RE: Student writing - One thing I'm thinking about doing in US II, and maybe in World II, is having students keep a journal of their responses to the things we're studying. I'm putting together a list of prompts - 1-2 per unit - on the essential questions and values we're exploring through our course material. I think this will serve as a good way for students to process and review the content and ideas.
RE: My Own Practice and my Professional Labor - While I don't see myself opening myself up to public scrutiny on MassLive.com, I do plan to try to change my approach to reading articles and comments online. I found the process of writing the argument essay for this course very rewarding. Like a lot of us noted, it has been a long time since that kind of writing has been required. My plan going forward is to try to write an argument essay about at least one topic that drives me crazy each month. I spend too much time formulating responses that I'd like to leave online and then not doing it. I don't need anyone to read my writing, but it would be good for me to write more, and to force myself to articulate my own ideas. I'm guessing this will end up looking like me keeping a list of issues I'd like to explore more clearly and targeting my online reading toward fully understanding those issues with the end goal of writing an essay about it. Hopefully this will result in less of that 'low-level anxiety,' frustration, and sense of helplessness...
Re: Student writing - I love your idea of having students keep a journal. I read recently about a teacher who has a "wonder wall" - a wall with post-it notes of things students are wondering about, questions they have, etc. I can be anonymous. Maybe this could be an extension of the journal, and once in a while you/your students could spend a few minutes discussing one of the posts.
RE: professional writing. I agree that writing your responses to something that drives you crazy can be cathartic/therapeutic, and that you don't necessarily need others to read it, but maybe one or two of your responses could be in the form of letters to your legislators. Even if you are preaching to the choir,, they still need to hear from us.
It's been a long summer without internet access. I love Virginia but, cell towers are few and far between in the land of peanuts and cotton.....
Student Writing:
As a support person to the lead teacher designing the Beta Career Essentials program, I mentioned the importance of students keeping a journal of reflection. Many of the topics that will be discussed in Career Essentials will be individualized. I’m happy to say that the writing/reflecting journals will be part of this Beta Career Essentials class this year.
Professional:
A reflective journal is part of the class exit ticket of a leadership program that I am currently enrolled. I have found it a great way to recall and organize my thoughts from this program.
There are a number of new administrators in the building this year and because of that, I thought about keeping a personal journal to reflect on my own practice; sometimes I forget about all the things I do! I do believe the journal entries will not only shed light on and remind me of my professional accomplishments but also, when there is an opportunity to share with administration, it will become the tool to help build the story that supports all of the professional accomplishments.
Valerie
I'm so glad your suggestion of having students keep a journal was incorporated into the new program! When you say the topics will be individualized, what will that look like? Who determines the topics: the students or the teacher? I'm also curious about the Career Essential programs in general; is it like employability skills?
I also think you're wise to keep your own professional journal. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that it's easier said than done, but if you can establish a routine I think it will become easier.
Much of my first decade and a half of teaching, I focused on teaching writing. However, it was dominated by formal academic pieces. I taught kids how to write the formal essay or research paper (I still do and see this as an essential part of my instructional mission), but I didn't look for other less high stakes ways to integrate writing into my instruction.
Over the last several years, however, this has changed. I now regularly have students "write into the day" or complete free write reflections on important issues we've discussed in class. I rarely grade these; sometimes I read them. I've come to see this kind of low stakes writing as an essential step in helping students clarify their thinking about a topic. This is a great step in preparing students to participate in a larger group discussion or to get big ideas down on paper before they write a more formal piece. I hope to continue refining this element of my practice in the coming years.
In terms of my own professional practice, this isn't something that I've done much of. I enjoyed writing the argument piece we did this summer. It reminded me of how hard writing is, but also of the specific approach I take to writing. If I engaged more often in the kind of writing I ask students to do, I'd be more mindful of all of the unconscious things I do as a writer. This kind of "metacognition" about writing would make me a better teacher of writing. It's certainly a challenge to find the time to do this, but I'm eager to look for opportunities to do this kind of professional work.
I couldn't agree more with both of your statements. Having students write does indeed help them clarify their thinking - and slow down "knee-jerk" reactions. It may help them consider other angles. I frequently use the phrase "writing is thinking" at my school, for both students and teachers.
As for your experience writing the argument piece this summer, there is indeed value in being reminded about the empathy we need to have with our student writers. It doesn't come easy to many of us, but the payoff is big, and worth the struggle.
Hi,
I am so sorry everyone - I wrote at least a page on this in August when the prompt was first posted. I just discovered today that what I wrote isn't here! I have no idea what happened, I am disappointed because it was detailed and covered a lot of ground. Sigh. So, I guess here it goes again...
Student Writing: Beyond the 5-paragraph essay and note taking, I do not ask my students to really engage in regular writing (defined for me as frequent, graded and ungraded, based on a prompt). I have really enjoyed WITD and I have actually instituted that in my classes in the first week of school. We have used their responses from this exercise as discussion starters. The WITD has worked really well since the questions I have asked students to write about have directly related to my lesson plan for the day. The International Baccalaureate courses that I teach, contain components of self reflection that I might be able to foster through journaling. I have never asked my students to journal before, but I might ask them to keep a journal while working on a major project (such as a research paper) where they comment on their process, findings, and themselves as historians. There have been rumors this week that we might be starting a student newspaper and if that happens, maybe one of my classes could have a regular column.
My Practice: Currently, I am keeping a journal on our experience in the Civic Literacy Institute. Through the journal, I have thought A LOT about what we have been learning and how our lessons are translating to my teaching. One of the things that I learned, was how much I am enjoying the time and space to sit and write. At the end of our Institute week in July, I spent part of Friday at UMass writing in a room with Richard and Leslie. Although we were all doing our own writing, it was a great experience to have nothing else to do or think about except the journal. I have hoped to duplicate that experience as school got rolling the third week of August, but I just couldn't make the space to keep journaling, until I MADE the space in my schedule to journal this week. Another opportunity I have for writing is our school Blog. Faculty and staff are constantly being asked to submit pieces for the blog, but I have been very reluctant. My biggest question has been, "what on earth would I write about?" Our Communications Office will assist me on audience and editing when I figure out something to say!
As part of regular practice, I use daily writing prompts to start off each class. I generally focus on two areas to assess. First, I am looking at content. I either have students make a prediction based off of a quote, passage, or picture, or I have them demonstrate an understanding of a concept taught in the previous class. Second, I try to designate one skill that I would like students to work on and practice. I often will ask open ended or opinion questions and require students to provide at least three reasons, or pieces of evidence to support their opinion. Students are not required to write more than a paragraph each time. The benefit of having students write in small chunks at the beginning of class has proven to be extremely beneficial, not only because they get to practice their writing each day, but also because it helps to focus their attention and process the ideas being discussed in class.
My own practice: I have begun to keep a regular journal in my classroom for the end of the day. Often it is difficult to get more than a few sentences in each day as other responsibilities often get in the way. I have found that this practice, as brief as the writing is, helps me to focus and fine tune my lessons and approach to students.