The main thing I took away from the Research in Composition excerpt - besides the fact that I never, ever want to do formal scientific research - is the overwhelming number of variables that have to be considered in the teaching and learning of composition: the writer variable, the assignment variable, the rater variable, the colleague variable, the rating method variable, and in general controlling all those variables. So why is this relevant if I never plan to research this subject? Because these are factors that we as teachers will have to deal with every day in and out of the classroom. (And I write this as a future teacher.) However, I'm primarily interested in the writer and assignment variables for the purposes of this little blog here.
"Often referred to as measures of writing ability, composition examinations are always measures of writing performance..." We don't evaluate what composition and rhetoric skills the student contains, as if they were a jar that we fill up, but rather what skills they allow consciously or unconsciously to pour out. We have to fill them up first, but we must also teach them how to give back what they've been taught in the most effective and successful manner.
The topics we choose as assignments should be chosen carefully, as they will affect the performance of the student. Disinterest and unfamiliarity could produce poor writing, consistently if the topics are not varied and some attempt made to connect them to students' lives. The diverse population also affects these topics, as everything from maturity level to socioeconomic backgrounds may need to determine at least in part which topics are rejected and which are assigned.
But this topic selection for maximum interest and writer performance seems easier said than done. How do you get students to care about the assignment if they're fundamentally disinterested anyway? For that I turn to the excerpt from Pre-Writing: The Construction and Application of Models for Concept Formation in Writing. The authors' conclusion is mainly that what the student is asked to do in many composition classes consists of regurgitating rules and vocabulary for the edification of the teacher, which doesn't involve the student and is therefore a pointless exercise. "He is not essentially engaged as a human being in what he is doing because the only motivation he is made aware of is extrinsic: he must write correctly and effectively because the teacher and society commands him to."
Most students in composition classes today, I'm guessing, are not planning to become English teachers. They are checking off a box on their transcripts in order to move on to what they are truly interested in, whatever that may be. So maybe we start off a composition class by discovering what those interests are and then demonstrating how writing is used in those other disciplines, how it is crucial for communication and advancement, and how the student can use the class to advance their chosen interests. Already you've involved the student in their own learning process.
I agree wholeheartedly with Pre-Writing's promotion of writing as a self-actualizing experience and that finding methods to encourage that process will only increase students' willingness to engage in it. I do, pragmatically, acknowledge that it's easy to lose sight of that goal when demonstrations of calculable gains in knowledge and expertise are necessary, when students are unwilling to learn, and when the teacher is fatigued by endless composition classes. But we have to seek that balance if we're to provide students with the communication tools necessary to successfully embrace their place in society.
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Well said. This is something I stress in my classes: do not write for me, write for the world. That's the philosophy but not exactly what I say because the students are resistant already so I can't give them some Engfish like that. But that's the precedent I'm essentially setting.
ReplyDeleteBut students, like I said, are resistant. I would've been. I still am. It isn't until I encounter a situation where course content is helpful that I understand the value of that content. I think others can say the same thing. When the world engages the student, then of course the student will get it.
So I think the challenge (as immense as it is) is to bring the world into the classroom and recognize the finite reach of the physical space you are in while teaching. Use the classroom as a window to the world, a safer space than the "real" world, and analyze things. It's probably very idealistic on my part to say it, but the teacher has to be both present and transparent: be there as a guide to the world you analyze in the class but also allow the students to be challenged by the problems and issues the world presents. By that, I mean downplay the need for the students to impress you as a teacher and get your validation.
The question I reach then is, "Where does the validation come from?" I'm sure I'm idealistic, but I can't ignore the fact that we all need validation in any activity and where else would a student get it in the classroom?
These are the things I'm wrestling with too, Emily: topics, student interest, investment.
It's true that teachers must find ways to reach their students and making students see the usefullness of what you're teaching them may be the answer, but the difficulty lies in numbers. How do you reach every student's interest in every class? Maybe one student is interested in scientific research and a methodic writing process will benefit him or her. But there may be a student in the same class who's interested in theater. How do you appeal to both at the same time?
ReplyDeleteYour comments about the struggles of teaching are very important, but they are few of many. I think the most important tool for teachers to have is the willingness to keep trying different methods and to keep listening to what their students need (and you seem to be willing) until they have reached as many as humanly possible, even then some will inevitably be left out. That's something that I'm sure all teachers stuggle with every day.
I really liked what you had to say in this blog. Keeping students interested is, in my opinion, one of the most challenging aspects of being a teacher. I am a French teacher, so I am constantly trying to teach these crazy grammar concepts. Through experience, I've learned that students are much more willing to listen if I try to teach in a creative manner. Now, when I teach indirect objects, I don't use sentences like, "Bill gave the dog a bone." I use sentences like, "Kanye West gave Taylor Swift the microphone." It seems like the kids remember better when the topic relates to their lives.
ReplyDeleteSame goes for writing, almost anyone can write better when the topic is interesting to them. So, when I assign an essay in French class, I always strive to make it relevant. Right now, my IB French 3 students are writing essays about their bedrooms and they are having a good time doing so!
Finally, I especially like your description that a teacher must be present and transparent. Nice way to capture a very important concept!
@a.jones: Thanks for the insight. I find your comments really useful as you are currently tackling the reality of college composition instruction. The challenge is definitely in turning their perspective from the current teacher/class and to the broader world and skills they will need to learn to be successful in that world.
ReplyDelete@audrey: Yes, I agree that you can't reach every student and that the different needs/interests of each student are difficult to meet in entirety. However, I do think you can adapt assignments to meet a broad range of needs. Also, I think that the attempt to reach them through their interests will encourage them to do their own research. Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDelete@amy: That sounds like a easy and simple way to make a big difference in gaining students' interest in your subject matter. Language, especially, I think is an enormously underestimated part of education. I'm appalled that US schools don't require more foreign language instruction. I think in the long run that will, and already has, hurt us in the international community.
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