Invention Exercise (In Class 1/31)

The invention exercise was a first for me.  I truly enjoyed working through the process of thinking about my topic and answering the questions.  When I first read the article, I glanced through the questions and thought that they were cool questions to ask a kid who was writing a science paper, for example.  However, once I had to apply the questions to my own topic (Teaching Writing in a Traditional vs. Online Format), it took on new meaning.  I now see the questions as valuable, probing questions that can assist a writer in preparing an assignment.  The questions ask the tough things that we often need to prepare our audience.  In fact, I now have a draft outline because of the questions.  I can best see this process being used in the beginning stages of writing as it will allow students to take the plunge and focus on the topic at hand.

I will definitely use this process in the future; in fact, in my upcoming Professional Development class, students will be researching the effect of Nutrition and Exercise on learning.  The heuristics exercises will help them to create a roadmap for their writing assignment.

Research Paper Issue

I am still in the beginning stages of formulating my research topic, but here are two topics that I find interesting:

1)   Are students in online classes receiving the same quality of writing instruction as their counterparts who take traditional classes?  Or…Is the teaching of writing the same in an online classroom as it is in a traditional classroom?  I am honestly still trying to formulate the right question; I know what I mean, but am having a difficult time writing out the issue.  I am basically looking to discover whether students in online classrooms are getting the same quality of instruction as traditional students.  Is one superior to the other? 

My reason for researching this issue is that (like Crowley mentioned), I already have an opinion, but I would like to research it more to see if my feelings are correct.  By researching the issue, I hope to become a more effective instructor in both online and traditional settings.  I am hoping to find additional techniques to help all of my students write better.

2)  Another issue that I am concerned with is Plagiarism.  While most students know what it is, I struggle with how to avoid it in the first place.  Is plagiarism caused by students who ‘truly’ do not know how it happens, or is it caused by students who don’t really care if they are caught?  Can instructors do something to lessen plagiarism?  This is an issue to me because for the life of me, I cannot understand why someone would take such a risk.  It saddens me when it happens, and I would like to see it diminished in all of my classes. 

Lindemann vs. Crowley

For our first reading assignment, I was mildly shocked by the opposing nature of the two articles, and since I was in the process of absorbing so much classroom information, I completely missed the fact that this was done on purpose. J

In my opinion, both articles were quite interesting reads, but the Crowley article was much more difficult to understand.  I couldn't help but think that maybe I should have been an English major.  The vocabulary was quite challenging; in fact, I Googled a few vocabulary words so that I could understand it. This article was definitely ‘high octane’ reading and it is clear that I will have to re-read it to grasp its full meaning.   Despite the challenges, the section on Available Proofs was a detailed overview of how good writers formulate strong arguments.  I am convinced that students of law must study rhetoric as a means to courtroom survival.  

The Lindemann article was quite relaxing and enjoyable, and gave me a reprieve from Crowley. It gave an awesome review of the things that writing teachers can do to make writing more pleasurable and understandable for students.  I found it pleasurable to review the free writing, brainstorming, and mind mapping techniques.  The heuristics was something very new to me, which opened the possibilities for use in future writing classes.

As a whole, the authors did a great job of discussing invention.  Crowley’s discussion was much more intense and in depth, though.  This piece was definitely for an upper-level college student who had covered the basics of the trade.  I especially liked the astronomy example and how Crowley laid out exactly what heuristics would look like in this situation.  The example was most helpful in that it provided a framework for me to follow.  

Lindemann’s example of heuristics on page 118 was very thorough as well, but not all questions may be related to a given topic.  In this case, the student must pick and choose which questions would be most valid to his or her topic.   Overall, I found that both articles had the capability to produce probing, detailed thoughts within a reader’s mind.

My First Blog

Hi, everyone. This is my first blog and I have no clue as to what I am doing.  If you are out there, maybe you can respond with a quick, "Hello".  It would sure help my self-esteem :)