Final Reflection

I really have enjoyed this course. Within the English major I have found I most enjoy the classes that focus on reading and writing theories and practices. Thinking back on this semester I feel I have learned from the ideas of Gee, Harvey, and the articles we have read. Some ideas that stand out are: Gee’s ideas of multimodal projects and affinity groups. The multimodal assignment helped me understand the importance of providing information to students on multiple levels. The learning process seems more effective and efficient when students are able to read, listen, and watch. This is also a great way to make sure to reach each student’s individual learning style. I also really liked the idea of an affinity group. Gee makes a good point when stating the importance of people who understand the same concept or idea discussing and learning together. In my project I talked about my job as an RA. The RA job serves as a good example for the need of an affinity group, for most people do not know what the position entails. However, once I am in a group of RA’s we are immediately able to relate and discuss. It is important for teachers to understand the power of affinity groups and try to capture these in the classroom. Whether this means having students grouped by their common knowledge or separated by their focused areas, it is valuable letting students discuss, relate, and learn from each other.

From Harvey’s book I have reconsidered the value and need for nonfiction in the classroom. Students need to learn that nonfiction does not simply mean reading from a dry textbook. I really liked the idea of having “anchor texts” as part of the curriculum, for it gives students a starting point in which they can expand. Students need to have a base of information, but then should be able to focus on their interests and questions. In the final writing sequence assignment I realized the importance of incorporating multiple texts in multiple literary genres, and found it fun to give students the opportunity to make inquiries themselves and have them get excited and interested in a topic.

I felt I learned the most for the articles we read in our groups. It was in the articles I realized the importance of giving student’s the opportunity to pick topics. I had always thought it was the job of the teacher to be creative in choosing assignments and topics, but I had never considered giving students more freedom on assignments. I think it is a good idea to have students become excited about their education. What better way to create this excitement than by giving them choice and opportunity. I also really liked the idea of personal narratives. By having students write about their experiences and share them with one another students are able to expand their knowledge off of their peers’ experiences and the class is able to form a set of standards, knowledge, and beliefs. I loved the article that talked about a student who shared his bi-racial background and then another student began writing a story about a character with a bi-racial background. In the memorandum assignment, it was interesting to write professionally to an administrator about the ideas in the articles, for I felt I could make a difference and that my ideas and suggestions were beneficial for the classroom.

Overall, this class has made me think more critically about teaching and how to effectively reach my students with reading and writing assignments at the high school level. I am excited to begin teaching and I really believe this class has helped shape me to better think about my teaching style and assignments. This class was helpful for I felt you, Peter, implemented most of the concepts and ideas we were learning about in your teaching. Thank you for a great semester. I really enjoyed the class and enjoyed your teaching style and assignments!

Memorandum...Final Thoughts

I found I really enjoyed the memorandum assignment. I felt it was a good way to finish we all of our readings and research. Not only was I able to document my finding and read about the other articles, but I was able to actually put the concepts and ideas discussed in the articles to use. It really made me feel that I could make a difference through my education, for I had never thought about making proposals and writing memorandums to my administrators. The memorandum was a great way for me to filter through all the information from the articles and pick out which concepts and ideas I felt were the most pressing issues in public schools. It was hard to be specific in my recommendations and to narrow down the articles, for there were so many examples and information that seems relevant in the classroom. While in an ideal world all of these are important and needed for students, this assignment made me understand how change occur one step at a time. If teachers can recognize the different backgrounds their students bring to school, they then may realize the importance of students picking their writing topics, and in turn may realize the impact of having students read their work aloud. It made me realize those who research literacy skills and teaching practices not only can make change by each individual teacher, but also have the ability to influence change throughout the entire system.

Correctness

I really found page 2, "A word about correctness" interesting for it addressed the common issue of people being worried about their writing being correct, rather than the actual content. It made me think of the teachers that have separate grades for content and grammar. I think it is smart to separate the two, for there are so many components of writing, it seems silly to mark down a paper for grammatical errors when the ideas and thought process are brillant. However, as the second page points out, grammar is a significant factor, for brillant ideas can not be expressed to the outside world if they are unable to be read. Ideally, writers should learn the rules of the English language as soon as possible, that way the grammar aspect is second nature and all focus can keep on the writing content.

Writing takes practice. Many of the rules within "Rules of Thumb" mention the need for practice to bring comfort. For example, spelling takes practice, exposure, and most important, patience. Words such as although, however, and but can be interchanged, but provide completely different meanings. Knowing certian rules such as these help a writer become more confident. When I think about the importance of correction in writing I think it definately depends on the grade level. Young students, K-8, should be encouraged to write freely. Teachers can do grammar specific assignments and go over common areas in class, but students should be supported and encouraged to explore their creative writing skills. This time for students is key, for if teachers are too harsh in the beginning with grammar rules, students will become discouraged a grow a strong dislike for writing all together. Once in high school teachers should begin to focus more on the importance of correctness, however still encouraging the content aspect. Students need to be prepared for exit exams and be at an entry college level, but they also need to value their work.

What I'm Thinking So Far about All of This...

In all three articles I have read there seems to be a common theme of using students' experiences and established knowledge when it comes to teaching them how to write. Students enter the classroom with backgrounds and foundations already established. Teachers need to figure out where a student is coming from and expand on the foundation that exists. One article I read by Graves stated, "Take their writing where it is and show them how to make it better." There is no one starting point, and there is no way method that will work across the board. It is vital for teachers to recognize this and be supportive and optimistic regardless of where a student starts out.
There also seems to be a common theme of a need for teachers to be supportive and open to each students. A student will embrace an assignment if it is an interest to them. Many of the articles support students picking their own topics for writing assignments and collaboration between students. Students are use to interaction, whether it is at home, with a form of technology, or through converstaion. This interaction needs to be carried over to writing. Students will value their work more if they know other classmates will read it. They also will get to personally experience editing and revision, not only through their work but through the work of there peers. It is often easier to see common mistakes when you are looking at a piece of writing that is not your own.
A teacher needs to demonstrate how to take a verbal conversation and put the same ideas in a form of writing. This way the student will understand the difference between verbal and written communication. In one article students where very articulate outside of the classroom, but once in the classroom they could only write simple sentences. Again, the teacher needs to recognize the where the student's strengths are and try to incorporate their interests and background in the classroom.
When I think about the memorandum assignment I think that these are the issues that need to be focused on. A student's experiences are valuable to the teachings of the classroom. Each studnet is different. Each student can be successful. Each student has a trigger. It is the teacher's job to focus in on the students and help them succeed.

Reification

I feel like the multi model project has been a long process. Since the first week or so of class I have been anxious and nervous to create some movie about something I have learned. I chose to do my project about "My life as RA," for my job as a resident advisor is a HUGE part of my life and it is something that I have been learning for the past two years. Since my job is also my life, I spend a lot of time in my project explaining what I do. When I made my movie I tried to focus on my residents and other RAs who are in my affinity group as my main audience. My residents are the people I see everyday, the people I help, and the people that inspire me to do what I do. I believe my feelings towards the job show through my narrative because I talk about first year students throughout and my pictures are primarily pictures of events with my girls.

The labor for this project started with collecting pictures and writing my narrative. I spent about a week figuring out what I wanted to say and what I wanted to get across to my residents. I went through many drafts and had to cut a section out when I began putting my movie together for the sake of time. Having little experience with this kind of technology, I think most of my labor was spent learning how to put all the pieces together in the windows program. I sent emails out for help, I called my boyfriend, and asked many friends to show me how to use different features. I struggled most with having music and my narrative play at the same time. After watching my video you may notice the only music is at the end with the credits. I spent hours trying to match the two audio tracks but I couldn't get them to play together with the narrative clearly standing out. I thought the narrative was more important than having music to go with my pictures and video, so I decided to just add a short music clip at the end. Another labor areas was figuring out how to add video clips to the movie. I have had the same digital camera for two years and I had never once played with the recording feature. I had some of my residents help me figure out what clips of the floor I should take. It was neat having the people my movie is about help me in the making process. I think it was powerful to have my audience also see me in the process, and many of my residents enjoyed watching the movie when I was finished.

As I was making the movie I really wanted to show what my life was like. I feel learning the components of my job was a learning task in its own. Since my audience is my residents and fellow RAs my discussion on learning is based on Gee, but never directly stated. I categorized my learning into three components: patience, understanding, and humility. These components fit with Gee's concepts of self-knowledge and the bottom-up basic skill principles. I feel that in the RA job I have learned about myself and how to deal with people. Being around people and in your job constantly forces a person to find out what is important, how to juggle their time, and how you react to different situations. Gee's bottom-up basic skill principle also applies for I state in my narrative that I am still learning new things from my girls each day. Being hands on and in the job is really the only way to learn and fully understand it. My experiences each day shape me for the next experience to come.

I decided to define my learning into three simple components for a few reasons. First, the three components seemed practical and useful to my audience. My residents are able to understand what I am expressing and my affinity group can easily relate. Second, my focus for my movie is my job and my life. Using three components to sum up what I do and how I have learned it seemed to fit into the feel of my movie. My movie is focused on my residents and learning how to make their first year a positive one. If I had focused more on Gee specifically, my overall message and feel would have been lost.

Digital Documentary

I really was nervous and unenthusiastic about this project when the class first started. I have to admit, I am having fun with the movie program and enjoyed writing a dialog about my topic. I think this project shows how technology does not have to be a barrier, but it can enhance a project for someone at any age. While I will admit I am still struggling with the technical issues, it is not as if this project is far from my reach.
One of the most important aspects of this project for me was seeing the different approaches people were taking. I found it helpful to write my narrative first and then worry about everything else falling in place. However, some people found the exact opposite. I think this shows people's different thought processes and the multiple ways one can learn and interact. Even in one aspect, like the narrative, involved many drafts and directions to take the movie. The multiple ways of conquering this project were overwhelming to me because I am use to having a structure handed to me with a check-list of what to accomplish. Though I was overwhelmed I am glad I got to see my own thought process true at work, and see how I divided the project into sections.

Learning and Action

Gee talks about cultural models as images, stories, principles, and metaphors that capture what a specific group identifies as normal. A cultural model is the reality of a group of people. When thinking about cultural models it is important to note that each person's learning experience would create their own cultural model. Students in the same classroom would share the lesson experience, but would interpret and digest the information in their model. I think that Gee is using this idea to point out how close learning and action coincide. What a person learns and how they use that information in their model determines their future actions. A student may decide to hold onto their views and norms, or they may grow into a new cultural model.

I actually think the school system is designed to accommodate these models to a certain extent. Thinking about college there are many "norms" that come from being on your own, entering large lecture classes, finding your identity, teacher expectations, and so on. I see cultural models as a positive, for if students can find their own model and understand how they view and interpret the world they will become well-rounded and more educated about themselves and others.