In catching up on a backlog of reading, I have become aware of a controversy regarding the nature of learning. One writer, Downes, an advocate of connectivism as an approach to learning, has taken some criticism from Wiley for unnecessarily complicating the issues of learning. Downes seems to have problems with notions of learning that are characterised as transfer, transmission, or replication. Much of what I have to say regarding their argument probably has more to do with my background in linguistics and philosophy, rather than a genuine deep reading of Downes and Wiley, but still, it may contribute something of worth to the discussion.
Michael Reddy has articulted some of the difficulties inhent in characterising communication as a transfer of information. The chief objection is due primarily to the grounding of understnding in experience and the essential non-linear nature of experience. While a view of learning as the accumulation of information and skill at handling it may provide us a simple metaphor to characterise our relationships in learning communities, it represents an oversimplification. Eistein has encouraged us all that our theories should be as simple as possible, but he goes on to warn us that they should be 'no simpler'. It is necessary for us to have a deeper insight into learning than would be satisfied with a definition of it as transfer or transmission of information. Part of the problem with this is a faulty segregation of the experience into a content stream and a form (medium) stream.
A superficial study of the field of education as it exists in the world today may lead people to conclude that democracy is inherent in the education process, that education breaks down the divisions of society and allows educated people to better themselves. However, the traditional forms of education tend to perpetuate distinctionand division in the world between authority and citizen, master and disciple, degree-holder and degree-seeker. This current system in education is petuating elitism, rather than democracy.
All this is not to say that the education system has been harmful overall. There was a time when information was scarce in the world and when people needed considerable time to learn how to find reliable data. In such a restricted world, it was easy to conceive of the classroom as the proper construct of a learning environment. However, today's world of social media has changed the imperative of the classroom from 'inform' to 'connect'. This, I believe is where Downes' approach would take us.
At the same time, Wiley's call not to entirely scrap a working system has value for us in the sense that many currently successful scholars will not willingly shift from the old paradigm to a new one, when the old one seems to be working for them. For example, when the Duke Univ. School of Nursing set up its online school virtual learning environment (see DUSON in Second life) and could have chosen from a wide range of interactive frameworks, they chose the metaphor of a classroom. We have a need for familiar contexts, even when new frameworks would better serve us.
Showing posts with label students. Show all posts
Showing posts with label students. Show all posts
02 July 2011
13 March 2011
The Versatility of the Short Essay
This year, I have been teaching university writing courses, two levels of business and professional writing and a course in writing for the sciences. An approach I have used in these courses is that all writing in English is based upon the successful writing of short essays. In this blog post, I want to describe a simple step-by-step method for writing such short essays.
The first step I teach in constructing a short essay is to formulate a thesis for the essay and topic sentences for the body. The thesis statement in an essay is the entire communication reduced to a single sentence. When the essay takes a stand or attempts to persuade readers, the thesis statement is as simple as the topic plus the author's opinion on the topic. But when the essence of the communication is more explanatory or procedural, the thesis statement usually describes the overall goal for the communication. For example, in this present essay, I began writing by composing the following thesis:
After the thesis and topic sentences have been drafted, the second step is to develop paragraphs based upon the topic sentences for the body. Additional explanation or descriptions can be added to the topic sentences in each paragraph as needed. Examples can also be set forth. The main goal in each paragraph is a feeling of 'completeness' in the discussion of the topic advanced in the first sentence. At this point, the body of the essay is complete in draft form.
The third step is to write introduction and conclusion paragraphs for the essay. I find that students respond well to the notion that the introduction begins with a statement of the general topic discussed in the essay and narrows that discussion, usually through a 'middle sentence', to the thesis statement, which ends the introduction. While the goal of the introduction is to end with the thesis statement, the goal of the conclusion is to begin with the thesis and to consider implications or acknowledge limitations of the discussion about to be concluded. With the completion of the conclusion, a first draft of the final essay should be complete. From this point on, the work focuses upon editing tasks, making the essay as good as it can be.
The fourth step in the essay writing process is to consider the style of expression throughout the essay. Often in the composition of an essay, writers will shift the tone, formality, or other stylistic elements of writing. Such matters can only come to light when authors look at their work as a connected and complete whole. Additionally, writers need to check to verify that each sentence in each paragraph contributes clearly to the topic set for the paragraph. Finally, writers need to introduce transitional expressions, words and phrases that help readers to move from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph in the essay.
The final step is to edit the overall essay for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other mechanical errors. A very good final exercise for authors to engage in is to read the finished written text out loud, slowly and word for word, looking for mistakes. While many students struggle significantly with such issues in their writing, even experienced writers must expend effort to correct errors in their work. Such errors detract from the overall dignity of the writing, even when they do not result in genuine miscommunication.
By following these steps, students can write a clear and simple essay without too much effort or writing experience. This simple method of essay writing is not the only productive way to write an essay, but it is one that is easy to learn and to practice. Once students have mastered this procedure (and become bored with it), they should find that their writing abilities will allow them to branch out to other, more sophisticated strategies and structures in their writing.
The first step I teach in constructing a short essay is to formulate a thesis for the essay and topic sentences for the body. The thesis statement in an essay is the entire communication reduced to a single sentence. When the essay takes a stand or attempts to persuade readers, the thesis statement is as simple as the topic plus the author's opinion on the topic. But when the essence of the communication is more explanatory or procedural, the thesis statement usually describes the overall goal for the communication. For example, in this present essay, I began writing by composing the following thesis:
Then, I wrote a sentence to describe each step in the process.I want to describe a simple step-by-step method for writing essays.
These sentences become topic sentences in their respective paragraphs in the body of the essay.The first step I teach in constructing a short essay is to formulate a thesis and topic sentences for the body.The second step is to develop paragraphs based upon the topic sentences for the body.The third step is to write introduction and conclusion paragraphs.The fourth step is to consider the style of expression throughout the essay.The final step is to edit the overall essay for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other mechanical errors.
After the thesis and topic sentences have been drafted, the second step is to develop paragraphs based upon the topic sentences for the body. Additional explanation or descriptions can be added to the topic sentences in each paragraph as needed. Examples can also be set forth. The main goal in each paragraph is a feeling of 'completeness' in the discussion of the topic advanced in the first sentence. At this point, the body of the essay is complete in draft form.
The third step is to write introduction and conclusion paragraphs for the essay. I find that students respond well to the notion that the introduction begins with a statement of the general topic discussed in the essay and narrows that discussion, usually through a 'middle sentence', to the thesis statement, which ends the introduction. While the goal of the introduction is to end with the thesis statement, the goal of the conclusion is to begin with the thesis and to consider implications or acknowledge limitations of the discussion about to be concluded. With the completion of the conclusion, a first draft of the final essay should be complete. From this point on, the work focuses upon editing tasks, making the essay as good as it can be.
The fourth step in the essay writing process is to consider the style of expression throughout the essay. Often in the composition of an essay, writers will shift the tone, formality, or other stylistic elements of writing. Such matters can only come to light when authors look at their work as a connected and complete whole. Additionally, writers need to check to verify that each sentence in each paragraph contributes clearly to the topic set for the paragraph. Finally, writers need to introduce transitional expressions, words and phrases that help readers to move from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph in the essay.
The final step is to edit the overall essay for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other mechanical errors. A very good final exercise for authors to engage in is to read the finished written text out loud, slowly and word for word, looking for mistakes. While many students struggle significantly with such issues in their writing, even experienced writers must expend effort to correct errors in their work. Such errors detract from the overall dignity of the writing, even when they do not result in genuine miscommunication.
By following these steps, students can write a clear and simple essay without too much effort or writing experience. This simple method of essay writing is not the only productive way to write an essay, but it is one that is easy to learn and to practice. Once students have mastered this procedure (and become bored with it), they should find that their writing abilities will allow them to branch out to other, more sophisticated strategies and structures in their writing.
19 January 2011
Starting a New Year
This semester, I am teaching three courses (with two sections of the science writing course), so I have been quite busy setting courses up and introducing students to the Moodle course pages and the social media tools I use in education. Although I have a small business in educational support (mentioned in other posts), I am employed by Thompson Rivers University to teach these particular courses this semester. It is important for me to state clearly that the opinions and claims made in this blog are my own and should not be taken to reflect TRU policies at any organizational level.
In the courses I am teaching, I have assigned each student to establish and contribute to a blog.Students in the science writing course have been encouraged to create a blog on some aspect of science they are interested in. Students in the professional and business writing courses have been encouraged to create the sort of blog that could support some serious academic, professional, or business endeavor. Some of the students are quite eager to begin blogging, while others are unsure of a topic to settle on. Once every student is on board with this project, I should have about 150 new blogs to add to my reading list. I hope I can keep up with them!
Along with writing in their own blogs, I am encouraging students to read each other's blogs. I intend to use this format as a forum where students can practice the skills of dialogue (reading, commenting, quoting, linking, and so forth) in the blogosphere. Although it is not a requirement for the courses, I hope that my students will get readers from the 'outside'. Even a few scholars or professionals who would interact with the students would significantly raise the self-image of these new writers. Future entries on this blog will likely link to many of these new student blogs.
In the courses I am teaching, I have assigned each student to establish and contribute to a blog.Students in the science writing course have been encouraged to create a blog on some aspect of science they are interested in. Students in the professional and business writing courses have been encouraged to create the sort of blog that could support some serious academic, professional, or business endeavor. Some of the students are quite eager to begin blogging, while others are unsure of a topic to settle on. Once every student is on board with this project, I should have about 150 new blogs to add to my reading list. I hope I can keep up with them!
Along with writing in their own blogs, I am encouraging students to read each other's blogs. I intend to use this format as a forum where students can practice the skills of dialogue (reading, commenting, quoting, linking, and so forth) in the blogosphere. Although it is not a requirement for the courses, I hope that my students will get readers from the 'outside'. Even a few scholars or professionals who would interact with the students would significantly raise the self-image of these new writers. Future entries on this blog will likely link to many of these new student blogs.
03 June 2010
Waving at Education
I know, I know... It's been a very long time since I have written in this blog (but it's probably been almost as long since anyone has checked for new posts, so I may not have upset too many people (smile).
Today, I have something to write about that has been perking on the back burner for some time. When the news came out a couple weeks ago that Google Wave was publicly available, I wanted to write immediately about the event. I think this is great news, and I would like to let everyone know how much fun it is and how fruitful communication seems on Google Wave.
I just finished (re)watching a very good introduction to Google Wave by Gina Trapani. She carefully balances her enthusiasm for the application with acknowledgment of some of its difficulties. She also balances a strong desire to motivate people to use Google Wave with a clear articulation of the very best situations to use the application in. I won't try to summarize her work here. I would encourage readers to pursue viewing her video as they have time (but soon, please!). For readers (whoever you are) who don't have time for a 15 minute presentation like Gina's and you have an account with Diigo, you may well prefer to browse my links on Google Wave.
I am presently helping 6 students make their way through a course on business writing. Teams of two of them each are exploring the use of Web 2.0 tools in business. So, two are exploring Diigo, two, Google Docs, and two, Skype. That leaves Google Wave for me to explore and share with the class. Sessions (both face-to-face in the lab and online (using the Web 2.0 apps) have been exciting for me (and I think, for the class as well). Certainly when students consistently exceed my expectations in their work, both in terms of quality and quantity, I am a happy teacher. I'm sure this course will be over all too quickly, and I will have to seek out new ways to engage students in their education.
Today, I have something to write about that has been perking on the back burner for some time. When the news came out a couple weeks ago that Google Wave was publicly available, I wanted to write immediately about the event. I think this is great news, and I would like to let everyone know how much fun it is and how fruitful communication seems on Google Wave.
I just finished (re)watching a very good introduction to Google Wave by Gina Trapani. She carefully balances her enthusiasm for the application with acknowledgment of some of its difficulties. She also balances a strong desire to motivate people to use Google Wave with a clear articulation of the very best situations to use the application in. I won't try to summarize her work here. I would encourage readers to pursue viewing her video as they have time (but soon, please!). For readers (whoever you are) who don't have time for a 15 minute presentation like Gina's and you have an account with Diigo, you may well prefer to browse my links on Google Wave.
I am presently helping 6 students make their way through a course on business writing. Teams of two of them each are exploring the use of Web 2.0 tools in business. So, two are exploring Diigo, two, Google Docs, and two, Skype. That leaves Google Wave for me to explore and share with the class. Sessions (both face-to-face in the lab and online (using the Web 2.0 apps) have been exciting for me (and I think, for the class as well). Certainly when students consistently exceed my expectations in their work, both in terms of quality and quantity, I am a happy teacher. I'm sure this course will be over all too quickly, and I will have to seek out new ways to engage students in their education.
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