FInal Thoughts

I am about done grading and wanted to post some thoughts I've been having too. I agree with everything Dr. Rogers posted about the second literature review. More time and some way of requiring them to work with sources seems important.

I also have many papers with only a few sources, not cited well, and all one-sided. I've written the same comment on at least 4 papers from each class, that they have written an argument paper and not a literature review and that they need to find what the other sides are saying.

I have lots of little changes that I want to make about how I handle the class and how to get them thinking about things, but the big change I want to make is to avoid the dumbfounding lack of workshop attendance at the end of the semester. Many of the big problems I have with the second Lit. Review could have been addressed if they had brought papers to the last workshop day. So, I think I'm going to include the workshop points into the paper.

My initial thought is that 40% of each paper grade will come from workshop points with the rest coming from the final draft of the paper. My hope is that this will help them realize how important the workshops are to the success of the paper and how important the editing and re-writing phase is to improve the writing.

I also think that having a list of pre-approved topics is needed and will look at Weber Writes for ideas over the summer.

Parting Thoughts & Notes for Next Time

1. I did not leave enough time for the second literature review. Consider fewer texts on the front end of the course. 
2. I need to force them to work with their sources earlier. Perhaps some sort of assignment throughout the semester where they are conducting a little research.
3. I need to force them to narrow topics much earlier than they are. Some of them still had massive, massive topics.
4. Some of them really blew it on this last assignment by only using a couple of sources. This connects to #2.
5. I need to consider limiting their options for topics.  Or perhaps providing them with a variety of topics they can choose from if they are having difficulty thinking of one.
6. There should be some kind of mechanism in the workshopping of lit review 2 that forces the students to identify the debate that is being discussed.
7. Perhaps use Weber Writes and force them to choose lit review topics out of it.

The good and bad

As with a few other things in class, I find myself simultaneously impressed and disappointed by my students.

I am mostly impressed with the topics they've been choosing. I was expecting to have to whittle down immense, broad topics like abortion, gun control, and marijuana into smaller, more manageable topics. Instead they've chosen focused topics that they are interested in and will make for some intriguing literature reviews. A geology major is researching about the Utah government trying to seize control of public lands. Another student is exploring whether supposed steroid users should be allowed in the baseball hall of fame. One of the topics I'm most interested to read about is whether deaf infants should be given auditory implants that replicate hearing. The majority of society says yes; segments of the deaf community (the "proud deaf") say no.

Now for the disappointment. Their research skills. For a generation brought up on the internet, I'm amazed at how little of it they actually understand. In our exercise on finding sources, 95% came up with "Google it."

Which isn't a bad start. But that's all they had. They didn't know where to go from there.

I showed them Google Scholar. We went through JSTOR and the library databases. When they came back for the next class, many reported that they hadn't been able to find anything. Apparently they had clicked on an article and when the full text didn't immediately appear, they gave up. I had to show them ways to keep searching for the articles.

Most of them had no idea what The Onion was. Most of them seemed surprised that there was actually fake news on the internet.

It's interesting that the characterization I most often hear about this generation is "they may have a lot of weaknesses, but at least they're tech-savvy." They're tech-savvy, but only to a point.

Research

So what is surprising you about a) their topics and b) their research skills?

Changes I would make

Workshopping has generally gone well, though I've seen several things I'll do differently next time. Here's a brief overview of what we've done:

• I've had the students bring in 3-5 pages each workshop session. They print off three drafts to share with the other students.
• With the exception of the final workshop day, I've broken them up into groups of three to four. On the final day we picked 3 or 4 drafts and went over them together on the overhead.
• The students circulate their drafts through their groups, each student making suggested changes, additions, and cuts. These drafts are then turned back to the original student.

We discussed the benefits of this in class last Monday: the sharing of ideas, exposing students to new approaches to writing, class-wide involvement. I won't go into that anymore. Rather, here is what I would change next time.

• Be more strict with the workshopping. I allowed the students who hadn't brought anything to workshop to participate and give feedback to the others in the group, thinking at least this would give them exposure to some of their peers' writing. Although there were only two or three in each class, this weakened the quality of the workshop overall as the students didn't take it as seriously (many didn't bring the minimum page count) and those who did weren't able to review other works. I think I'll go with Tyler's strategy next time and just dismiss whoever didn't bring material.
• Outline workshop expectations further ahead of time. The students didn't know exactly what to expect from the workshops because I wasn't sure either. It took the first day to know just what I wanted to do. Now that I know, I can outline this for them sooner next time.
• Give a better explanation of the component parts. I had figured they had a pretty good idea of what to do in the introduction, body, and conclusion before we started workshopping, since we had spent a good deal of time discussing it. I was wrong. The first introductions we drafted were along the lines of "In Mr. Mickel's class we have discussed eight different articles. They are about education," or "On a bright, spring day, eight renowned authors walk into the Cafe Ville Belle to have a conversation about education."
• One change I can make to remedy the above is to characterize the first workshop not as "the introduction to your lit review," but as "a 3 to 4 page discussion of the issue, why it's important and what the debates are."

I'm looking forward to workshopping the second lit review so I can implement all these changes.

Workshopping

Well, Tuesday went well. I had them bring in the main point of each article, so they had them all together, and the list of groups they had decided on along with which authors they put into each group. Then they made sure that each other had the main points right and that the groups/authors made sense. I went around to each group and answered questions to guide them on organization.

That all seemed productive and useful to them, but I told them to bring in 4 pages on one of the groups/themes they had chosen so that we could work on the organization within one group and that did not work as well.

Each class only had about 11 or 12 people show up, but part of that could have been the snow. Of those that showed, only 4 or 5 brought any writing to workshop. I told the rest that if they didn't have anything to work on, then it was pointless for them to be there.

Did either of you have large groups of students just fail to show up on the workshopping days with anything to work on? The ones who came and didn't have anything didn't seem like they didn't know they were supposed to bring something, they just didn't do it.

Workshopping

How has workshopping been going?

Picking a Fight

I'm getting the feeling that my classes are a little intimidated by the concept of a lit. review. Not because lit reviews are necessarily harder to write than other papers, but because the students simply haven't written anything like it before. To help them get a feel for what a lit. review really is, I started a premeditated argument with them.

After closing up the Wilson article I brought up the Grammy Awards last week. We talked a little bit, then I said, "I'm sorry, this is a little off the topic, but I just have to say--the music you guys like is horrible. You have really bad music these days," and started an argument on music. I gave the usual cranky-older-generation reasons for why their music sucks: real music isn't made with a computer, current lyrics are nonsensical, band names don't make any sense, that kind of thing. I was lobbing them softballs really, hoping they would argue with me (the best part was bitching about how all the bands today are into drugs, unlike, say, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles).

I arranged with a student beforehand to take notes on everything that was said, as well as who said it, then had that student come up when the argument was over. I then mapped out (in flow-chart form) the argument we had had, asking the general topic (music), my stance (their music sucks), and the different debates and discussions that ensued. We also attributed statements and rebuttals to whoever offered them.

From there I explained how the argument we had just had, as well as its accompanying chart, was the same thing they would be doing in their lit. review. They would need to know what the main topic was, what the major debates within that topic were, who had said what and how they related to each other.

It worked even better than I had hoped. The concept seemed to click with them in a way that other discussions we had had about lit. reviews hadn't, and the students were fully engaged and even excited. Not to mention the enjoyment I had berating their music.

Turns out a lot of Weber students know a surprising amount about Led Zeppelin.

We'll see how the workshopping goes next week. Like Tyler, I'm interested to discuss the best ways to do this on Monday.

Transition to Lit. Review

I've been touching on this by asking them how different articles would respond to each other, but have not done too much as most of the class time has been spent making sure that they all understand each article.

My plan this week is to talk about how to put these articles into camps or points on a spectrum and what those camps/points could be. I'm also asking them to write the summary for Thursday that encompasses all of the articles in this discussion. I'm hoping that they will be able to come up with what amounts to their first page or so of the literature review.

One of my students asked for an example of what a literature review looks like. I had deliberated on if that would be more helpful or confusing, but have decided to show them an example and some resources I found online with guides on how to write a literature review.

I'm interested to hear other ideas for the work-shopping sessions. Most of my students have not been able to give each other much feedback in the group settings because they don't know what is good or bad about each others papers.

Getting Close...

Apologies for canceling class on Monday. It shouldn't happen again. So. We're getting close to the first literature review. How are you making the transition from writing summaries to putting them in conversation? What kinds of activities are you doing in class to address this?

Tips and Tricks

Lately, I've been getting my students to articulate the point of an essay and then assemble a list of supporting points so that we can discuss the relationship between the primary claim and the evidence. How are you getting them to see the relationship between the two?

Simple, direct, and specific

The comments that have been most helpful to me typically have the three following attributes: they are simple, they are direct, and they are specific.

Simple: I'm amazed that, with commenting, less is often more. We discussed this briefly in class the other day. Novice teachers tend to give rambling, long-winded responses hoping it will help the student. Skilled teachers are able to condense those comments into simple phrases. Some examples of simple comments that come to mind would be "Confusing grammar," "Why does this point follow this one?" "Relate to main argument," or even "I don't follow." These get straight to the point without bogging the mind down in excessive detail.

When I grade I try and catch myself writing more than a line or two. If I go over, I reevaluate my comments and simplify.

Direct: Surprisingly, the brusque comments that cut straight through to my weaknesses as a writer are not only the most helpful, but are actually easier for me to accept than the sugar-coated ones. I would rather see a "This doesn't make sense" than a long, timid response filled with phrases like "you may want to look into" or "I can see what you're trying to do here."

Specific: This one is pretty easy, and I've had to catch myself violating it in my own grading. Rather than saying "Good," I want to have it spelled out. Just what was good about it? Saying "You've covered each point well and your paper has a clear, logical procession of ideas" is more valuable feedback to me as a writer than just "good." Same thing goes for "Bad" or "Awk."

I've made an effort to follow these principles when I grade. It is sometimes difficult, as simplicity and specificity can sometimes run counter to each other, but I'm learning.

Commenting

What kinds of instructor comments on your writing are the most valuable to you? How will this influence how you comment on your students' writing?

99 Problems but a Thesis ain't one.

I have been struggling with many things in my classes, but finding the thesis hasn't been a problem that I've noticed too much. I'm having more struggle to get them to stop using quotes and to start using the authors name for each idea that the author writes about.

It is slowly getting better, but I have a few students in each class that are not listening when I say that they need to write that the author states these ideas on pretty much every sentence in the summary or else it is their reaction and opinion of the article and not a summary. I've started getting harsher in my grading for these things that we've discussed numerous times already. I'm steeling myself for how much of that I'm going to deal with on the first literature review.

The other issue that is still happening more that I expect is direct quotation from the text. I've explained that a quote can be used to support your point, but since they are not making their own point, then quotes are unneeded and take up too much space in a short summary.

My experiment to show the class an example of a summary that had some problems so that we could correct it in class met with mixed results. I chose a summary that had too much wrong with it, so they didn't even know where to start. Some students, the better ones, got quite a lot out of that experiment, but the ones who needed the help didn't.

Tues. I'm having them each write a 50-75 word summary and we are going to review them as a class for pretty much the whole class period so that they get feedback from their peers rather than just me.

Problems!

So I encountered an unexpected frustration last week when my students seemingly lost the ability to see the larger point of the essays we were reading. They could understand the constituent parts and summarize them accurately, but when I asked them to find the thesis, they all came up with a different quote. What kinds of problems have you experienced thus far? How have you dealt with them?

First Week

The first week was a little nerve wracking about the anxieties I listed before, but now I feel much better about the relationship with the classes.

I see what you said about them struggling to write a summary. I read through the pre-tests and most of them have the general idea of the article, but there are many instances where they take a point out of context and try to make it say something very different than what it actually says.

I am curious to look at future readings to see if they cover this or if I should just do something soon on my own, but I feel like they could use help in how to read an article. How to figure out what the thesis is and what the most important points are feels like a struggle for them. I know that doing the summaries and getting feedback from me will help, but I would like to have something to show them how and I haven't figured out yet what that will be.

Anxieties

I have a bit of anxiety about impostor syndrome. I know that I can write well, and my experiences in the writing center have shown me that I can help others to write well, but now that I'm responsible for not just giving feedback and suggestions but also grading assignments, I have a little anxiety about that.

I have some worry each day that I won't be able to get a discussion going well enough to fill the time and that I'll be left with 20 mins. and nothing to do, but so far that has not been a problem. In fact, I've been watching the clock to make sure we don't go over.

Overall, my biggest concern is making sure I take time to do all of the things I need to get done. Balancing my class work for Masters classes and lesson planning and grading against helping my wife take care of the baby will require a lot of work. Thankfully, she is understanding when I say that I have to go read for a few hours.

First week

The first week was great. We've had some good discussions already and, so far, the students have been engaged and enthusiastic. I've enjoyed it and have finished each class excited for the next. Three quick thoughts:

• My biggest question right now is how to steer the discussion towards the most productive end. Based on the first week, getting them to share thoughts and say what they're thinking doesn't appear to be an issue. The issue will be how do I best capitalize on the discussion and assist them in thinking more critically about the readings without doing all the thinking for them. I know there is an art to this and it takes a good deal of practice. I'm hoping I can develop a better feel for it now rather than later. 
• I can see what Dr. Rogers meant when he told us "you're not as funny as you think." A couple of times I've felt like I'm on a sitcom like Seinfeld and there's a laugh track. It goes off whether what I said was funny or not (so I suppose it's more like when Bob Saget hosted America's Funniest Home Videos).
• Grading. Wow. I decided to grade all 48 in-class writings the day they were turned in. It wasn't easy. I'm going to have to learn to be more efficient.

First Week?

How was the first week? Did it meet your expectations? How are the classes? Any concerns? Any delightful things you didn't expect?

Getting Started

Right now I'm anxious about the logistics--getting everything correct on the syllabus, printing out the student lists, making sure I even know where to show up tomorrow, that kind of thing. But beneath that is the anxiety of facing twenty four college students and being their teacher. I used to think once I'd taught or presented enough that I'd no longer be nervous, but now I realize that's not true. I'll get nervous no matter what. That's part of the experience, I guess.

The key for me is to go in knowing what we'll be talking about. Preparation, in other words. When I've gotten in trouble in the past (giving a business presentation, teaching a church lesson, even teaching a grammar workshop at the WC) has been when I try and wing it. My goal is to never have to wing it this semester.

Before writing this I browsed through some of the other posts, primarily the "What did you learn this semester?" ones just below. I'm really glad we have that. It answered a number of issues I've already been wondering about, the two biggest being "Remember that they're NOT you" and not trying to save them all.

I'm the "I'm going to save them all!" guy. I don't want to be that guy. It leads to burnout. I'm going to go into this with the old addage "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it" firmly in mind.

Having said that, I'm excited. Bring it on.

Here We Go!

Once again, you'll be blogging for me. Here's your first prompt: what are your anxieties about teaching this semester?