Week 5 in Review


Ch. 5 Literacy and Work

We usually associate literacy in schools, but literacy thrives in the workplace as well. Sean makes an interesting parallel between what is mentioned in the chapter concerning WWII and the military recruitment that he saw during the post 9-11 period. These two events created a demand for stronger literacy skills. As Lindquist and Seitz point out the new technologies that came out during this time required its workers to of a higher level of literacy skills. Sean shares with us that “very shortly after September 11, they came to our class on an almost biweekly basis. The recruiters often emphasized the future job opportunities available through their programs, specifically the various college degrees that were sponsored. They offered to pay for a significant portion of a student's college tuition in a wide variety of subjects and degrees, provided they joined the armed forces.” These two major events played a significant role in expanding literacy.

Workers in today’s economy need to be not only literate, but to be able to offer flexible literacy skills. Lindquist and Seitz raise caution to the fact that down sizing is common today. Workers may find themselves shuffled from one department to another or completely out of their current job all together. So, the ability to offer a wide variety of literacy skills is a must to be a marketable worker in our current economy.



Ch. 6 Informal, Exploratory Writing Activities

Bean discusses ways to broaden students’ critical thinking skills through informal writing. Sean does a nice job discussing these various ways in his blog. There are a couple of aspects that Sean points out that are of interest to me and that is writing with the students and the check/plus/minus system of grading. Sean states, “While I love the idea of writing with my students, I have hit a few hurdles using this method: 1) students may feel intimidated by the instructor’s finished product. 2) If the student’s response differs radically from the instructor’s, then the student may feel afraid to share his or her work.” I can see that these would be hurdles; students tend to feel intimated by college in general. However, I think that this would be an excellent opportunity for them to see that instructors/professors support them. This is an activity that I plan to take part in. Also, I use the same system as Sean uses in my lab, and that is the plus/check/minus system. While this may seem a little vague to some, this system does let the students know if they’ve met expectations.

There are a couple of more aspects that I’d like to mention from Ch. 6. “Writing Bio-Poems” sounds very interesting to me. I am by no means a poet, but I think that even I could write poems using this formula – wow!! I like that!! The “Thesis Statement Writing” is very clear cut and to the point. This method is perfect for someone who is struggling with how to write a thesis.


Chapter 7 Designing Tasks for Active Thinking and Learning

Designing tasks that engage learners in active and critical thinking takes a great deal of creativity. Mandy was very creative in putting together a new syllabus for her class, especially the class summaries and writing center visitor reflections. This will give the students an opportunity to share their ideas on whether or nor they agree with the tutor and/or instructor’s advice. Such an exercise will promote critical thinking, which, with itself is a difficult idea for new coming students to grasp.

Bean mentions the “Thesis Support Assignments” as an option to encourage active thinking in the classroom. Personally, I did not think that this is too much different than the “Thesis Statement Writing” discussed in Chapter 6. But, this exercise will promote skill in an area that most students are lacking experience in. The “Data-Provided Assignment” takes it a step further in the fact that the students are actually searching for the thesis. This assignment should probably be scheduled toward the end of a series of thesis exercises, since such an assignment encourages independency on part of the student.

Chapter 8 Helping Students Read Difficult Texts

Toni states in her blog over this chapter that “Emphasis on the ‘can’ be… because nobody in my class is a dummy. Rather, they are unarmed and I am in a position to help them with that.” So true! Our students aren’t dummies, but rather they have not been given the opportunity to handle difficult reading in an effective manner. So, it’s our calling to help them! Toni provided help to her students when she prompted them to underline their main theme/point/argument/thesis/ in their WA 2 assignments. I’m sure that during this process that the students were able to point out the main theme in each paragraph, which is a hurdle that I see in the writing center.

As Bean states, students are under the impression that they have to be “speed readers.” Professors ought to give insight to students that this is not a reasonable goal. Difficult texts take more time to digest, therefore take more time to read. Also, Bean touches on the fact that “inadequate vocabulary” is an issue that college students struggle with. I also saw something similar to this in a student’s paper that looked like some parts of it was text messaged! But, it would be a good habit for students to carry a dictionary (and thesaurus) with them while tackling those difficult texts.

Chapter 9 Coaching Thinking Through the Use of Small Groups

The small group method certainly has had its fair share of objections through the years, as Laura points out. There are some who may regard this as just an easy way for the teacher to conduct class, and that it may lack form and time spent with the teacher. But, Laura states in her blog that “Besides, along with evident advantages, such as the fact that it can be used in classes with hundreds of students, can be integrated with other teaching methods and strategies, that it can promote student interactions, and leadership skills celebrating the diversity, Bean shows a wider, very important goal: it helps the developing of interpersonal trust in a society that is lacking this aspect related to social relationships.”

Some of my most memorable class experiences were those in which the teacher divided the class into groups. I noticed that students opened up more in this setting, thus creating a collaborative learning environment. That is why that the role playing that Bean mentions is a valuable tool in group discussions. Role playing allows the student to play a role that he or she would normally not play in a large class setting.