ENGL431fosen

I have found this article in the online library of our university, so you will have to sign in to view it. Generally I am interested in the concept of "identity" in education and the phrase "authorial identity" definitely caught my attention and I wasn't sure what it exactly meant. The authors of the article define it as "the sense a writer has of themselves as an author and the textual identity they construct in their writing". In order to explore psychology students' authorial identity in academic writing they have done two different studies and reached a common conclusion for both of them - "both studies could inform interventions to reduce unintentional plagiarism by improving students' authorial identity". It would be interesting to carry out similar research projects in departments other than psychology, e.g. science or humanities, and compare the results.

This article examines the importance of student authority plays in ethnographic writing. The article explores how examining ethnographic writings of students can play an important role in shaping future learning methods in the specific field. The article demonstate how promoting authority in writing helps a student become more actively involved in their field of study. Demanding authority helps student piece together information and concepts coming from their beginning anthropology courses. What more, the students grew in their writing as they were given explicit instruction on how to write in a voice that addressed their specific field.

In this TED talk video Dave Eggers is talking enthusiastically about free tutoring centers where students receive one-on-one attention from either more experienced peers or teachers who volunteer to go to these centers at least two hours a week. He backs up the need of having individual help by research data (I would be interested to see the primary research) which say that 35-40 hours a year one-on-one attention students can get one grade level higher. The first center was opened to offer help in English and writing. Although there was an issue of trust at first to visit the center, with time and some advertising the center got packed with students. They even published their own writing in a form of a book, which is inspiring as it honors their work, hardship, creativity and thoughts. Now they have 1400 students in the center and they want to grow nationwide. Also, they have a website (http://www.onceuponaschool.org/) where there is somebody to show guidance to those who are interested in starting their own learning center in their town (for their public school students). To me, this is a great idea to inspire students and keep their motivation going in a particular subject. I wonder if they have done research and found out students of what achievement tend to go there, is it possible that those who are already into writing, science, languages, etc, are the ones visiting these centers. I also wonder if the volunteers who are there to help receive any kind training about certain methodology or ground rules.

"The Shadow Scholar" article exposes a fascinating hidden industry, which seems to be doing very well. The man who was interviewed for the article (his identity has been kept secret) has literally written thousands of papers for students whose writing ability is not up to standards of basic college requirements. The industry is thriving and the unknown individual will make roughly 66,000 this year. In fact, the standard price for these types of assignments is $2000. What I found amazing is that there seems to be three groups who seek this type of service successfully: "The English-as-second language, the deficient student, and the lazy rick kid". The article brings the idea of: what allows the final two types of students to slip through the cracks of the college education system and become so desperate for help? How can we, as part of a college community, and others change this problem so students do not have to go to this extreme? A perfect example of this problem was the shocking and slightly sickening ending comment of the article. After the ghost writer completed a 160-page graduate thesis on business ethics (which is a bit ironic), the graduate student sent an email stating "thanx so much for uhelp ican going to graduate to now."

This article addresses the importance of the student perspective in shaping and changing the educational structure of the classroom. Though this article does no explicitly address writing,it can be assumed writing is a manner in which we gain insight into the student perspective. The article examines various pedagogical perspectives in which authorization of the students perspective could best develop. The author address the traditional student-teacher relationship as that of a power relationship.However, in these power relationships there is no place for listening, because to truly listen warrant a response to what is being heard. All to often, the classroom is not a forum for open dialogue, therefore there is really very little listening going on. The student can become lost in this environment without a voice, diminish any authority that would make him/her an better writer.

This article by David M. Pegram is about taking the "research paper" out of a research paper. He uses a different title, calling it a "proposal writing," making the paper become a much more lucrative project. He has developed a blueprint for teaching in this creative manner which he begins by using characters from a tv show, X Files, to demonstrate the uses of the left and right sides of the brain. He shows how Mulder and Scully ask "what if" and then each goes about their right or left sided brain way to answer their own question. I was interested in this article because Pegram gives a very creative way to get students to think critically. I strongly believe that many of these young high school/college students lack the necessary skill of critical thinking. When I can start teaching, I really want to be able to instill this life skill with my students. I think Pegram's approach is definitely a doable and logical way of doing this.

This article is about a study that was conducted in Texas that was trying to determine the relationship between students' agreement/disagreement with a "university-wide writing competency graduation requirement" and the scores students got on the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) test. The article discusses how important writing is in college and explaines that "writing ability is used to communicate thoughts, including what is learned and is a critical element of a college education." The study was conducted to see how important college students believed writing to be; to see if writing is as important to the students as it is to the educators. Educators see writing as a way to gage how knowledgable a student is on a certain topic. Writing competently and critically is seen as a necessary skill to have as it is the way students are able to prove they know and understand what they are being taught. The results of the study weren't all that surprising; students with high THEA scores agreed with the writing graduation requirement and students with low THEA scores disagreed with the requirement and expressed a desire for less college writing. These results aren't surprising and the article notes that the study wasn't aimed to be "an indepth formative or summative self-evaluation of undergraduates ' writing experiences" but was more about getting information and feedback from the students. The study pais close attention to the students' attitudes towards the writing requirement and graduation requirement and challenges college students faced with their writing and then looked at strategies to combat these challenges. The article could be interesting to get information on how students think about college writing, the challenges they face and the difficulties they have.

This study of second and fourth grade students examines student attitudes toward writing. The study suggests that the culture of high-stake testing has placed teachers in a bind that forces them to teach writing aggressively, which takes the fun out writing. The younger the students are, the authors claim, the more positive their attitude toward writing is. The older they are, the more likely they are to come face to face with these higher stake environments and the more negative their attitudes will become.The study actually has fourth grade students meet with and tutor the second grade students in writing in order to measure the positive or negative affect of tutoring on writing attitudes. I was especially drawn to the passage that said, "Some self-efficacy researchers have suggested that teachers should pay as much attention to students' perceptions of competence as to actual competence, for the perceptions may more accurately predict students' motivation and future academic choices." (182).

This is from the library's scholarly database, you will need to login to view it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article examines the reasons university students have anxiety over writing and/or confidence in their writing. I was especially interested because of the focus on genders. The authors hypothesize that female students are more likely to experience anxiety in their writing because of a difficulty in navigating the power structures that are academic discourse, and that male students are more confident in their writing than females even when there is no difference in ability. The article conducts a study of 127 college students at a public university near the Texas-Mexico border.

Byung-In Seo explains why she teaches the rigid five-paragraph essay to her remedial students. She argues that doing so gives the students a formula to follow. This is important because the majority of her have trouble organizing their thoughts when they try to speak with her, let alone trying to write in an organized manner. She states that once the students grasp the basic five-sentence, five-paragraph essay, she allows them to extend beyond that as they become more fluent in essay writing. I found this article interesting because after tutoring in a high school where the five-sentence, five-paragraph essay was the ONLY format allowed, I began to have a negative opinion of such rigidity. However, Seo's philosophy is one I can agree with and one in which I can see working to bring the remedial students to a higher level of writing. I also think that following Seo's lead will also help those students develop critical thinking skills that will benefit them in their everyday lives.

As an avid Video game enthusiast, I've always been curious about what exactly makes them so rewarding to play. Some would say story but that can't possibly account for the success of games like Call of Duty and games like Bioshock are not critically acclaimed solely for their gameplay. This video from a web series called Extra Credits (think TED talks meets gaming) touches on the theory of Gamification. The concept is best summarized in the video where they state "Gamification is simply the idea of taking the principles of play, the things we've learned in three decades of making videogames and using them to make real world activities more engaging." If this theory could be refined and applied to learning, both in and outside the classroom, I feel we would see an almost revolutionary shift in student engagement and enthusiasm.

This webpage is presented on the Texas A&M University website. It is all about low-stakes writing, and how it helps the students develop their ideas and write more freely. It beings with a description of low-stakes writing, and the ways in which a teacher would have this type of writing in their class (including how to grade, types of assignments, etc). The web page stresses the importance of feedback on the students' writing, and also says that the feedback can come from a number of sources, not just the teacher. It suggests responses from peers, the writing center, or the student themselves.

The amount of different types of social networking existing in today's students' lives is gigantic, also fascinating for me. I find it important and interesting to think about many different aspects of social networking, its effects on our lives. I am also interested in looking at how people's writing can reflect their true identity at that particular point in their lives. So, this article, which is based on a research project, seemed relevant to me. Basically, it examines and discusses 5 things: a) what SL (Second Life) is; b) how SL fits the definition of a Web 2.0 technology; 3) how SL can be beneficial in composition classrooms; 4) brief review of the research methodology; and 5) how identity and otherness can be viewed in a virtual world and the writing that comes from that. The author says: "SL is a medium that challenges students and gives them experiences, and ultimately confidence, helping to make their writing more engaging to read and more enjoyable for them to write". As I was reading this article, it was interesting to look at SL as an example of liminal spaces for those who are newbies and feel as outsiders. Will they always feel and be viewed as "others"? Will this affect the writing they will do? To what degree is composition linked to literacy today? Can we predict its future and take measures accordingly?

I found this guide quite interesting since it broke down several areas of a composition course suggesting what could be down in each instant of the classroom curriculum. > I focused more so on peer groups and peer revision. (starting at pg. 12) The article mentions that students could bring in multiple copies of their paper so the entire class can read it (in groups and/or individually) and further discuss it in its entirety together. > I really enjoyed this idea especially since I've practiced it in some of my classes here at Chico. However, the only drawback would be of course the expenses and extent of resources the student/teacher/school has. However, this practice could help with distinct revision instead of quickly overlooking an assignment (peer revision is sometimes not taken seriously by students for them to care enough) on the projector slide and/or taking home a fellow peer's paper home to "revise." Also in revising as a group rather than pairs helps students actually gain different perspectives and open doors to their own knowledge received and practiced within the exercise. Along with such a revision process... can come about peer discussions. Sometimes, teachers forget to put into practice discussions following peer reviews. This allows students to further understand where the comments are coming from and how they can take away information to their advantage in revising the assignment.

I really liked the points this teacher made - many of the characteristics I've seen practiced within my workshop. Dr. Davis then explains certain aspects of his/her classroom that have helped shape the environment in a very productive way that has proven helpful for students and him/her. Many of the characteristics provided are very basic; however, they are sometimes not put into practice in this way making it difficult for students to be interested and/or continually participating within the group. Steps I found quite interesting: Step #1 (Introducing Writing) Sometimes students have the tendency of assuming the assignments have no further impact on their lives. But of course, that is not the case - writing assignments help students synchronize their thoughts and ideas about certain topics as well as help them communicate them in clear, understandable ways. > I like the idea of professors introducing the assignment in a way that students can quickly relate to their daily lives that way they aren't as hesitant about beginning the assignment. Step #4 (Model Writing) This concept may help students who are more visual than audible learners. Students are able to visually interpret the steps and structure of a good paper and what the professors are looking for in the assignment. I really liked how the professor provided steps and goals he/she has enforced and continually changed based on students' perspectives in order to maintain a level situated learning environment.

This is a .pdf file of a sort of slide show on classroom environment. It looks pretty cheesy when you first open it, but I went all the way through and found some good points. A lot of the content would work best with younger grades, but I think that it is totally applicable to high school levels, too. It focuses on creating a warm, welcoming environment that students WANT to be in. They suggest making changes in decoration, layout, movement, temperature, etc.

This video is a very entertaining whiteboard animation of a talk given at RSA (described on their website, http://www.thersa.org, as "an enlightenment organisation committed to finding innovative practical solutions to today's social challenges") by author Dan Pink (for more, see http://www.danpink.com/about). The question he poses, is "what motivates us?" The common belief that people will work harder for a bigger reward is found to be true only when the work involves simple, mechanical skills. When the work requires even rudimentary cognitive skills, a surprising reversal occurs: the larger the reward, the poorer the performance. Pink states that engagement requires three factors: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Though his presentation is addressed to the business world, I think that he's really addressing fundamental aspects of human nature that can be applied in education as well. For example, his claim that crappy products are the result when profit is separated from purpose, can be applied to education as well, when grades are separated from meaningful learning.

Great video and surpassingly simple. We do better work, when we are doing work towards something that interests us and that we are voluntarily invested in. That's not to say that we are invested in it voluntarily from the beginning, but that as we invest ourselves the reward is more personally gratifying. We are made happy by getting better at a task and mastering that task, we are made happy by engaging in abstract cognitive ideas that interest us. Money can not buy happiness, it can only buy a lack of cognitive effort.

I found this video actually looking for an informative video about students liking writing ---- goes to show that most students "hate" writing for multiple reasons. Many of the reasons in the control of educators. Teachers have the power to change the negative connotation students interpret writing to be - just an assignment, no further significance to, no interest to write ---- students should enjoy writing <<< school stems from learning through writing and reading ---- students want to write on things that interest them not pedagogical theories and research assignments. Students like to learn through their own eyes - students enjoy different genres of writing. Teachers have the power to enable their students in finding their interest in the writing realm. However, students should know the general rules and process of writing whether it be a narrative or research assignment, etc. Also, (as a teacher comments within the movie) - students don't always take blogs or social-media oriented writing forums with interest since self-representation is then transmitted into a educational institution. The video also covers the public's views on possible preventing of "writing hatred." This video also reflects the concept in the Casanava article in our class packet - teachers need to work on getting students immersed in writing through allowing their personal knowledge be combined with the values and lessons deemed by the institution they are writing for.

This is an RSA animation of a lecture given by Sir Ken Robinson, a proponent of creativity and innovation in education (see http://sirkenrobinson.com/skr/who for more information about him). This is an interesting and often humorous look at some general trends in modern public education. Though there is nothing that directly relates to teaching writing, there is much here that may contribute to the topic of failure, and to the importance of learning in social contexts. Robinson concludes that collaboration is the stuff of growth, it is our natural learning environment.