Reflection Through Examining Beliefs

Amy, Karin, Josh

We want students to be aware of their writing as they write and know why they write what they write.

What are your beliefs about writing?

1. Take a beginning inventory of beliefs (Think, Pair, Share activity).  This inventory will be posted to blackboard for students to revisit independently and as a group throughout the semester.
2. The living document is revisited (and expanded as deemed necessary) with each writing assignment, through a reflection exercise that will prompt students to think about and reconsider/re-assess their own perceptions as they relate to the finished essay.
3. These moments of reflection take place following each assignment--focusing on connecting the assignment's content to course outcomes through writing inventory, both as a class and as individuals. This will enable students to re-examine their own perceptions about writing as it changes and grows throughout the semester.
4. Take an end inventory of beliefs and globally reflect on the changes, why/if there are changes, what students learned about writing, etc...

BDTAG criteria

Information literacy peer review assignment based on the BDTAG criteria:

We feel that students have good ideas about types of sources, diverse voices, credibility and authority they should be using to support, but this is often not reflected in their WC pages based on the sources they choose.  Within the peer review process we will focus on source choices and try to get students to reflect on their use of sources.  Take a look at the rough draft bibliography and ask why they think, doubts, what do I think, agree, what grade?  This will be a teacher student interaction.  The short-term advantages are a better product; however, the long-term benefits are better self-reviewers, peer reviewers who take on more responsibility for their work and it becomes less teacher led.

Keywords: Jo, Daniel, and Eric

Reflection on keywords: Jo, Eric, Daniel

Using keywords for reflection:

Eric used basic writing terms such as purpose, audience, unity, focus, development and tone as a basis for a reflection mid-term reflection.  This reflection would enable students to measure their process and progress versus the terms and how they have been discussed in previous classes.  Students might compose the reflection and then bring it with them to the Writing Center, discussing how they addressed each of those important terms.

Dan discussed using some terms from rhetorical approaches including analysis, synthesis, logos, ethos, and pathos.  Dan would use those terms to have the students do a reflection in writing in which they would use at least 4 of the 6, and would consider how well they address those rhetorical devices in a research project.  This would be to analyze a research project toward the end of a term.

Jo would use terms from tech writing, emphasizing audience and purpose and the rhetorical nature of business writing and how they would use that, adding such features as the rhetorical nature of page design. Jo also mentioned the important of cultural contexts in terms of audience awareness in business.

Reflecting on Reflection

Yvette, Sonja, Michele, and Cynthia's Reflections on Reflection


We like most of these reflective methods, but when combined with which one also fits our various pedagogies, we'd likely choose The Post-Essay Reflection.  We're impressed by the variety of ways it can be used from indivual essay reflections to the final portfolio reflection.

This particular prompt that focuses on research and source use captures a specificity that is useful for students so that they can focus on particular goals of an assignment or of the course or a unit. This increases the likelihood of the transferability of skills. 

The genre of post-essay reflection lends itself to brief informal texts such as blog posts as well as more formal texts such as essays-on-essays (otherwise known as the meta-essay).  This flexibility provides for ease of scaffolding and can be combined, including for more robust end-of-term reflections that represent more complex ideas.

Come talk to me. . .

We have chosen reflection-in-action to use in our composition classroom. We envision possibly using this  to help prepare students for a project progress check (individual conference) with the professor. We would have them reflect on the formal activity to be discussed and submit it with the project on Blackboard. We would use the belief, doubt, teacher, agree?, and grade model.

We would choose to do this because we believe that it would create a more robust discussion about their project, since they would  look at their writing from different lenses.

To be developed. . .
Maria, Brenda, Bob, Claudia

Criteria for Blogging: FOWI Exercise

So now you have posted to the prompt--and thanks!--what criteria shall we use to assess this work?

Reflection

Adding context to response: of these models of reflection, which seems the best fit for your pedagogy and why? How could you use it?

In answering this question, please feel free to work with on or two colleagues and please create a new post.

Thanks!

Welcome: Update on Assessment Language and Scoring Guides

On Tuesday we identified some key terms/concepts and talked about scoring guides. If you were there, could you please provide a quick update by (1) identifying what you think the most important assessment concept is and why; and (2) identify one reason you might use a scoring guide. If you were not with us on Tuesday, please identify a question you'd like us to consider today.

In writing, please simply use the respond button;  you don't need to create a new post.

Thanks!