Identify
where you think students may fail in an assignment in your syllabus,
and how you will use that at a teachable moment by design.
I don't want to think that any of my students will fail at any of my assignments; but I will admit that I think my students might struggle with the podcast assignment on Monday February 15. I would expect my students to write out their response to the critical questions in essay form, and then they would have to adapt it to speech. This would require students to be able to fluidly shift between the written word and the spoken word.
I think with the assignment, I would require my students to turn in their essays with the podcast, and if I wanted to make it even higher level thinking and more challenging for my students, I would require that their essays and their podcast are not the same. What I mean is, I would require my students to write a formal essay to turn in, and then produce the podcast without simply reading off the paper.
I think this assignment will force students to learn the difference, and have hands on experience with, using different modalities, shifting between written and spoken words.
As for using a teachable moment, I would acknowledge the fact that students may struggle with alternating between writing and speaking, as well as formal and informal writing.
I also think that having the podcasts available for all students to listen can create a larger discussion of the texts on Blackboard and in class. I also think using podcasts will help students learn the rhetorical power of voice both in writing and speaking.
This idea stems from our conversation in class regarding using "I" in essays. Our students can easily convey their voice and opinion when speaking, so I want them to learn how to use "I" correctly in their writing, and take notice of how "I" is a flexible term.
Meghan, I like your point that students have an easier time conveying their point when they are speaking as opposed to writing. You're right; through speaking, students are more able to grasp that using "I" is not wrong, and it is also not the focus of a point one is making. Basic writers fall into the "I think that/I believe that" trap so easily in their work. It can be much easier to get them out of that mindset when they are speaking their argument. I like that you are having them do both a podcast and an essay in this assignment.
ReplyDeleteThe podcast assignment could be really hard to deal with in any given class, including the class that we're in right now. But I agree with you and with Emma; students are more expressive with speaking up in class than they are with writing a formal paper. From the point of view of someone like me, who started out each Freshman English class by sludging through the unbearable process of formal rhetoric writing, I can admit that there are more freedoms with speaking than with a more restrictive, but professional essay. You do have a point about the different modalities of writing and speaking. You really have to add in your own things or make some abbreviations before translating formal writing to the looser aspect of public speaking. I usually write an outline or speech notes if I have to do any sort of presentation along with a formal report, just so that I can have bare bones where I can add in the supportive meat that is more organically oral dialogue. I view public speaking and formal writing as two different mediums that require different approaches or measures to support each one.
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