Learning is Meaning Making

"...that unless and until the mind of a learner is engaged, no meaning will be made, no knowledge can be won." (330) This is so simply put into words, but at times difficult to make reality. When I was an undergrad writing lesson plans I always had to have a set induction for each lesson. This was simply the way I was going to get my students attention so that they would be actively involved in the lesson. I have also heard it called an anticipatory set and for all those LFS schools (Learning Focus Strategies) out there it is the activating strategy. No matter which way you refer to it, it is a key component to having your students actively engaged in the learning process. If they are not tuned in to what you are teaching learning is nonexistent.

Is Teaching Still Possible?

If this title were a writing prompt I could probably go on for hundreds of pages agruing points for both sides depending on the type of day I had. With trying to balance PSSA's, NCLB, Benchmarks, Administrators demands and endless paperwork sometimes it is quite difficult to teach, but I would like to believe that it is possible. In fact I could probably throw together a pretty good paper stating why teaching is possible, but I know I would have to do several drafts before I had something worth reading.
I fall into the trap of writing down too much information and then having to sift through it and pick out what is necessary and what is not. The quote on page 330 by Berthoff pretty much sums me up. "(No writer ever puts in words which he or she thinks are unnecessary; learning to discover that some are is one of the chief challenges in learning to write.)" Luckily for me and my students I am aware of this fact and knowing is half the battle. On the other hand, trying to break students of this is another problem. Every year I have so many students who can't break away from beginning their writings with "I'm going to tell you a story" or "This story is about..." And ending with "The End" or "And that's the end of my story." Regardless of how many times we come up with alternatives they seem to fall into that comfortable, safe, worn-out 2nd grade story starter trap when it really matters. They love a "THE END" in all capital letters to bring closure to their writings. Any and all suggestions on how to break students of this will be greatly accepted.

Consensus and Difference in Collaborative Learning

Collaborative Learning, the lazy student’s dream, the conscientious student’s nightmare… Just the other day my daughter came home and said she has to work in collaborative groups in her Literature class. She was not happy. She said one of the people in her groups is notorious for not doing their work. She asked her teacher if she could work alone because she was concerned about the grade she will get. Her teacher told her no. She said everyone in the group will be given the same grade and if someone doesn’t do there work everyone suffers. She is concerned and will continue to be because she is a very conscientious student.
The first grad class I took required two collaborative projects. For our first grade we had to form groups of 4– 6 people, write a paper, and do a presentation. My group consisted of three people because of uneven numbers and half way through the semester one of the members dropped out without notifying his group. This left quite a lot of work for me and my classmate. The work was done and the teacher understood, but still the amount of work that I had to do was exhausting.
The 6th grade students I teach had to work in collaborative groups earlier in the school year. Each student was given a grade by each person in their group based on a rubric. In addition, the two teachers in the classroom collaborated and gave a grade based on the same rubric. Needless to say, those who did the work were pleased with their overall grade.
What do each of these examples say for collaborative learning? Is it beneficial or not?
I think collaborative learning is beneficial as long as it is introduced and used in the right manner. As so eliquintly put by Trimbur, "...it enables individuals to participate actively and meaningfully in group life. ...it is through the social interaction of shared activity that individuals realize their own power to take control of their situation by collaborating with others."(463) Collaborative learning prepares students for real life.

Inner and Outer

As I began reading the Bizzell article I found myself nodding my head when reading about inner-directed theorists. Then I continued reading and stopped for a minute when I found myself again nodding my head when reading about the outer-directed theorists. I was sitting on a fence and couldn't decide which side I leaned towards. After reading with a more careful eye I have come to the conclusion that I favor the outer-directed model, but was relieved to discover both are needed "...if we wish to have a complete picture of the composing process."(392)

It's Not a Mystery to Me!

I first heard of Peter Elbow last summer, but have been familiar with his idea of freewriting for several years and in the past have used it myself and in my class. I am the worst at sitting down and letting the pen fly across the paper. I don't have anything worth writing about and when I do I always feel like everybody else's sounds so much better than mine. (I can relate to many of my students.) With freewriting and a community of learners established in a classroom freewriting is a great way to get the ideas flowing from one's mind to one's paper.
While reading about inkshedding it reminded me of an idea I read about last summer in the Writing Project, scribing. Briefly, one student is notetaker for the day. The notes are jotted down and then read in class the following day. Students love to be able to remind the teacher of things she did yesterday like promising to do something or making a mistake. It gives each student a chance to read in front of the class on a regular basis something they composed and summarizes what was learned the day before.
At church this Sunday I was very aware of the readings. Not because what they were about, but because of how they were read. Usually it's the same thing week after week, but this past Sunday the woman reading used intonation. Normally I sit and listen to each reading and if there is something I can relate to I tend to remember what was read. This week no prior knowledge was necessary for me to remember the passage because as Elbow states, the speaker poured "meaning into the words."(17)
More to come...

Who's in the Driver's Seat?

What is your favorite T.V. show, movie, book? Why is it your favorite? Do you relate to it, is it funny? When discussing audience with my 5th and 6th graders I normally open the discussion in this way. Then I ask them, "What do you watch when your favorite show or movie isn't on?" or "How do you select a book to read?" I wait and usually get the response I am looking for. I flip through the channels or I look at the first few pages. I ask them to visualize themselves sitting on the couch looking for something to watch. It's 8:00 on a Wednesday night and your channel surfing. How do you decide what to watch? Normally someone will say the first thing that catches my attention. I use this example because I want them to realize the importance of audience. The importance of grabbing your audiences attention. From there we begin our discussion of hooks and leads. I use examples from different pieces of literature and discuss how the author hooks their reader and draws them into their story. We create a list of ways to grab our reader's attention in our own writing and refer to it throughtout the year. Does this mean I think "...the writer has less control than the audience over both evaluation and motivation."(80) not at all. I am simply pointing out that good writers capture their audiences attention. If they don't no one will want to watch or read what they wrote. In addition, with PSSA's being on my mind I try to create a picture in their heads of all the 5th graders in the state of PA having to write about the same topic, and then being scored by a handful of people. Which paper is going to stand out and stay in the mind of the scorer? Which paper will they remember after reading 50 about the same topic? Hopefully a connection will be made.

Process Not Product, Amen!

I really love Donald Murray. If someone is a Pulizer-Prize winning journalist why isn't the educational community listening to what he has to say. Let me correct myself. Some people in education are listening, the message just needs to get to those who make the laws and the state assessments. Everything that Donald Murray has to say legitimizes that the PSSA is not a valid indicator of how a student does the other 177 days of the school year. It does not show student growth. It does not validate students successes throughout the school year. It does not leave room for rewriting. One day and the piece of work turned in must be perfect? I know the outcome the first day I put pen to paper is not one that is ready to be published. Is that the message we want to send our students, our future? I think Donald Murray said it best.
"Instead of teaching finished writing, we should teach unfinished writing, and glory in its unfinishedness. We work with lngauage in action. We share with our students the continual excitement of choosing one word instead of another, of searching for the one true word." (4)

Donald Murray also explains, "Our students knew it wasn't literature when they passed it in, and our attack usually does little more than confirm their lack of self-respect for their work and for themselves; we are as frustrated as our students, for conscientious, doggedly responsible, repetitve autopsying doesn't give birth to live writing." (3) I would like to show all the red pen junkies this quote. I am sure everyone can remeber receiving a paper that looks like someone had bled all over it. How did you feel when you got it back? I think some of my colleagues forget that feeling of worthlessness that comes with the almighty red pen. I believe teaching through modeling is the first step in the process. When a student sees the process their teacher goes through to create a piece of writing, though this they realize that writing is not perfect the first time around. I enjoy sharing my writing with my students and showing them the hard work I did on multiple drafts. Some teachers will question and even disagree with this because they feel the students then copy their own writing, but I would argue isn't imitation usually the first step in the process when learning to do something.