Monthly Archives: February 2017

Student Blogs

Blog 4: Writing in the Future

digital-tunnel-wallpaper1

Both of the articles for this week was considering the future trends of writing. I liked Ann Amicucci’s How They Really Talk article the best this week. I’ve read a lot of articles similar to this one. These articles hint to a growing concern on where writing is heading and how digital interfaces can be used in education inside writing and beyond.

I don’t think we need to be concerned about this. This class and the other classes that I have had with Dr. Zamora demonstrate to me that the transition into using digital environments in learning is working out very effectively and will continue to do so over the next few years. Even during my undergraduate experience this was shown to be true and only increased during the years I was still an undergrad. I can only speak for my experience though.

I definitely agree with this fact because I like to have a wider audience than just my classroom. I get to meet new people over the internet and develop a greater network than I would get through just sharing within the classroom environment.

“Students’ own perspectives have been largely missing.” (Amicucci 484) Amicucci brought out a good point regarding the research done about digital usage. Not only teachers should be the source of the research we read about but also we the students. We have the hands on usage of these tools and sometimes we can even contribute ideas that teachers would never think about.


Student Blogs

writing in today’s classroom

At the moment, writing is in a very transitional place in the academic world. Both articles point out the obvious rise and significance of writing in a digital space, as well as how the idea of writing today is not just confined to the words in a research paper. Writing has taken on a series of different identities, from social media posts to emails to even texting, and is more vocal and important than ever in today's society. Students are finding their voice in writing throughout all corners of social media and using their words to express their opinions rather strongly and eloquently on a variety of political, social, and personal subjects. 

However, it seems a lot of writing instructors in secondary and post-secondary educational are quick to dismiss the validity of writing in digital spaces. While some teachers are embracing and utilizing the technological evolution of writing, others seem indifferent in noticing how a twitter post can be just as valuable as an in-class writing journal. Amicucci's article, "How They Really Talk," addresses two different students who have used social media to explore and further their identities as writers with a wider, interactive audience full of peers. Both students serve as positive examples of how teachers can learn from the benefits of incorporating and validating digital writing in classrooms, as it is an intricate part of today's students' everyday lives. 

Addison and McGee also recognize the space of digital writing in the lives of students as they examine the future trends of writing in high school and in further levels of academia. They write that "teenagers may actually be writing more than ever but in a far greater variety of forms not normally recognized as part of their school or work experience," and that writing today may not be so much as a "'dreaded' activity" that is usually assumed (168). Again, students are using in a multitude of ways in their digital lives, but their probably subconscious interest and impressive amount of writing is not being taken advantage of but their instructors in an academic setting. In Addison and McGee's article, they also analyze quantitative data regarding what types of writing students do in classrooms. More "personal" and expressive works that could arguably deemed "passionate" had a much lower percentage overall (all less than 20%), such as creative writing, journals, and even web sites (156). Personally, I find those numbers horrifying! Teachers shrug off the importance of student writing that gives them more of a voice and potential creative "drive"; as such, if those kinds of writing are deemed "lower" than other types of writing, where does that leave digital writing on the totem pole? I'm sure instructors view a social media post as having no significance if they don't want to even encourage their students to express themselves through a piece of flashfiction.

While the change is gradual nationally across schools, digital writing needs to be recognized as a significant form of writing itself, and thus be utilized by teachers in classroom settings. Digital writing provides a space where students are able to find and express their voices more on subjects that mean more to them than whether or not Lance Armstrong should have his medals revoked because of "doping" (unless, of course, the student has that strong of an affinity for the cyclist). Teachers should see the value in digital writing, as opposed to viewing it as a waste of time or a heathen attack on the "traditional values" of writing in the academic world.
Student Blogs

writing in today’s classroom

At the moment, writing is in a very transitional place in the academic world. Both articles point out the obvious rise and significance of writing in a digital space, as well as how the idea of writing today is not just confined to the words in a research paper. Writing has taken on a series of different identities, from social media posts to emails to even texting, and is more vocal and important than ever in today's society. Students are finding their voice in writing throughout all corners of social media and using their words to express their opinions rather strongly and eloquently on a variety of political, social, and personal subjects. 

However, it seems a lot of writing instructors in secondary and post-secondary educational are quick to dismiss the validity of writing in digital spaces. While some teachers are embracing and utilizing the technological evolution of writing, others seem indifferent in noticing how a twitter post can be just as valuable as an in-class writing journal. Amicucci's article, "How They Really Talk," addresses two different students who have used social media to explore and further their identities as writers with a wider, interactive audience full of peers. Both students serve as positive examples of how teachers can learn from the benefits of incorporating and validating digital writing in classrooms, as it is an intricate part of today's students' everyday lives. 

Addison and McGee also recognize the space of digital writing in the lives of students as they examine the future trends of writing in high school and in further levels of academia. They write that "teenagers may actually be writing more than ever but in a far greater variety of forms not normally recognized as part of their school or work experience," and that writing today may not be so much as a "'dreaded' activity" that is usually assumed (168). Again, students are using in a multitude of ways in their digital lives, but their probably subconscious interest and impressive amount of writing is not being taken advantage of but their instructors in an academic setting. In Addison and McGee's article, they also analyze quantitative data regarding what types of writing students do in classrooms. More "personal" and expressive works that could arguably deemed "passionate" had a much lower percentage overall (all less than 20%), such as creative writing, journals, and even web sites (156). Personally, I find those numbers horrifying! Teachers shrug off the importance of student writing that gives them more of a voice and potential creative "drive"; as such, if those kinds of writing are deemed "lower" than other types of writing, where does that leave digital writing on the totem pole? I'm sure instructors view a social media post as having no significance if they don't want to even encourage their students to express themselves through a piece of flashfiction.

While the change is gradual nationally across schools, digital writing needs to be recognized as a significant form of writing itself, and thus be utilized by teachers in classroom settings. Digital writing provides a space where students are able to find and express their voices more on subjects that mean more to them than whether or not Lance Armstrong should have his medals revoked because of "doping" (unless, of course, the student has that strong of an affinity for the cyclist). Teachers should see the value in digital writing, as opposed to viewing it as a waste of time or a heathen attack on the "traditional values" of writing in the academic world.
Student Blogs

The Diamond in the Rough

 Image from Disney's Aladdin

This week's readings both got me thinking, but in very different ways, about the place of creative writing in an academic environment that seems to become more and more hostile toward humanistic learning with each passing year.  As can be seen in my annotations, the studies outlined in Addison and Gee's "Writing in High School/Writing in College: Research Trends and Future Directions" made me angry, some of them for their results, and some of them for their content.  I was particularly incensed by the table on page 156, which showed just how few creative writing activities were assigned in high school and college.  Less creative writing activities than lab reports, for Pete's sake!  In my annotation, I try to understand the logic behind this lack of opportunities to write creatively in school; my main hypothesis is that administrators don't see the value in creative writing when compared to more "academic" forms of writing.  With that in mind as I read Amicucci's "How They Really Talk," I was able to see a lot of parallels between digital literacy and what I'm going to call "creative literacy."

Without having done any kind of study or extensive research, I can only draw on my personal experiences in high school to inform what I'm going to assert.  So keep that in mind, and take my words with a grain of salt.  I think downplaying creative writing in writing classes is forcing the same kind of "code-switching" as not acknowledging chatspeak.  Aside from the type of writing done for instant messaging and social media, creative writing is probably the type of writing students engage with most outside of school.  I know that was the case with me.  I wrote a lot more outside of school than inside of school during my high school years.  I can honestly say that I hated my expository writing course.  And I think I even failed an elective writing course my senior year.  I constantly wrote creatively in my free time during those years, though, and it is that kind of writing that got me hooked on the craft.  Yes, there were exceptions.  Great teachers made my freshman English course enjoyable, and my Honors Imaginative Process course was one of the highlights of my entire high school career.  Generally, however, High School Katherine loved writing DESPITE her writing classes, not BECAUSE of them. 

I'm positive that's not what teachers of writing want to hear, but I'm pretty sure it's the case for a lot more people than we'd like to admit.  Perhaps by bringing more creative writing into high school writing classes, we can allow a sort of "genre code-meshing."  High school students don't have a writer identity developed enough to realize that if they get a bad mark on one kind of writing, they might still be an amazing writer in another genre.  For most of them, their sense of being or not being a writer is tied directly to what grade is written on their essays.  What about the kid who's reamed out for taking up half a science paper on a poetic description of an oak leaf's veins?  Sure, Johnny Oakleaf may not be a science writer, and he may need to learn a hell of a lot more about organization, structure, and audience, but Johnny's clearly demonstrating an enthusiasm and aptitude for nature writing or poetry.  If we only assign research papers or lab reports, though, all Johnny is going to learn is that he's a bad writer.  He gets Fs on all his papers; that clearly means he's a bad writer, right?  And if Johnny thinks he's a bad writer, then he's probably going to have low self-efficacy, and he's not going to want to learn how to improve his organization, etc.  You see the cycle?  The same thing could be said of a student who can't limerick her way out of a paper bag, but can give you the most cogent, detailed science report you'd ever ask for.  The difference is that Susie Science is going to be validated for her report-writing, whereas Johnny Oakleaf won't get the opportunity for validation.  Why?  Because creative writing isn't included widely enough in the teaching of writing for adults and adolescents.  Because stories and poems are somehow less valuable, or more childish?  If we're having serious discussions about how to bridge the gap between extracurricular social media writing and academic writing, then why can't we have the same kind of discussion about bridging the gap between extracurricular creative writing and academic writing?  It would have the same sort of benefits for another chunk of the student population.    
Student Blogs

The Diamond in the Rough

 Image from Disney's Aladdin

This week's readings both got me thinking, but in very different ways, about the place of creative writing in an academic environment that seems to become more and more hostile toward humanistic learning with each passing year.  As can be seen in my annotations, the studies outlined in Addison and Gee's "Writing in High School/Writing in College: Research Trends and Future Directions" made me angry, some of them for their results, and some of them for their content.  I was particularly incensed by the table on page 156, which showed just how few creative writing activities were assigned in high school and college.  Less creative writing activities than lab reports, for Pete's sake!  In my annotation, I try to understand the logic behind this lack of opportunities to write creatively in school; my main hypothesis is that administrators don't see the value in creative writing when compared to more "academic" forms of writing.  With that in mind as I read Amicucci's "How They Really Talk," I was able to see a lot of parallels between digital literacy and what I'm going to call "creative literacy."

Without having done any kind of study or extensive research, I can only draw on my personal experiences in high school to inform what I'm going to assert.  So keep that in mind, and take my words with a grain of salt.  I think downplaying creative writing in writing classes is forcing the same kind of "code-switching" as not acknowledging chatspeak.  Aside from the type of writing done for instant messaging and social media, creative writing is probably the type of writing students engage with most outside of school.  I know that was the case with me.  I wrote a lot more outside of school than inside of school during my high school years.  I can honestly say that I hated my expository writing course.  And I think I even failed an elective writing course my senior year.  I constantly wrote creatively in my free time during those years, though, and it is that kind of writing that got me hooked on the craft.  Yes, there were exceptions.  Great teachers made my freshman English course enjoyable, and my Honors Imaginative Process course was one of the highlights of my entire high school career.  Generally, however, High School Katherine loved writing DESPITE her writing classes, not BECAUSE of them. 

I'm positive that's not what teachers of writing want to hear, but I'm pretty sure it's the case for a lot more people than we'd like to admit.  Perhaps by bringing more creative writing into high school writing classes, we can allow a sort of "genre code-meshing."  High school students don't have a writer identity developed enough to realize that if they get a bad mark on one kind of writing, they might still be an amazing writer in another genre.  For most of them, their sense of being or not being a writer is tied directly to what grade is written on their essays.  What about the kid who's reamed out for taking up half a science paper on a poetic description of an oak leaf's veins?  Sure, Johnny Oakleaf may not be a science writer, and he may need to learn a hell of a lot more about organization, structure, and audience, but Johnny's clearly demonstrating an enthusiasm and aptitude for nature writing or poetry.  If we only assign research papers or lab reports, though, all Johnny is going to learn is that he's a bad writer.  He gets Fs on all his papers; that clearly means he's a bad writer, right?  And if Johnny thinks he's a bad writer, then he's probably going to have low self-efficacy, and he's not going to want to learn how to improve his organization, etc.  You see the cycle?  The same thing could be said of a student who can't limerick her way out of a paper bag, but can give you the most cogent, detailed science report you'd ever ask for.  The difference is that Susie Science is going to be validated for her report-writing, whereas Johnny Oakleaf won't get the opportunity for validation.  Why?  Because creative writing isn't included widely enough in the teaching of writing for adults and adolescents.  Because stories and poems are somehow less valuable, or more childish?  If we're having serious discussions about how to bridge the gap between extracurricular social media writing and academic writing, then why can't we have the same kind of discussion about bridging the gap between extracurricular creative writing and academic writing?  It would have the same sort of benefits for another chunk of the student population.    
Student Blogs

Creating a New Environment 2017-02-23 11:49:00

Hope Wilson
blog3
Writing in High School/Writing in College:
Research Trends and Future Directions
by Joeanne Addison and Sharon James McGee





                                                             Learned Behavior






         Is writing a learned behavior? Does it "warrant a closer look at whether the persistence of tracking is contributing to the degree to which the achievement gap between students of different socioeconomic and racial groups also persist as identified by the NAEP" as some students write the way their environment speaks. Environments are the basics of the results of the way some students write. Although some schools create a great writing plans "many students do not engage in best practice for learning how to write, calling attention to the need to find ways to encourage greater engagement among students for best practice in learning how to write"structurally according to the U.S. Department of Education. Some students manages to concord writing projects with a great grade "According to NSSE, the types of writing assignments that promote "deep learning" across the curriculum include those that focus on analysis, synthesis, and integration of ideas from various sources in ways that lead to engagement with course ideas both inside and outside of the classroom(22). But how much of the actual writing across the curriculum falls into this category? Further, how does the writing assigned prepared students for the writing beyond the academy? In large-scales studies, institutional studies, and our own research, it seems that mush of the writing assigned to the students across the curriculum does intend to promote deep learning, although very little prepares students for writing beyond the academy" resulting in a difficult transition into the workplace.

      Reading scholarly and academic sources may increase literacy and improve students writing ability and articulation. Promoting more engaging and structural behavior may be required " Like expressive assignments exploratory assignments are informal and focus on exploring ideas," encouraging students expressive behavior which may also encourage improvement in their personal growth.


How They Really Talk
Two Students' Perspective on Digital Literacy in the Writing Classroom
by Ann .M. Amicucci


       Reiterating my comments in agreement with" scholars have recognized that any given literacy practice is shaped by its social and historical context (Barton & Hamilton, 1998; Gee, 1990, Street, 2003.) because some students write like their environment. Creative writing may encourage academic writing if place in the a certain context. As an educator I will encourage "practices that will bring digital literacies into writing classroom has emphasized the potential for fostering students' critical literacy skills through the use of digitals tools" encouraging academic perspectives. I was surprised to read that students were encouraged to participate digital literacy assignments. The survey of the ' data analysis revealed several student ideal situation writing course activity within digital context."evolving some academic writing processes. Digital tool will create a more personal relationship between the educator and the student. It will invite the education into the students personal lifestyle as it makes the students aware of the "out-of school" identity.

    Academic writing announces one's identity.Young's (2004) argues perfectly "expectation in the classroom may require students to leave their out-of-school identity behind and adopt solely academic identities in their place" allowing academic growth for an easy transition into employment.





Student Blogs

Creating a New Environment 2017-02-23 11:49:00

Hope Wilson
blog3
Writing in High School/Writing in College:
Research Trends and Future Directions
by Joeanne Addison and Sharon James McGee





                                                             Learned Behavior






         Is writing a learned behavior? Does it "warrant a closer look at whether the persistence of tracking is contributing to the degree to which the achievement gap between students of different socioeconomic and racial groups also persist as identified by the NAEP" as some students write the way their environment speaks. Environments are the basics of the results of the way some students write. Although some schools create a great writing plans "many students do not engage in best practice for learning how to write, calling attention to the need to find ways to encourage greater engagement among students for best practice in learning how to write"structurally according to the U.S. Department of Education. Some students manages to concord writing projects with a great grade "According to NSSE, the types of writing assignments that promote "deep learning" across the curriculum include those that focus on analysis, synthesis, and integration of ideas from various sources in ways that lead to engagement with course ideas both inside and outside of the classroom(22). But how much of the actual writing across the curriculum falls into this category? Further, how does the writing assigned prepared students for the writing beyond the academy? In large-scales studies, institutional studies, and our own research, it seems that mush of the writing assigned to the students across the curriculum does intend to promote deep learning, although very little prepares students for writing beyond the academy" resulting in a difficult transition into the workplace.

      Reading scholarly and academic sources may increase literacy and improve students writing ability and articulation. Promoting more engaging and structural behavior may be required " Like expressive assignments exploratory assignments are informal and focus on exploring ideas," encouraging students expressive behavior which may also encourage improvement in their personal growth.


How They Really Talk
Two Students' Perspective on Digital Literacy in the Writing Classroom
by Ann .M. Amicucci


       Reiterating my comments in agreement with" scholars have recognized that any given literacy practice is shaped by its social and historical context (Barton & Hamilton, 1998; Gee, 1990, Street, 2003.) because some students write like their environment. Creative writing may encourage academic writing if place in the a certain context. As an educator I will encourage "practices that will bring digital literacies into writing classroom has emphasized the potential for fostering students' critical literacy skills through the use of digitals tools" encouraging academic perspectives. I was surprised to read that students were encouraged to participate digital literacy assignments. The survey of the ' data analysis revealed several student ideal situation writing course activity within digital context."evolving some academic writing processes. Digital tool will create a more personal relationship between the educator and the student. It will invite the education into the students personal lifestyle as it makes the students aware of the "out-of school" identity.

    Academic writing announces one's identity.Young's (2004) argues perfectly "expectation in the classroom may require students to leave their out-of-school identity behind and adopt solely academic identities in their place" allowing academic growth for an easy transition into employment.





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Hi everyone,

I hope you are enjoying the long weekend!  Just an update on our progress:

Andaiye kicked us off with an excellent discussion of empiricism & positivism vs. more intuitive/pedagogical approaches to writing research.  Our conversation was rich and interesting, and I think we were able to learn quite a bit about the broad range of methodological leanings (and the general attitudes about what those choices might mean in the context of an ever evolving academy).  Although Andaiye chose the Charney article with one understanding of what empiricism might entail, she then (ironically) discovered it had quite a different connotation than her first impression.  On the other hand, the “Out of Our Experience” article pairing did the trick in leading all of us to different angle by emphasizing experiential modes for research.  So in the end, the pairing was useful in drawing to our attention to a “writing research methods spectrum”.

For our meeting next week, Richonda will guide us through:

Joanne Addison and Sharon James McGee, “Writing in High School/Writing in College: Research Trends and Future Directions.” College Composition & Communication 62:1 (2010) 

Amicucci, Ann N. “How They Really Talk”: Two Students’ Perspectives On Digital Literacies In The Writing Classroom.” Journal Of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 57.6 (2014): 483-491. ERIC. Web. 19 Feb. 2017. (*This article will be sent directly to you via Richonda by email.)

As always, please read and post a your blog reflection on the material for class.  Please note that the first article (Addison & McGee) can be read via hypothes.is by clicking on it from our Reading Roster.  Please annotate that one on hypothes.is.  I look forward to another great conversation with all of you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Zamora