Week 5: The Process Approach Article

The process approach article was another difficult read, so I hope that I understand it!  The process approach seemed to entail teaching strategies that are sometimes used to help students establish their voice in writing.  Peer reviews, free writing, and writing conferences all seem to be part of what this approach describes.  Instead of being so heavily focused on the 5-paragraph essay and strict grammatical rules and standards, this process focuses more on writing and how we use language skills to teach grammar.  Overall, the teacher’s job is to help move the students through the writing process so that the students will have a voice in their writing.

The L2 movement seems to prefer even more flexibility and freedom; students should not worry so much about grammar and the teacher should focus more on teaching students how to write as opposed to assessment.  Creative spelling also seems to be a good thing to incorporate here.

If I am understanding this correctly, I am surprised that the L2 movement would not be more strict in terms of grammar instruction, practice, and rote memory.  At some point in our lives, English is a foreign language to all of us, so some practice and drills would help.  I would think that the teachers would want the students to know the basics before just pushing them into writing.  

Week 6: My Best and Worst Feedack (In Class 2/21)

My best feedback was actually not written feedback.  Many moons ago, I took a creative writing class and I think it was at UWM?  Anyhow...I wrote an essay on my Aunt Clem who passed away when I was 15 years old.  The teacher handed back the essay with a grade of A and a few short lines.  When class ended, she called me outside and she told me something like, "You are such a great writer...I will back you in anything you do in writing."  That was many moons ago, but I still remember her words and the emotion in her voice when she said this. When I have writer's block, I always remember this.


My worst feedback was when I was a student at University of Phoenix.  I wrote a research paper and it was evident that the teacher was irritated to the bone with my paper.  In my feedback, he wrote something really negative like it was not good.  Since I had tried so hard, I called him up and asked him to explain.  He said something like, "yeah...you have that bad writing habit."  For the life of me, I still do not know what the bad habit is.  He just kinda sighed on the phone and never answered my question.  I had to eventually let him go as he nearly ruined my self-esteem for life!

Week 5: Lesson Plans

The Micciche article was most interesting for me.  I always had a hunch that just teaching strictly grammar was not the best way to serve students.  My hunch is becoming more evident in an online setting.  For example, in my online classes, students have to ask their questions in writing.  There are so many instances where I am reading a response and thinking, “What?”  The problem is that they are unable to express themselves and may not have really thought about the question they are asking.  While the sentence may be punctuated correctly, there are many times where the word choice makes the question incomprehensible.  I would definitely try the idea of having students keep a portfolio (commonplace book) of good writing, credit card statements, instruction manuals, etc.  in my business writing classes.  This can make for some awesome conversation.

The Ehrenworth and Vinton article had many great lesson plans teaching writing and grammar.  I will also begin experimenting with this technique to see how it works for my students.  When I first began teaching, there were many times when I was frustrated and passed it on to my students.  Sometimes I was frustrated because I felt like I needed more knowledge, and at other times, I had the “you should know this” tone that they mentioned. Combining writing and grammar exercises all in one may help to ease some of our frustrations.

Week 5: The Readings

The Micciche article was another difficult read.  Thanks be to our professor, Anne, for taking us to higher heights in our reading. :)  In this article, Micciche is making the case that we should teach grammar, but we should teach it rhetorically.  In other words, grammar should be taught not as rote exercises, but as part of an entire system of learning how to write. The remedial way that we teach grammar does not help students to connect what they want to really ‘say’ when they write.  I think the author is saying that when we teach exercises, the students somehow have a disconnect between grammar and what they truly mean to say. Micciche justifies her way of teaching grammar by arguing that rhetorical grammar instruction allows students to better express themselves and express relationships among different ideas.  Students who learn this way can think clearer about what they mean. She also talked about how we can use language as power and her teaching is used to help students observe how writers can use language to tell their perspective on political issues, amongst others. Her discussion on culture and how we use language was most interesting.  I think that by teaching students to observe different writers, periods of time, etc., they get a wider view of the political and cultural aspects of writing.

The Ehrenworth and Vinton article was an easy read and I had to laugh out loud after reading page 2!  It is refreshing to know that even English instructors have a difficult time pinpointing and defining errors. I think that the authors also did a great job discussing culture and how it affects us.  I recently read a book, entitled, “A Framework for Understanding Poverty,” by Ruby Payne.  This book discussed the hidden culture of the poor versus the rich and the fact that a person who does not understand the hidden rules of the rich culture can almost set themselves on a course for generational poverty.

The most interesting part of this work, though, was the fact that these authors teach students grammar in the process of finding their own voice as writers.  They also use stories and other literary works to help the student explore how grammar can be used to help writers make choices.  Like Micciche, they believe that the teaching of grammar should not be simple exercises whereby a student points out errors in writing, but rather a rich experience encompassing the writing process as a whole.

Week 5: Grammar and Me

Because I have never been an ‘expert’ at grammar and mechanics, I always pay attention to them.  It is almost a built-in instinct that I learned many years ago due to my own cultural insecurities.   I come from a family where most of us speak in either southern accents or Black English, so when I had to write essays for class, my papers would be filled with grammatical, word usage, and mechanical errors. I was often frustrated because my parents did not have great educations, and my older siblings were more into the Black Power movement (which meant resistance against our cultural norms).

Being a middle child, this left me at a disadvantage at school, and I had to work hard to learn grammar.  One ‘trick’ that I learned many moons ago was to emulate news reporters and other professionals in the media because I felt that it was their job to know how to speak and write well.  While there are still some holes in my knowledge, I understand grammar and mechanics as being anything associated with punctuation, spelling, and word usage.  I am not sure how I came to this understanding, but I suspect that it may be because this is what I was taught in English class.  Grammar was always a boring chore and I can still remember the angry looks that some of my teachers had when I didn't get it quite right.  The beauty of my struggle, though, is that while I am not a huge fan of grammar, I absolutely love expressing myself in writing and reading beautiful prose.

Why Should My Topic Matter? (In Class 2/14)

My topic should matter to both students and teachers because:

Most of us will eventually have to take an online class.
Students should learn how to get the best out of a class.
Teachers should want to give their students a good learning experience.
Everyone should want to learn how to write better regardless of the trade that they are in.
Administrators should be able to help teachers become better at what they do.
Parents should want the best education for their child/children.
Education is important and it makes us be more productive in life.
Writing is an essential skill that everyone should learn.

My Argument (2/14)

My argument is still unclear.  As I understand the term "argument," I take it to mean something that I have to take a stand on.  I almost envision myself either standing on a street corner with a microphone yelling out my arguments, or maybe arguing with someone over a friendly dinner.  The problem for me is that I wanted to explore the best practices of teaching writing online, and I have a problem viewing this as an argumentative essay.  I think that this is where I am a little unsure of what to do???

Writing Process (In Class 2/14)

The writing process for me has bot been a linear process.  When I first read about Invention, Arrangement, Style, etc., I believed that this would be a linear process.  I thought that I would organize my thoughts, write an outline, and then get busy writing.  What I am discovering is that I continue to have these fluid movements from one to the next.   I thought that my first research question was where I would be, so then I felt free to move to arrangement.  As I moved through the process of organizing my ideas and thinking about my voice, I realized that maybe I had not asked the best question..maybe my question needed to be refined more.  As I watch myself move through the process, I am constantly wondering how the process works for my own students and what they must be experiencing.

Week 4: My Own Style

Hmmm...what sorts of style considerations are appropriate for the research paper I am developing?  I am still wondering what is expected in terms of style.  I would expect that the style should be more of an academic style, yet it should be stylistic enough to seduce the reader to want to read more.  After reading about style, it seems like I have more freedom regarding what should happen in the paper, but since it is a research paper, I would expect that the focus should be well-developed so that the reader can move through the writing with ease.

Week 4: The Johnson Reading

This was a difficult read for me!  It took me several days to get through it all, and I am still not 100% sure that I understand it all.  Johnson seemed to define style as a means by which writers express themselves.  To Johnson, style should never be reduced to rote exercise or mere incantation.  Instead, style is a carefully choreographed work whereby the writer interacts with the reader on a more intimate level.  Johnson seems to view style as an exercise or practice and the reader is carefully guided through the practice.  The end result of good style should be 'magic' for both the writer and the reader.  Style absolutely matters because this is where the connection between writers and readers happens.  Without style, the writing is just lifeless and ineffective.

This article brought me back to my first day of teaching Office Proofreading and Editing.  This was a business writing course, but students did not write much in the course.  Instead, they worked out of a handbook of exercises whereby they would have to insert commas, semicolons, and other forms of punctuation.  I found that while the students could eventually place the commas in the write place, when it came to writing an actual letter, they were still unable to form a complete sentence.  The problem seemed to be that they had not developed their own voice, and as Johnson noted, they did not take the time to think about what they were saying.  As I mature in my teaching, I can definitely see what Johnson means and now understand how my students must be taught to think about what they are saying in their writing.

Overall, there was so much said in this piece.  I cannot wait to hear what others have to say about the reading.

Week 4: Additional Sources

My Research question:  What are some effective teaching strategies that online writing instructors use to produce good writing by their students?

Source	Why Used?
Rovai, A. P., & Wighting, M. J. (2005). Feelings of alienation and community among higher education students in a virtual classroom. The Internet and Higher Education, 97-110.	I am not sure if I will use this source, but it seems to discuss one issue that is prevalent in some online classes:  Isolation.  This can affect the assignments, so maybe it will prove to be a valuable source.
Blake, K. J. (2000).  Using the World Wide Web to teach  news writing online. Journal and Mass Communication Educator, 4-13.	This article seems more directly related to the teaching strategies that I will use to identify best practices.
Harrington, A. M. (2010). Hybrid developmental writing courses: Limitations and alternatives. Research & Teaching in Developmental Education 26, 2 4-20.	Another good article; I chose this one because it looks at how some schools are abandoning completely online courses because of poor reading skills, etc. in students.

Week 4: Style in Handbooks

I could not find a definition of style in the Hill text, but after reviewing the material, it seems that this author believes that style is writing “freely, clearly, and forcibly.”  The author has a deep respect for the conventions of writing, yet sees the writer as a being who should freely express oneself. The Brooks text classified style as either being dry, plain, neat, elegant, florid, or bombastic.  Regardless of the style, the entire purpose of it is to make sure that it conveys the meaning that the writer intended. The one thing that I noticed is that when discussing style, the author mentioned a lot of things that writers should avoid.

The DKHB text seems to believe that style should be developed with the audience in mind.  The reader should be considered in writing and the writer should carefully choose the words, sentences, and paragraphs that can help the writer to become most persuasive.  It has a more modern feel to it and it doesn’t go overboard in what students should avoid.

Week 4: My Definition of Style

Style is a writer’s way of informing the reader of his or her approach to the topic.  Style is the point in the composing process where the writing becomes ‘unique’ and the writer begins to display his or her own personality.  Similar to fashion, style is when the writer shows an outward appearance of what he or she is feeling on the inside.

Week 4: Research Question

Last week’s readings did a great job of explaining how to avoid asking a simple (Yes or No) question, such as, “Is online teaching effective?”   In the reading, it was demonstrated how writers may want to move from a more simplistic form of questioning to a more complex question that requires greater depth of thought.  The reading also gave good examples as to why some questions are better than others.  After much consideration and reading over the instructor’s comments, I realized that I am still struggling to pose the right question., however, I feel that I am a little closer than I was last week.  Here is what I have conjured up so far:

Cause and Effect (Podis):  What are some effective teaching strategies that online writing instructors use to produce good essays in their students?

This question will allow me to explore some online teaching strategies (I am thinking of doing a TOP 10 list and then discussing why they are effective for online students.

Analysis/Critique (Lindemann):  How can the techniques used by writing teachers best serve online students, so that they produce quality essays?

This question will allow me to look at some of the strategies used by writing teachers and discuss them with my online students in the hopes that the students can help identify whether they were effective or not. I could also look at different research articles and hopefully discover what works for students and what does not. Overall, this question will allow me to look at existing writing techniques and critique their effectiveness.

Final Reflection (In Class 2/7/13)

In our "discussion" tonight, what about "form" or "arrangement" was new or different to you? How did you work with questions help you think about the research question you are considering?

Are there any larger or more general questions you have at this point about your research paper, as we proceed semi-slowly toward it?

The one thing that I learned about form or arrangement is that a paper is pretty much dead without it.  This is an idea that the discussions helped me to really expand upon.  As writers, we must think about what we are thinking about and it must show to our readers. 

The only question that I have is whether we should show samples to our students.  In the Prewriting Techniques article, Lindemann mentioned that, "Students cannot value the strategies a model illustrates if their own writing projects are not yet very far along." (p. 127).  However, in the Rhetorical Theory and Practice article, Lindemann mentioned that, "...they should be analyzing arguments in editorials, professional publications, textbooks, and other materials." (p. 138).  

I would like anyone's opinion on the subject.  Thanks for listening :) 

Modifying Research Questions (In Class 2/7/13)

Below are two less complex questions that I have revised:

Is there any pattern to occurrence of earthquakes?

• Research the occurrence of earthquakes over the past 25 years and describe any patterns that have developed.
• How has the occurence of earthquakes changed over the years? 

Is the death penalty effective and moral?

• What are the moral implications of the death penalty?  How effective is it in deterring crime?
• Since the death penalty is an effective deterrent to crime, why are there moral implications?

Reserch Question 2 (In Class 2/7/13)

How is glacial melting affecting penguins in Antarctica?

Now, this question does require more depth of thought.  The first thing that I notice is that it needs more than a simple, "yes" or "no" response.  The student must really dig deep into the topic to describe how this is happening. The first issue for me, is that the student must really prove that glacial melting is, in fact, affecting the penguins.  There are some who would argue that glacial melting is not affecting the penguins and that global warming is not a problem.  Research would have to be done in order to first prove that it has become a problem.  From there, the student could go on to describe how penguins directly are affected.  Some of the research may include all wildlife in general, but the student would be expected to look more specifically at how pengins are affected. Students may ask, Is glacial melting really a problem?  Are penguins really affected and how?  What are the effects on the habitat?  Is this a result of global warning?

Reserch Question 1 (In Class 2/7/13)

The first question I chose is:  Is there an association between breast cancer risk and cigarette smoking.  This question can be answered with a simple, "yes" or "no", so it is not a more complex question.  The person who responds to this may already have an answer in his or her head and no further explanation is required.  I would think, though, that a student would try to find research the association between breast cancer and cigarette smoking in order to prove his/her side.  It does not really require much analysis besides that, though.

Week 3: Podis vs. Lindemann

In my opinion, Podis viewed writing as more of a structured, logical process.  While there is some room for students to move away from the patterns, a good writer should be able to establish a coherent pattern in writing.  This is a more practical approach to writing, and there is not much ‘wiggle room’.  After reading this article, I must state that I was somewhat taken aback by the condescending tone.  The author assumed that teachers did not teach anything regarding arrangement, and they somehow need help in understanding better teaching methods.

Lindemann’s view was that arrangement is a series of choices that students make with respect to writing, while remaining within general guidelines.  Form has a definite pattern and good form helps the writer to engage the audience; however, a writer should avoid becoming so engrossed in the form to where the substance of the material is lost.  Instead, arrangement or form is something that the writer discovers as he or she moves through the paper and makes decisions about how the content is organized.

I appreciated the diverse and numerous examples in both articles.  The grouping in Podis’ article was somewhat common sense, but when it was related to writing, it helped to clarify the main point.  This article was a great refresher for me.  In past years, I have taught the chronological and spatial forms of writing, but the patterning was confusing to me.  I feel that because I am not a formal English teacher, the patterning method is something that I may have missed.  The basic patterns were understood, but when C was introduced, I started to lose my train of thought (even after re-reading it several times).

In Lindemann’s article, the blocking example was new to me and I learned a lot just by reviewing the aerobic essay example.  The tenets of this article were new to me, but I appreciate that the article allowed me to feel freer to go off of my instincts and move away from the basic, 5-paragraph essay.  I felt a sense of freedom when Lindeman mentioned that this structure survives in English classes more so than anywhere else.  I had to laugh out loud on this one!   This article gave me a choice and I believe that it will allow me to try some new things and become a better teacher.  While Lindemann definitely has respect for form, there is room for the student to grow as a writer.

Week 3: Resources

Source	Type	Why Used?
Liu, Y. (2005).  Effects of online instruction vs. traditional instruction on Students’ Learning.  Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/journal/mar_05/article06.htm	Popular?	Journal with lots of tables that looks at the research from multiple viewpoints. Lots of resources in bibliography.
Bernard, R.; Abrami, P.C.; Lou, Y.; Borokhovski, E.; Wade, A.; Wozney, L.; Wallet, P.A.; Eiset, M.; Huang, B. (2004).  How does distance education compare with classroom instruction?  A meta-analyisi of the empirical literature.	Scholarly	Peer-reviewed; lots of good research.
Debate.org (n.d.) Is online instruction as effective as online schooling?  Retrieved from http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-online-education-as-effective-as-traditional-on-campus-schooling	Popular	Will likely find many different viewpoints that may lead to further research.
Koeler, M.J., Marsha, P., & Hershey, K. (2004).  With a little help from yur stdents:  A new model for faculty development and online course design.  Journal of technology and teacher education, 12 (1), 25-55.	Scholarly	Contains some helpful teaching strategies.
Sapp, D.A., Simon, J. (2005). Comparing grades in online and face-to-face writing courses: Interpersonal accountability and institutional commitment.  Retrieved from http://www.sarasotaintranet.usf.edu/ir/documents/distancelearning/sapp.pdf	Scholarly	Directly related to topic.

Week 3: Choosing an Issue

The issue that I have decided to research is whether online students receive the same quality of writing instruction as traditional students.  I have a ‘vested’ interest in this issue.  I teach in both online and traditional settings, and I struggle internally to make sure that students are receiving the same quality of instruction in both formats.  For example, if a student takes my online Professional Development class, I try to assign the same assignments, lectures, and other handouts as I would assign in a traditional course.  In short, I believe that instruction should not suffer just because the instructor is not face-to-face.

Over the years, I have found the teaching of writing in an online setting to be quite challenging.  Before online education became popular, I was accustomed to marking the students’ papers with red ink and then talking with them about any issues.  Given the fast pace society that we live in and the sheer nature of online communication, teaching writing has become a tedious enterprise.  While I use Microsoft Word to make comments in each paper, I continuously struggle to devote the same amount of time and quality feedback to each assignment given.

Another issue that I encounter is when a student asks a difficult writing question online.  While I try my best to provide a clear response, I sometimes wonder if the student truly understood my answer.  The student may reply with a, “Yes, thanks,” but sometimes the final draft will show that the student may not have completely understood my instruction.  Furthermore, if a question cannot be handled in one or two responses, I find that the ultimate answer can become lost in the email chain.

The Hermagorian approach to invention (as a result of the readings) unquestionably helped me to solidify why I was interested in the topic.  It also helped me to specifically state which groups of students I was most interested in discussing.  The journalizing that we did in class was probably the most helpful exercise for me in that it allowed me to just write down thoughts without judgment or other concerns.  The homework assignment for this week was like the ‘nail in the coffin’ in that I was able to stand on a firmer question.  In the past, I would merely pick a topic and begin research without truly investigating my approach to the issue.  As a result of this method, I have gained further insight into the research techniques that I could use to aid with the discovery process (articles, interviews, teaching strategies, etc.) .

Week 3: 1st Issue

After examining the first issue for the research paper, I decided that it would be best to formulate my questions as a thesis.  My stasis focuses more specifically on the quality, and I would like to research whether online writing instruction is equivalent to traditional instruction.  More specifically:  Do students in online classes receive the same quality of writing instruction as their counterparts in traditional classes. I am looking specifically into my teaching processes in general as opposed to the entire campus.

My proposition is that students receive better instruction in the classroom because a teacher is readily available to answer specific issues that may arise in writing.  To further investigate the research, I could discover whether ALL students benefit from being in a traditional classroom, or do some benefit more in an online setting?

Overall, the process of formulating better questions was somewhat difficult, but well worth it.  I spent some time thinking about the different ways that Crowley investigated the hate speech issue and I used that as a model to formulate my questions for my research paper issues. This issue seems to be the most compelling to me as I am eager to see the results.

Week 3: 2nd Issue

My second issue of research is the issue of plagiarism and to reduce it on campus.  Specifically, I may ask: How can plagiarism be reduced on campus? This is more of a procedural stasis where I would investigate both punitive and non-punitive methods for reducing plagiarism in college.  I may also look at current policies that regulate plagiarism and investigate how they could be changed.  The position that I take is that it is a serious issue and there needs to be more stringent education and procedures to counteract plagiarism.

In this case, the process of formulating better questions was also challenging; however, I appreciate that the procedure forced me to think deeply about the issues and it gave me the opportunity to approach both topics from several different vantage points.