This blog provides a shared space for teachers to blog about their experiences in teaching writing to high school and college students.
I learned about Blogger from a treasured colleague, Marian Gonsior. We have each of our students set up a blog and attach it to their writing portfolios. I think you could say we use Blogger for pre-writing (something many students resist), and critical thinking. We introduce Blogger when we start the research paper process. First we have students post their topic and research question. We like a little discussion about that. Next we tell them to create an annotated bibliography by finding five sources of information from databases. We have them list the source in MLA or APA format, write a summary paragraph (annotation) and then write a short sentence or two explaining how this information answers their research question. This gets them thinking about the topic and gives them ideas for structuring their research essays. Students always tell me (later!) that this process made the research paper much less intimidating to write. Of course the picky work of the Works Cited/References page is already done, so it makes that last page just a matter of copy/paste.
Notice that Blogger has other features that allow links, inserts, etc. Blogs can be edited and revised by using the little pencil at the bottom of each entry. There is a nice space for comments, too.
I haven't used Blogger for the discussion of reading assignments or reactions to YouTube videos, but that could be done I suppose. I use a wiki (PBWorks) for that because I want cross discussion. I'm still working on that. :)
I'm open to more suggestions.
What a great idea, Ellen. I haven't yet used blogging in class, but I'm intrigued by its potential as a pre-writing/brainstorming tool. At the Writing Center, we also see a lot of resistance to pre-writing. Maybe they'd be more engaged if they didn't have to do it alone.
ReplyDeleteLike all my great ideas, this one was stolen. :) I've long understood that complex assignments have to be broken down into little pieces. Marian and I both practice scaffolding in teaching the research paper. I was pleased to see our practice was supported in Assigning, Responding, Evaluating, a Writing Teacher's Guide (Edward M. White), a book I stole from the Bedford display at the 2010 CCCC conference. White amusingly says, "Writing courses should undermine the night-before, all-night typing frenzy and its product --- the McPaper --- a fast-food version of writing that offers little nutritional value to students and is frequently indigestible for readers." He goes on to lay out how assignments can be sequenced, and has a bunch of very simple and useful suggestions for creating and presenting writing assignments to students. If the assignment isn't clearly presented or if students haven't had the preparation they need, the results are frequently not good.
ReplyDeleteAs regards the Writing Center, I think we could present pre-writing as akin to sketching out an idea before plunging into a project. Don't the great masters of every art form do this? Those of us who tackle home improvement projects need to do it too. Maybe I should write a handout for pre-writing. As White points out, it's important to explain the purpose for each step in the writng assignment.
Marian and I also used PBWiki as a kind of pre-writing tool for groups of students. I'll share that assignment when we get together again. It was one of our most effective tools for teaching critical thinking and organization (another weak area for so many essays!)
If we ever decide to read a book as a group, White's would be one I would recommend!
Thanks for the comment Frances!
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ReplyDeleteEllen, thank you for investing the time and effort to set up this blog. You've also set up a useful site for our high school teachers' group and have linked it to this blog. I hope we can all share both ideas and dilemmas this way.
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