportunity to work in different groups and be exposed to peer coaching. I think a rubric is important for big projects, but always want the option to adjust grades to truly reflect effort and meaning--conventions are important, but positive feedback and gentle suggestions encourage writing growth without anxiety.
I've always been a patient, low-key teacher; I'm the oldest of three and was used to being in charge of the health and well-being of my brother and sister from a fairly early age. I think I've been a teacher for most of my life, now that I reflect on it. I read Stephanie's blog about teaching others and thought about all the times I was assigned someone in school to help because they just didn't "get it." Both of my parents taught school, my brother, sister, and I followed their career path. This intensive reflection about teaching writing caused me to reflect how much teaching writing is like teaching swimming. As an undergraduate, I worked as a cashier/lifeguard in the summer, and during swimming lessons, I was "given" the sinkers-- students who were extremely afraid of the water or non-compliant. It was my job to ease their fears and charm them into tolerating the feeling of water all around them. As their peers learned to swim, my sinkers learned to let the water touch their face, and that blowing bubbles in the water was a surviveable event. They practiced kicking, and eventually trusted me enough to let me help them float; they knew by then that I would never let them drown. Years later, in my classroom, students must work very hard to drown/fail; I'm patiently insistent that they succeed. If there are sinkers in class, my goal is (still)to help them learn how to survive, and evntually thrive.
2 comments:
Wow, Debbie! This reads almost like a manifesto, I love it. You touch on so many important things here that I almost don't know where to begin. I'll try to keep this brief.
How do you manage adjusting your approach to student ability if you have a wide range in one classroom? As a student who has excelled in traditional classrooms, I can clearly remember being bored to the point of apathy in classes that proceeded at a rate that I found unstimulating, and of course the opposite is equally problematic - if you go too fast and some students can't keep up, what then? I'm not asking you for answers here, just wondering if you, and/or others, have thoughts or strategies for dealing with a range of student abilities in (and outside of) the classroom.
You are right, Nell--a wide range of abilities is tricky. The more advanced folk deserve to be challenged and need to work with others of their ilk--so I'd pair similarly talented writing partners, but also think they should mix it up and share their understanding of writing with class members with different abilities, so would use larger groups for some of the projects. Individually chosen projects may work best with a class of high/low learners; requirements and expectations could be individually adjusted. I know this sounds like more work--it is! Success may also hinge on the mix of students--an excellent classroom community requires less regulation, even with mixed abilities, because the students will "take care" of each other--make sure that everyone feels a part of the group and understands what is required. I know several ways to promote a cohesive group--I have guidelines for small groups, which may need to be followed by a demonstration of small group participation. I also recommend bringing food to the class. Townsend Hall has a seemingly perpetual smorgasboard--students sign up to bring snacks to class, and we also bring food whenever we meet. (If you are ever in Tate Hall and feel peckish, come next door; we have chocolate, caffeine, and probably cake in the icebox. It is a big shock to take classes elsewhere on campus and discover that no snacks are being served!
I tend to hover more over my "sinker" group, but check on all the groups when they work to make sure they are headed in the right direction. The struggling students may need individual intervention/suggestions, and if the whole class is struggling, we'll need to slow down a bit. I may need to extend office hours, as well as make sure students are aware that help is available. As long as they are trying their best to swim, I will not let them drown.
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