Now that the semester is coming to an end, I can look in retrospect and say that "if I'm not ready now I probably never will be". I say that because since I have been in the graduate Language and Literacy program, I have read about an ample amount of theories on Second Language Acquisition and literacy, but this is the first semester in which I actually learned techniques of how to put those theories into practice. This semester the class covered an array of topics from teaching the steps of interpreting poetry to how to create thought provoking prompts. Betsy Roschach did an excellent job in putting us in the shoes of teachers and that in return made me feel like one on several occasions. After reviewing my notes, I can conclude that I am definitely ready to start teaching.
It was a wonderful semester and I will add several texts to my pedagogy library, so that I can refer to them when I need information about such topics as literacy, reading comprehension or teaching composition. I learned from this class that if I have something to do, the only way to get it done will be by doing it. This must be the reason why we were asked to produce so many group assignments on our own. I'm very grateful for the lessons on implementation. The professor deserves a round of applause!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
My Conviction of The Five Paragraph Essay
When I started college, I was introduced to the five paragraph essay by a professor who I now see as my mentor. It made so much sense to me to explicate what I am tying to convey in three distinct yet succinct paragraphs. After attending graduate classes, I realized that there are several ways to compose an essay and I deduce that the City University uses the five paragraph theme because it as helpful for the professors to grade as it is effortless for some students to compose.
This semester I read a few essays such as "The Five Paragraph Essay", "My Five Paragraph Theme Theme" that where not in favor of this method of composing essays. The issue that I had with the latter essay is the fact that the author went out of his way to ridicule this system, yet he offered no alternative method of teaching students how to organize their essays in a lucid manner in which the professor can comprehend the points that were being made. The entire article was satirical to the point where I wondered if the writer has ever taught any ELL.
The third essay that I read in reference to the five paragraph essay was "Traci's 44 List of Five Paragraph Essays" which I found to be brilliant. Unlike the other two essays, she did not even attempt to lampoon the system that is currently being used in Universities across the country. Instead she created ten fabulous theme prompts for writing original five paragraph essays. Cultural competence is a major asset when teaching students how to write and think in a new language. The traditional five paragraph essay is a wonderful way to teach foreign students the rules of writing a clear well organized essay. For the critics that disagree with this notion, I would like to ask them a single question. If you were learning to speak, read, listen, and write in a language that had a totally different alphabet system, would you want a system as clean cut and feasible as the five paragraph essay, or would you want various other techniques that might confuse you?" Empathy is the key to understanding and understanding is greater than knowledge!!!
This semester I read a few essays such as "The Five Paragraph Essay", "My Five Paragraph Theme Theme" that where not in favor of this method of composing essays. The issue that I had with the latter essay is the fact that the author went out of his way to ridicule this system, yet he offered no alternative method of teaching students how to organize their essays in a lucid manner in which the professor can comprehend the points that were being made. The entire article was satirical to the point where I wondered if the writer has ever taught any ELL.
The third essay that I read in reference to the five paragraph essay was "Traci's 44 List of Five Paragraph Essays" which I found to be brilliant. Unlike the other two essays, she did not even attempt to lampoon the system that is currently being used in Universities across the country. Instead she created ten fabulous theme prompts for writing original five paragraph essays. Cultural competence is a major asset when teaching students how to write and think in a new language. The traditional five paragraph essay is a wonderful way to teach foreign students the rules of writing a clear well organized essay. For the critics that disagree with this notion, I would like to ask them a single question. If you were learning to speak, read, listen, and write in a language that had a totally different alphabet system, would you want a system as clean cut and feasible as the five paragraph essay, or would you want various other techniques that might confuse you?" Empathy is the key to understanding and understanding is greater than knowledge!!!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
My Interview with Dr. Gladys Carro
The semester is grinding to a halt, and I realized that, regardless of the readings, and the classroom implementation of various pedagogical concepts (which I'm sure will be very contributory to my future practice), I was still moderately apprehensive about entering a classroom of my own. So, I decided that if I really wanted to do something, I should learn from someone who excelled in that field. That idea lead me to interview one of my favorite professors in the CCNY English department.
The interview that I conducted was with Dr. Gladys Carro. being that the meeting was someone impromptu, I decided not to quote her directly because it was ore of a discourse than a traditional interview. The main question that I asked her was "what advice can you give a budding adjunct?" She explained to me that the only way to learn how to do something is by practicing. I then asked her what I should do if I feel inundated with a classroom full of students who are not grasping the material. She smiled and told me to focus on my main goal which is to make sure that their papers are comprehensible.She explained that if I can understand what they are writing, that I can easily introduce the more complicated features of the English language.
The interview that I conducted was with Dr. Gladys Carro. being that the meeting was someone impromptu, I decided not to quote her directly because it was ore of a discourse than a traditional interview. The main question that I asked her was "what advice can you give a budding adjunct?" She explained to me that the only way to learn how to do something is by practicing. I then asked her what I should do if I feel inundated with a classroom full of students who are not grasping the material. She smiled and told me to focus on my main goal which is to make sure that their papers are comprehensible.She explained that if I can understand what they are writing, that I can easily introduce the more complicated features of the English language.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Rhetorical Modes
I was elated when I learned that there were modes of writing other than the commonly used argument, cause and effect, comparison contrast, and description essays. When I started LaGuardia Community College, I remember not even hearing of any of those essays, or even caring that they existed. I must also confess that I was a recluse who did not care about telling any professor what I thought about my life or about any ancient text. When I transfered my economics credits to CCNY and decided to become an English major, I learned that expression of any type is a form of therapy and that writing was the best way to record how I felt about any given topic at any given time. A few weeks ago when we were assigned to read about these rhetorical modes, I was introduced to the Classification, Extended definition, Exemplification, Narration, and Narration modes and I began thinking of how many possibilities I will have when the time comes for me to start writing prompts for my students in the future.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers by Nancy Sommers
***FRUITS***
"Two representative models are Gordon Rohman's suggestion that the composing process moves from prewriting to writing to rewriting and James Britton's model of the writing process as a series of stages described in metaphors of linear growth, conception--incubation--production."(378)
"What is impossible in speech is revision: like the example Barthes gives revision in speech is afterthought. In the same way each stage of the linear must be exclusive or else it becomes trivial and counterproductive to refer to these junctures as stages"(379)
"Writing has spacial and temporal features not apparent in speech-- words are recorded in space and fixed in time --which is why writing is susceptable to reordering and later addition. Such features make possible the dissonance that both provokes revision and promises from itself, new meaning."(386)
"For the experienced writers the heaviest concentration of changes is on the sentence level,and the changes are predominantly by addition and deletion"(386)
"Two representative models are Gordon Rohman's suggestion that the composing process moves from prewriting to writing to rewriting and James Britton's model of the writing process as a series of stages described in metaphors of linear growth, conception--incubation--production."(378)
"What is impossible in speech is revision: like the example Barthes gives revision in speech is afterthought. In the same way each stage of the linear must be exclusive or else it becomes trivial and counterproductive to refer to these junctures as stages"(379)
"Writing has spacial and temporal features not apparent in speech-- words are recorded in space and fixed in time --which is why writing is susceptable to reordering and later addition. Such features make possible the dissonance that both provokes revision and promises from itself, new meaning."(386)
"For the experienced writers the heaviest concentration of changes is on the sentence level,and the changes are predominantly by addition and deletion"(386)
Monday, November 15, 2010
Understanding Composing by Sondra Perl
***FRUITS***
Steps to Retrospective Structuring
"1) The most visible recurring feature or backward movement involves re-reading little bits of discourse. Few writers I have seen write for long periods of time without returning to what is already written down on the page." (364)
"2) The second recurring feature is some key word or item called up bythe topic. Writers consistently return to their notion of the topic throughout the process of writing."(364)
"3) There is a third background movement in writing, one that is not so easy to document. It is not easy because the move itself cannot immediately be identified with words. The move draws on sense experience, and can be observed if on pays close attention to what happens when writers pause and seem to listen or otherwise react to what is inside of them."(364)
Steps to Projective Structuring
"1) Although projective structuring is only one part of the composing process, many writers act as if it is the whole process. These writers focus on what they think other want them to write rather than looking to see what it is that they want to write."(368)
"2) Many writers reduce projective structuring to a series of rules or criteria for evaluating finished discourse. These writers ask 'Is what I'm doing correct?' and does it confirm the rules that I've been taught?"()
Steps to Retrospective Structuring
"1) The most visible recurring feature or backward movement involves re-reading little bits of discourse. Few writers I have seen write for long periods of time without returning to what is already written down on the page." (364)
"2) The second recurring feature is some key word or item called up bythe topic. Writers consistently return to their notion of the topic throughout the process of writing."(364)
"3) There is a third background movement in writing, one that is not so easy to document. It is not easy because the move itself cannot immediately be identified with words. The move draws on sense experience, and can be observed if on pays close attention to what happens when writers pause and seem to listen or otherwise react to what is inside of them."(364)
Steps to Projective Structuring
"1) Although projective structuring is only one part of the composing process, many writers act as if it is the whole process. These writers focus on what they think other want them to write rather than looking to see what it is that they want to write."(368)
"2) Many writers reduce projective structuring to a series of rules or criteria for evaluating finished discourse. These writers ask 'Is what I'm doing correct?' and does it confirm the rules that I've been taught?"()
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Collaborative Learning and the "Conversation of Mankind" by Kenneth A. Bruffee
***FRUITS***
"collaborative learning is discussed sometimes as a process that constitutes fields or disciplines of study and sometimes as a pedagogical tool that works in teaching composition and literature. The former discussion, often highly theoretical, usually manages to keep at bay the more troublesome and problematic aspects of collaborative learning."(636)
**WEEDS**
None.
***BASKET***
This was the article that Peter Hawkes responded to, I feel just as interested in this article as I was in Hawkes'. The most effective method of teaching students grammar, is teaching them how to recognize their own errors.
"collaborative learning is discussed sometimes as a process that constitutes fields or disciplines of study and sometimes as a pedagogical tool that works in teaching composition and literature. The former discussion, often highly theoretical, usually manages to keep at bay the more troublesome and problematic aspects of collaborative learning."(636)
**WEEDS**
None.
***BASKET***
This was the article that Peter Hawkes responded to, I feel just as interested in this article as I was in Hawkes'. The most effective method of teaching students grammar, is teaching them how to recognize their own errors.
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