When I was reading chapter 3, there were a few questions came up to my mind. On page 75, the author mentioned about if writers write down their questions, reflections or ideas, it creates a space for writers to discover and think about their interpretations and understandings toward a text they read. I was wondering if it matters that students write in their own languages or English. Since they are just finding their reflections toward the text, they should use the languages which they feel comfortable with. In Danling Fu and Marylou Matoush’s article, they mentioned about how writing teachers let ELL students write in the language they feel comfortable with and then they gradually learn how to write in English. I never thought about how I take notes until I read this article. When I was in college, I used both Chinese and English to take notes. Now I mainly use English. What language(s) does everybody use to take note?
The author also mentioned about different ways to write reading reflections, such as summary, synthesis, pre-reading writing, response statements, response essays and journals. I was just thinking that if teachers are going to check students’ reflections, what would be the top elements to look for? Should grammar be checked? Are there any other writing styles that we can use for students to write their reflections or understandings toward texts? Can story writing be used (the author mentioned about writing across curriculum and I was just thinking that students can use their understandings toward science and then write a science fiction?)?
My last question was about writing in group. The author mentioned about the benefits of writing in group that students are able to discuss. What if students hate writing in groups? How do teachers grade the paper produced by groups? Do students need to write together or they write separately and then put their papers together? If they write together, wouldn’t it take a lot of time to finish a paper? I am just curious about how collaborate writing may work.
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Personally, I usually write my notes in English because I am most fluent in English, but there are times when I will write notes in german if it suits my mood. As far as writing reflections, I sometimes write my reflections in standard essay form but there are also times when I end up creating a reflective poem if it captures my thoughts effectively. As long as students are communicating effectively and coherently, I am open to a variety of writing styles for them to use.
ReplyDeleteThe collaborative group work is an experience that I think depends a lot of the class and the way the atmosphere of the class develops. If the students absolutely hate group work, I would still probably have them work as a group on one assignment, but only one. That would just be because in life you are forced to work collaboratively sometimes and you should have some experience with it. As far as grading collaborative work, in my experience there have been professors who required each team member to write one page decsribing their own contribution to the group and each member of the group filled out an evaluation form about each other member. I would not strictly give everyone the same grade if it was clear that not everyone was doing the same level of contributing.
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ReplyDeleteI still remember that during my high school years, we had to attend classes (to prepare for the college entrance exam)in summer. We were not encouraged to read outside of our class. After I came here, I read more and more. I really enjoy to read something I like (either inside or outside class) because I see those readings as pleasure, not pressure. Also, my reflections toward readings change when I read them at different times. It is interesting how readings can help us think and write.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that collaborative work is necessary for the class because we are living in the world with others. I think that teachers need to spend a lot of time on their syllabus when they want to incorporate collaborative work into their writing class. Also, they need to elaborate the purposes to their students as well.