I have learned more and more as I write that I do enjoy writing, when I have the time. But with things that do matter in life one must find time to do them. Perhaps the most important thing I have learned is the value in doing these assignments for my future teaching career. Writing matters and can be used in classrooms, even the science classroom, to deepen student’s understanding. But how it is incorporated makes a difference as well, as students should be exposed to informal writing and formal writing. Students should write the vast majority of the time for their benefit and to aid them in thinking more critically about the topic at hand.
My goal: Continue to develop myself as a writer and teacher-writer. A reflection on my strengths weaknesses and writing process.
Taking this course has provided me with insight into how I write and how I approach writing. While I do not do it nearly enough, growing up I did use writing to ease my stress and help me through some tough times; the same holds true for today. Through our writing pieces I have learned that I enjoy the more personal topics and pieces. I find that the relevancy of assignments to my interests and topics that I am passionate about made me want to finish them earlier than my other tasks I felt less connected too. I have also found that my writing tends to be very dense and repetitive at times. This is perhaps one side effect of enjoying what is being written about. I am not saying that it is a problem; I think it is actually a good thing when doing a first draft. But it does make the process of revision more difficult and lengthy during a time in my life when I do not always have the time required to revise multiple times.
The different styles or functions of writing have been brought to my attention as well. In many early class discussions our class tended to focus on academic writing. We have moved away from thinking that academic writing is the only form of writing useful for students and teachers alike. When in reality writing is any form of written expression. While this may seem like a simple thought changing ones thinking from writing to written expression opens up the mind to new possibilities. For example, a drawing of an animal cell is not what I consider writing. However, the drawing of an animal cell is a form of written expression. The connotation for me of written expression expands the idea that writing is in fact more than just academic writing.
The other thing I have had some difficulty in my writing with or a challenge I face was evident in the process of creating my Op-Ed piece. In that piece I had so much to say and so much to mention with facts and ideas. By the end of writing it I lost focus on what my true main point was and how I addressed that point. I also was well over the amount of recommended words. Since revising it I took out many relevant but not as relevant aspects of my thoughts and writing. I rearranged my thoughts so that my main point was sequentially in the beginning and I focused on writing to a very specific audience. When I began writing it I do not think I had a particular audience in mind. This is something I need to work on as a writer because I think it will aid me in concentrating my thoughts and efforts into one line of thought. In turn, focusing on one line of thought should theoretically make it easier to revise and require less time.
My goal: teaching as a teacher-writer is to provide my students with a safe organized and reflective place to provide their thoughts.
I know I want to incorporate writing in my classes; especially in middle school. Through my time as a substitute teacher I have found that many students today are superficial in their thought and digging for understanding. Often students look solely for the answer to a question using their notes or materials they have. While this is what is expected the issue is that most never take the next step in their thinking when the answer is not there right in front of them. Writing can get students to process and think for themselves. Therefore, I want to provide my students with a science journal in my class. This journal will be a place that is organized, informative and reflective for students. While I have not completely ironed out all the details of what I expect and want my students will have to reflect and write constantly about each day’s activity or write to begin each class. This is what we as a class have been doing in our Teaching Thinking and Writing in the Secondary School graduate course: but to a lesser extent.
I have all my writing for the class kept in my journal – from my “writing into the days” to my notes and reflections on some of the days. The act of keeping a rough journal has provided me with some insight to the importance of having a place to write, reflect and keep notes. The importance of keeping all these aspects in the same area cannot be understated either. In addition to the writing in journals I also want my students to use writing to display their thinking and develop their critical thinking. So much of the teaching of science focuses on learning-by-doing pedagogy and students constructing their own knowledge. Biology for example, has an incredible amount of vocabulary associated with it. If I were to just have my students write down definitions from a textbook or have them repeat my notes they will probably never actually comprehend many of these words. Instead, I plan on having my students identify the vocabulary put them into their own words, make picture representations and/or connect to other topics and things they know. The vocab words themselves though have a connection, as with all biology. In doing these things students are using their writing to think more critically about the vocabulary words or content than if they merely copy down notes. In other words, they are constructing their own knowledge.
The act of writing and doing these assignments has opened my eyes to how I can use these two techniques to help my students. I also want my students to develop their note taking and writing skills, as I do the same alongside them. I have also found that students avoid taking notes. I think it is less about them not wanting to take notes but not understanding how to effectively take notes for themselves. Providing students with different formats to take notes and allowing them to choose which format works for them is a useful strategy. The strategies we used in class were the DEN notes and the Cornell notes. Both note-taking styles require the reader to synthesize main points provide their own thoughts on the matter and condense their notes. I found that this past week when we were not given a specific format I started to go back to my old ways of note taking where I rewrite key ideas and put some things in the margin. The problem is that this strategy is very disjointed and I often read small bits at a time, rewriting key ideas without really digging much beyond simple rewriting. The importance of also taking notes, or doing writing activities alongside students provides a sense of a teacher-learner and writer. It can also be useful when modeling a particular assignment.
The pieces you see below are part of my writing portfolio and the result of being a teacher-writer. The pieces are:
- Six Things About Me
Thanks to my family and brothers who served as inspiration and to Jacob for his feedback on my writing.
- Profile of a Classmate (use the link provided here)
Thanks to Christine Urio who opened up and shared some of her life with me and provided feedback about the piece.
- Op-Ed Piece
Thanks to Matt, Nick and Mark for their feedback and views on the piece.
With that I leave you with the quote on my front page:
“The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men and women who are capable of doing new things.” – Jean Piaget