- They must learn to escape their fear of the blank page.
- They must learn to have confidence in their thoughts and words.
- They must learn how to approach a subject with ownership. Ask, how can the subject apply to life?
The more opportunities they are given to write, the more comfortable they become with the act. It is important to vary opportunities for writing. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, they should be able to write without the fear of a "grade." This allows them freedom to explore their boundaries of critical thinking.
Many of them come from backgrounds where writing was an act that had to be done. They need to learn that the ability to communicate well through the written word is a gift of their thoughts that they can share with others. When they approach it this way, it is less intimidating.
As a teacher it is imperative that I create a positive learning environment. Students must feel secure enough to share thoughts on paper with me, knowing that I will not unduly criticize them or make them feel "stupid." I have to be willing to share my mistakes, shortcomings, and deficiencies with them. Honesty is very important. I have to be sure that they understand we are all learners. I will learn from them just as they learn from me. If I believe in them, they will achieve! The first day of school I always tell them that I requested the very best students, so if they are in my class, they must be the cream of the crop. They know teachers don't have this authority, but it creates a positive environment, and they usually live up to my expectations!
~~~~~~On a personal note, writing this has REALLY made me miss my "babies." :o( This is the hardest part about this decision to return to graduate work full-time!~~~~~~
7 comments:
Elizabeth, I like your style! I agree: everyone can write if they just "let go."
In your experience, does this approach allow students to view their writing as a gift to themselves as well as to others? And how do you get them from free-writing to complying with assignment guidelines while still maintaining their confidence and sense of fulfillment?
Cathy
I have found that they do come to see it as a gift they can not only enjoy themselves, but they can share with others. Many times they also begin sharing attempts at poetry and stories with me once I earned their trust.
I assigned something once or twice a week that I called "Writing Checks." These were really just journal-style entries, but they turned them in each time, and I read them and commented on them. This is where I gave them greater variety in types of writing and topics. I told them from the beginning that they would get full credit for them (I added them up to equal 95 every reporting period.) if they were on-topic and were at least a page long. As I read them, I marked comments on them regarding grammar, style, etc. Since I was not counting these mistakes against them, they were open to my comments. I found that their grammar improved as they became more aware of their mistakes. They would begin proof-reading before they turned things in.
Consistently over the past 15 years that I have used this, they have told me that this was the thing that helped them most once they got to college. They were not scared to TRY to write.
That is exactly the sort of thing I'd like to do, but I am worried about time constraints and the added burden of reviewing/commenting on not-for-credit writing.
Cathy
Elizabeth,
I loved your ideas and philosophies on how students should write. I, too, think it's important to develop honesty and a good rapport with students. I share in Cathy's concern over relating this personalization of assignments to the assignment guidelines, especially with such courses as 1301 and 1302. But I like your response about the "writing checks." Do you think this sort of thing could be implemented in 1301/02 through the C.I.s?
I actually got the idea of "Writing Checks" from a 1301 teacher at Western Texas College. I had contacted him after I found that many of my students were in his class. I wanted to know what I could do to improve their writing. He told me "have them WRITE!" Practice makes perfect! I tell my kids that none of them could expect to shoot perfect free-throws or play a concerto without practice, so why do they think they can WRITE without it?
It really doesn't take a lot of time to read through the drafts because you aren't "grading" them. You just make comments on aspects that stick out. Last year I had 136 students, and I could go through a stack of WC's in about an hour. Sometimes it takes longer if they are more verbose! Like them, you will get better at it with practice.
One other thing--I would usually have the topic on the board with a checkmark above it. They learned to start writing when they came in and saw this. I gave them about 10 minutes to complete it. This time limit helped them get started and get ideas down. They learned that this was a first draft that didn't need to be perfect.
Often the topic of the day was a springboard for what I wanted to discuss or a continuation of a previous assignment. For instance, I might choose a character in a novel we were reading and have them write a letter to that character, or if I wanted to talk about plagiarism, I might ask them to define it and talk about the implications. This gave THEM something to say in the discussion because they had already considered the topic.
I really like the way you have approached the concept of "teaching philosophy". Also, I wholeheartedly agree with the idea of creating a supportive and encouraging learning environment for the students. As you say, helping them get rid of their fears of grading is one of the best ways of encouraging them.
But do you think that it is really possible to accomplish this within the system that we work?
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