Guest Blogger: Mel Leaman
Is it routine or ritual? The former suggests the mundane; merely a thoughtless “it’s just something you have to do” expense of energy. Its purpose is lost in its practice. However, if those first five minutes hold a sense of the sacramental, the seemingly routine is alive with an auspicious presence. It sets the stage for wonder; a mystery of the moment. Someone notices. Something is missed in the absence of the ritual. So it is that everyday I walk into the classroom I share a word of welcome. A half-hearted response by the few who do not have their ears muffed with headphones or their eyes skimming texts messages is a sufficient connection. Someone would notice if the class was not greeted with a smiling face and a “Good morning, class.” The absence of presence would bring a cause for pause: “What’s wrong with Dr. Leaman today?” The ritual plays on as I state the objectives for the day and then remind them that as I take attendance they should be sure to make their last minute calls or text messages. Frequently, as they acknowledge their presence I will say “welcome” to each student. When the final name is called the students anticipate, not necessarily appreciate, the professor’s next line: “Ok, we are ready for the day. Let’s put everything away that is not pertinent to the educational process and get started.”
Since midterm I inserted another part of the ritual. On the first day of class the students were given an information form. In addition to name, major, birthday, and hometown they were invited to list hobbies, a color that represents an aspect of their personality, and a favorite movie and song. They used these forms to introduce themselves to their nearest neighbor. A few weeks ago I started to feature a student and his/her favorite song while I took attendance. Pertinent and appropriate information from the student’s form is flashed on the screen and the You Tube version of his/her favorite song is played. It was stated on the first day of this exercise that if a student did not want to be featured or wanted to change his/her song, it was not too late to notify me of these wishes. One student took advantage of this opportunity. She selected a different song.
Is it routine or ritual? Is it just something you have to do or a sacred, celebrative act that creates connection and community- an auspicious moment of meaning and belonging? Yesterday, the ritual was affirmed. It was test day. We all know the usual anxiety that accompanies exams. Students want to quickly regurgitate what they had crammed down their throats prior to the class. In that light, the professor decided to forego the feature student and song. The test was distributed and instructions were beginning when a student interrupted, “Dr. Leaman, you forgot the song!” I smiled to myself and mused about how religious we had already become in regard to this ritual. My heart was warmed.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Teaching Grammar/Learning Grammar. Sigh.
Guest Blogger: Linda Stine
Like everyone else, I've been moaning and groaning my way through midterms this week. And, like perhaps at least some of you, I've been wondering if my grammar explanations have been doing more harm than good, as I note fragmented ideas and run-on sentences and commas popping up in locations that just seem to belie any rational explanation.
On a listserv for writing teachers recently, a good conversation has been taking place on the whole issue of grammar instruction, student writing, and transferability of writing skills. We know that learning a new concept causes temporary backsliding as students struggle to fit the new knowledge into their existing sense of language structure and begin questioning everything, even concepts that they had previously mastered. (I like to think that's the reason for all those inexplicable commas...). We know too that the same backsliding occurs when students are asked to write on more complicated issues or in other classes with different content matter. We know too that teaching grammar directly and explicitly does little to improve student writing.
So given that, I was wondering what ways you have found that help your students learn, internalize, master, and transfer effectively to other classes the basic concepts of academic grammar and mechanics? Do you discuss grammar rules and then ask students to practice them in exercises before applying them in their own writing? Do you start with the students' own writing and work mainly on getting them to clarify their thoughts, trusting that grammar issues will clear themselves up without formal instruction simply as a side effect of clearer thinking and wider reading? Do you note grammar errors on papers? How? Where? When? Why? Do you have any techniques that work well for you that you could share with the rest of us? Or do you have questions about the whole pesky "good grammar” issue that you keep wrestling with without finding a good answer?
What should we all be doing, I wonder, to ensure that we are graduating students who can write clear, standard, academic English?
Like everyone else, I've been moaning and groaning my way through midterms this week. And, like perhaps at least some of you, I've been wondering if my grammar explanations have been doing more harm than good, as I note fragmented ideas and run-on sentences and commas popping up in locations that just seem to belie any rational explanation.
On a listserv for writing teachers recently, a good conversation has been taking place on the whole issue of grammar instruction, student writing, and transferability of writing skills. We know that learning a new concept causes temporary backsliding as students struggle to fit the new knowledge into their existing sense of language structure and begin questioning everything, even concepts that they had previously mastered. (I like to think that's the reason for all those inexplicable commas...). We know too that the same backsliding occurs when students are asked to write on more complicated issues or in other classes with different content matter. We know too that teaching grammar directly and explicitly does little to improve student writing.
So given that, I was wondering what ways you have found that help your students learn, internalize, master, and transfer effectively to other classes the basic concepts of academic grammar and mechanics? Do you discuss grammar rules and then ask students to practice them in exercises before applying them in their own writing? Do you start with the students' own writing and work mainly on getting them to clarify their thoughts, trusting that grammar issues will clear themselves up without formal instruction simply as a side effect of clearer thinking and wider reading? Do you note grammar errors on papers? How? Where? When? Why? Do you have any techniques that work well for you that you could share with the rest of us? Or do you have questions about the whole pesky "good grammar” issue that you keep wrestling with without finding a good answer?
What should we all be doing, I wonder, to ensure that we are graduating students who can write clear, standard, academic English?
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