Transcript Using Journals - Quinnipiac University

Using Journals
Crafting Informal Writing Questions
to Help Structure Discussions and Formal
Assignments
Monday, September 17, 2007
8:00-10:00 am
SC207
This is a workshop intended to assist those teaching
QU101 and QU201 sections, or any discussion-based
course, on how to use various kinds of informal/lowstakes writing to help their students think about the
readings and to promote discussion in class. Specific
emphasis will be given to crafting informal questions
for use in and out of class, structuring those
assignments into group exercises, and into longer
scaffolded assignments. We’ll also talk about how to
evaluate those assignments—on their own or as part
of a journal assignment, and the presentation will
include models for each part of the talk.
Presented by Bob Smart
Using Journals
Professor of English
In writing circles (English and non-English),
folks talk about three kinds of academic
journals:
1. Freewrite journals
2. Lab journals
3. Thinking and writing journals
We are mostly concerned here with #3
What kind of Journals?
A freewrite journal is a kind of work diary in
which you note passing ideas,
associations with things you have learned
about or though about before.
A lab journal is usually attached to an extra
class in a science or archaeology or
computer science class in which
measurements or lab results are
recorded.
What are freewrite and lab
journals?
Is pretty much what it says:
A Thinking and Writing Journal?
The specific relationship between the journal
and your class is that the journal allows the
students to learn how to think critically or
problem solve in a low stakes environment.
That means that they will be graded on effort
and thoroughness, not necessarily on
correctness.
(note that this would not necessarily be true of
a lab journal, which might need to be
corrected for a grade)
The thinking part:
The usual in this kind of practice is to
promote new ideas, new ways of thinking
about old ideas, and different solutions to
various problems by having students
rethink what you have done in class and
in the reading/discussions---To do that you use WTL’s, or writing to
learn, low stakes writing.
The thinking, part deux:
At Quinnipiac, your friendly, local WAC
committee has promoted using three
cognitive tasks (which together define what
we mean by critical thinking):
1. Prioritization: this is the “gateway” task for
critical thinking—if students can’t tell the
difference between what’s most important
and what’s least important, they won’t be
able to accomplish anything that looks like
analysis in their papers
The Thinking, part trois:
Samples of prioritization WTL’s:
1.
2.
After you have read the first half of
Zimbardo, underline the most important
line or phrase in what you read and explain
briefly in your journals why you believe this
to be the most important line.
In his essay, Zimbardo offers three
arguments for his situationalist theory of
human evil (pages 23, 25, 27): which of
these three do you believe is the most
persuasive and why? One paragraph in your
journals, please, and be ready to share.
Thinking, quatre:
Prioritization works because it doesn’t ask
for a right or wrong answer, it asks
students to make sense of something on
paper, and it asks them to explain what
they said. You can work with this in class.
Thinking, cinque:
The next higher order thinking skill we promote is
translation, which amounts to locating or being
assigned tough passages which you need to
restate in your own words.
For example, this is Zimbardo on page 8 of your
QU Readers: “We are not born with
tendencies toward good or evil but with
mental templates to do either. What I mean
is that we have the potential to be better or
worse than anyone who has existed in the
past, to be more creative and more
destructive, to make the world a better
place or a worse place than before.”
Thinking moving into writing:
In your journals, identify the key part of
the passage I just quoted for you, explain
why you believe it to be the key one, and
then restate what Zimbardo says in a
specific and clear sentence of your own.
Be prepared to share this sentence with
the class.
Now that you have translated Zimbardo, do
you agree with him? Why or why not?
Thinking moving into writing 2
Notice a couple of things:
We always go back to prioritization,
since that is also the gateway skill to
critical reading, and this is what you are
asking your students to do; and
2. The tasks are always connected to
something we are doing—class
discussion, group work they have to
report out on, a later assignment
1.
Thinking into writing 3
This is important:
Journals of any kind fail, almost invariably,
when the students (and usually the
instructor) can’t see any connection to the
work in class.
Thinking into writing 4
Third higher order thinking skill, one that builds on
the first two: analogization, the art of drawing
analogies between things.
You can think critically if you can draw analogies
between things: this argument is like the one we
talked about in class two weeks ago
because……………..
You have to be able to see the most important
features of the two comparatives (prioritization),
to understand the main points for yourself
(translation) and then to explain the connections
and comparisons.
Thinking into writing 5
At QU, the WAC folks have called this
exercise “thematic triangulation,”
something that’s briefly explained in the
preface to your QU Reader.
Shall we try it briefly?
First thing,
Look at the fancy handout I brought in, the
one with the story called “The Eclipse” on
it.
Read the story quickly (it should take a
couple of minutes at most), then
underline the most important line or
phrase in the story. Explain why on the
page, below the story. Use 2-3 sentences
if you would.
Thematic Triangulation 1
Now, on the other side of this story you will
find something by Mohandas Gandhi:
look closely at the advice that
Mohandas Gandhi gave his grandson
before the elder Gandhi died: how
many of these blunders are
represented in “The Eclipse?” In the
spaces below the list, identify the
blunder and the place in the story
where you see it exemplified.
Thematic Triangulation 2
Exercise 1, with “The Eclipse,” works primarily
with prioritization, which exercise two on the
“blunders” works with both translation and
with analogy:
Notice what you are ready to do now—lead a
discussion about the story in a lit class,
explain how working overseas often carries
with it the opportunity to blunder this way,
create a group exercise on other cultures that
highlights differences and similarities? The
list goes on.
Thematic Triangulation 3
You can do both exercises in one 50 minute
class: the point is to have your students
use the writing they do in the journals to
think creatively and deeply about the
issues you have arranged for them in the
course.
Now they can also write more cogently
about those topics, using the work they
did with you as the basis for that work.
Writing 1
Example:
“Using the responses you composed for both
the story and the list of blunders, I need you
to prepare a 1-2 paragraph explanation of
why Brother Arazzola failed and was
‘eclipsed.’”
Once you are done, post the paragraphs on
Blackboard, as part of a threaded
discussion—then choose 2 other comments
by classmates and post a response to both.
Come into class with a paper copy of both
your original post and the two best responses
to your posting.
Writing 2
The important point to remember is that
you can make your journals “count” in a
variety of ways that do not require you to
drag them home and grade them:
1. Use them as part of class discussion or
group work;
2. Have your students build longer (and
longer) assignment responses to the
work. You only need to count the formal
paper written at the end.
3. Give them credit: total number of points
possible, check + or -, see examples.
Writing 3
This is an exercise that John Bean, author
of Engaging Ideas (I have a few copies to
give away) came up with. It’s called a
“frame paragraph” and it’s a deliciously
useful way to move someone towards a
longer essay, argument, text.
See the quick handout I brought in.
One very cool exercise
Thanks for your attention—let me know
if anything works.
2. Let’s do questions and queries
3. In November, we will be asking folks
who have tried doing something like this
and have found something that works
well to help us create a “WAC Casebook”
on our website. Please consider
yourselves invited to share this with
other faculty. Email them to me.
1.
Finally, thanks.
Something for later today: