Writings to be Evaluated

1. The Writer in Me
2. Plagiarism: How it Has Affected Me
3. Bartholomae and I
4.  The Effectivity of Peer Reader Response

Multi Genre Project

For this class, we had to conclude the course by creating a multi genre project. I decided to manage the topic of plagiarism when teaching writing. I will present to you part of the prologue and you keep on interested on my presentation you can click on the link below to view it completely.

http://antiplagiarism.wordpress.com/

Writing Activity Demonstration

As a teacher, I must be very creative with students, specially ESL learners when it comes to writing. Many of them seem quit resistant towards the writing process because, according to them, they do not know how to write well. Many of them have this problem and refuse to give writing a try due to the fear they have of being ridiculed. I always like to start of with a writing assignment that can be easy for them and at the same time will jump start their imaginative sense of writing as well as giving me, their teacher, insights of the students true writing skills.

The assignment that I use to jump start the semester is the “Create your own ending” assignment. First the class will read an original fairy tale of their choice. When they are about to reach the ending, the reading will come to a hault. The students will now have to finish the story using criteria established at the beginning of the class in an amount of words established by the teacher. This will give the student the sense of following direction and also being unique.

I believe in the Expresivist theory. By starting informal writing a student is most likely to understand the complexities of the writing process and will eventually develop his or her formal writing skills. The purpose of this activity is to enhance students creativity and teach them the importance of following direction. This activity also teaches the students that writing is best when it is unique and that no one can copy their writing style, therefore giving space for their assignments to stand out.

Little Red Riding Hood: Revised

Activity #1 Reading

Students will read the story of Little Red Riding Hood

Activity #2 Class Discussion

If the story would be written today, what gender roles would change?

Students will discuss the gender roles (character traits) that show up in the fairy tale written in the 19th century.

Characters                                              19th Century                                          Present Time
Little Red Riding Hood
Hunter
Wolf
Grandmother

After presenting and discussing them, students will have to establish what gender roles would go if the fairy tale were written in the year 2008.

Activity #3

After reading most of the fairy tale, the reading will come to a hault. After the students choose one gender role they would like to change from whichever character, they will preside in creating an ending to the story using current gender roles.

Presentation Peer Response in the Writing Classroom: Theoretic Foundations and New Directions Anne DiPardo; Sarah Warshauer Freedman

Definition of Collaborate Learning

• According to Freedman, a collaborate learning group is that which involves a group working together to solve a single problem or co- author of a single text.

• It is not to be confused with response groups which are members working with different individuals on their individually owned products

Vigotsky’s Developmental Theory

• Learning is a part of social interaction.

• Learning to write is much more than absorbing knowledge and mastering discrete skills.

• Zone of Proximal Development which he defines as being the distance between actual development level as determined by independent problem solving under adult guidance.

• Vigotsky differs from Brunner’s ‘Scaffolding’ in which the student is guided until he can do it on his own. Instead he states that with peer groups, weaker students which are randomly placed, may end up giving more able students advice.

Class Activity (Answer)

• Have you ever used peer response in any of your classes? What worked? What didn’t?

• Did you ever belong to a peer response group? What would you do in it?

Emergence in the Classroom (Why teachers choose peer groups)

• Students are encouraged by the teacher to invent any necessary terminology and avoid harsh, nitpicky criticism ( Leonard 1917)

• Groups intervine in the individual process. (Hairston 1982)

• Writing is now acknowledge as a process. (Emig 1979)

• Peer groups help teachers that are over worked.

• According to a study done by Flower with college age writers (1979), she found that succesful writers pay more attention to audience needs unlike less succesful writers which don’t , therefore, peer groups can help develop those skills for less successful writers.

Things to Consider When Setting Up and Evaluating Peer Groups (Channeling Student’s Attention)

• Should the student pay attention to the text and the teacher’s guidelines or should he focus on the features that impress or bother them as individuals?

• Should the focus be on ideas or on syntax and grammar?

• Should the feedback be written or oral?

Downside of Peer Response/ Collaborate Learning

• Progress in writing is difficult to measure and it often occurs over extended periods of time.

• Using the beliefs of Kuhn (1963) and Rorty (1979), Bruffe claims that peer response groups takes power away from the teacher and puts it in the hands of the students.

• Not having assurance that peer response groups will not become small talk or chit chat.

Conclusion

• Teachers can’t still agree in whether or not to use peer response in the classroom. Some say peer response groups are ideal for emphasizing student’s sense of audience but others are more misgiving about the dispersal centralized power they entail.

• Teachers can’t demand sole power over the classroom.

The Effectivity of Peer Reader Response

Classrooms all around are composed of, not one, but of 20 to 30 students. Sometimes schools are over crowded and teachers are stuck with more work than what they bargained for. The amount of assignments that a teacher needs to grade and the amount of material that is required by the school district to cover are sometimes competing with each other and neither situation helps out the other. Due to all of the mishaps that can occur while teaching, educators are feeling compelled, not to take the easy way out, but facilitate as well as improve students’ acquisition.

Many techniques have come about that can actually help the teacherand students in so many different ways and this technique s called peer response groups. Great confusion can rise when thinking about of this concept but for those who yet understand it, according to Freedman, peer response groups are in which “members work with different individuals on their individually owned products”. These types of workshops or activities done/ created in the classroom enable the students to improve their writing skills by giving each other feedback on their writings.

Some teachers debate on wether to include peer response groups in their classrooms due to the content of their classes. Some find it unnecessary because their classes do not focus on writing alone and that is fine but before considering not including peer response groups in the classroom, it is advised to acknowledge all of the advantages that response groups have.

The effectivity of peer response groups is immense. Students can improve their writing and hand in better assignments. A student is more likely to hand in an assignment with less errors and/ or better stated and evidenced ideas when assisting in peer response group than when he or she works on his or her paper alone. Comments that peers can make about a paper and questions that can rise from it can drive a student to take their work and make changes in it. Also, another advantage of peer response groups is the economy of time. Since drafts are revised by the student’s peer the final product will most likely be well organized and the topic or theme of the paper will be well developed, leaving the teacher with more time to focus on the idea rather than the composition errors.

Even though peer response groups can improve students’ writing skills it can also have a downside to the situation. The worry of having peer response groups become nothing more than small talk or chit chat is always in the back of any teachers mind. The intention of it all is to have the students feel comfortable enough to talk about possible improvements and not about last night’s movie. Also, progress in writing is difficult to measure and it often occurs over time. In other words, response groups take time to develop and if the teacher does not have the time to spare, maybe a response group is not the most adequate technique to use. All and all, if the teacher carefully plans the assignment and at the same time is clear of the guidelines and time required to have a well job done, the activity can be achieved with ultimate success.

Bartholomae and I

“Welcome freshmen”, that’s what my forehead said when I got to college. New and exciting, scary and wonderful… that was the Colegio for me. When I got to the Colegio, I was enrolled in intermediate English. Buying books and reading poems was an entire new world for me, hence the fact that I had never done it before. I thought I was all grown up and now finally I could use my brain.

My first writing assignment for the class was to write a three page essay based on an essay we had read. I almost screamed. When I got home I began to cry… what the hell was an essay and how was I expected to write three pages of it? I went to my sister who calmly explained to me the complexities of one and I proceeded to write an essay as well as I could. Receiving the paper back was no walk in the park- 75… my first C. Why me? What did I do wrong? Apparently many things. I didn’t prove my statements and didn’t quote any one and apparently the professor never agreed with my opinion. I promised myself that next time I would do better.

Well folks, next time came around and- 75… another C. What the hell!?! The same problems which I believed that I had fixed but nothing had improved. What was I to do?
Bartholomae’s point of view brings me back to this precise moment in my life. Bartholomae states that students will not become creative writers if they only write what is expected to please others. That was exactly what I had to do. In order for me to receive an A on my next paper I had to write exactly what the professor wanted to read, regardless if my point of view differed in any way.

It is difficult to become created when writings are a mass production of teachers’ ideals. It is difficult to delete from a teacher’s mind their very own beliefs when grading and sometime, even though it should be this way, this butting heads of ideals get in the way of the true purpose of writing and that shouldn’t be. Even though writers should focus on their own work and not how to please a reading audience it is quit difficult to do so when a students grade is being affected by it.

Plagiarism: How it Has Affected Me

Reflecting on Zean Swagerman

Every teacher in the world, specially a beginner has always their first experience with a situation they clearly didn’t know how to deal with. My first year as an English teacher happened to be in my very own high school alma mater. I was excited to be the one teaching students that were only 7 years younger than me. I believed that I understood them and what better teacher than one that clearly understands what you are going through (naive I know). Keeping in mind that I had no teaching experience what so ever and that I was fresh out of college, I wanted my students to gain great knowledge with what I was teaching them and make me feel proud by saying “I learned to do that with Mrs. Centeno”. Little did I know what was waiting for me behind door # 1!

My first big writing assignment for my class was for them to create their own story. I took advantage of the fact that it was Halloween season and kids loved to talk about ghost stories on anything like it. Acknowledging this fact, I came up with the assignment for them to create their very own Halloween story. I was clear on the rules and regulations of the project. They were not to use any characters that already exist in the movies or books, their story would have to be unique (I didn’t want to read about Nightmare on Elm Street or Jason- Friday the 13th), and I clearly stated that I didn’t want a copy/ paste story taken from the internet, book nor magazine. I gave them a month to do it and left it as that. When due date came, many students handed in the assignment and I quickly became excited.

As I took time to read the stories, I immediately found which stories were original and which were not. Those which were plagiarized had perfect grammar and even used words I never used, spoke or even heard before. What is a teacher to do? I went to the internet and googled my butt off and to my surprise, there they were…. the stories I enjoyed/ suffered the most. What was I to do? Fail them I guess. I had mixed emotions about everything; I was happy I caught them but I was disappointed because I truly believed that my students would do better than that. I had no other choice but to confront them all and ask for explanations on why they did it and all answered the same thing- they had forgotten about it and didn’t have time to do it on their own.

At that moment I became a teacher. I failed them all because they left me with no other choice. The directions were clear and adequate time was given in order for them to complete the assignment but I learned right then the importance of EXPLAINING PLAGIARISM to my students and to not expect for them to do it on their own as a given but to guide them through out the process. Thinking and reflecting on  Zean Swagerman’s article about plagiarism, I can honestly say that I agree with his oversight that plagiarism can be the teacher’s fault and that it is up to us as educators to find all ways to prevent it from happening.

As for those who wonder about what I have done after this, I am glad to say that I still give the assignment but in a different way. My students still write a story IN THE CLASSROOM! They are given 25- 35 vocabulary words (which not necessarily go hand in hand Ex- chicken, baby, church, ghost) and write in the classroom. The story must include these words one way or another therefore I get my students to write and be creative and at the same time, they create something unique they can call their own breaking through plagiarism.

I would also like to add that from that moment on, I explain plagiarism to my students , the do’s and don’ts of writing and explain the penalties involved if they do. I have grown since then.

The Writer in Me!

It has taken me a long journey for me to get here, but I can say that I think I’ve made it. Reading and writing are not my specialties but when push comes to shove, I’m capable of doing so without breaking something. I like the things I read and I like the way I write but many things have happened throughout my life that has made me loose sight of how much I used to enjoy it.

I was born and semi raised in the states until I was seven. My parents only spoke Spanish and I only English. My sisters were in betweeners and they used to translate for both my parents and me. As far as memory serves it, I really can’t remember me talking anything but English until I came to live on the island. Months before we moved to PR, my mom bought me “La Cartilla Fonetica”, which is a little phonetics booklet which teaches young readers or beginners to read and pronounce words correctly in Spanish. Ma, me, mi, mo, mu, ma, me, mi, mo, mu… every single day from dusk till dawn. I got sick of it very quickly, but those who know my mother know that you just can’t do whatever you want so, like it or not, I was stuck with it. I learned Spanish fairly quickly and I am happy to say that my first year in PR I  had a 3:80 GPA and an A in Spanish class.

I remember that it wasn’t until the 7th grade that I had to read my first Spanish novel and I was so happy about it that a read it in 3 hours. I was so proud because the teacher gave us two weeks to do it and I was the first one to say “I’m done- what now.” After that, I would ask the teacher for books to read and I would go to the library too. Also in the 7th grade I entered a poetry contest and won. I was amazed, given the fact that I had never before written a poem and to have my Spanish teacher consider it for the contest and all made me feel like I was able to do what many didn’t want to or couldn’t.

Everything went up hill after that. I kept writing poems and reading whatever I could find. I would constantly go to the library just to read, specially if I got bored. When I got into high school, I traded in the Spanish books for the English ones and never stopped since. My story changed when I got into College. I was obligated to read books which I wasn’t interested in and kind of lost the passion for it.

Even though I was an English Linguistics major I enjoyed to the fullest my Lit classes (I think it’s because I am opinionated and I tend to see things in a different light which tends to cause controversy). I read and read and read some more but after awhile I just felt that the strategies were getting old. I had to take a class and read 12 novels and write 15 page essays about them. I felt impotent and not being able to enjoy the process, finished killing the passion that was left in me. It caused me no spark and this is why I barely do it any more. I have been in College since 1999 (BA degree and now finishing my MA) and I am all read and written out. I feel like I do it because I have to not because I love to and that is so sad for me because I used to love it so much.

Every once in a while I catch myself writing in the dark at 3am just because an idea popped into my head and I just cant get rid of it and choose to put it into words instead. I have written poems and stories and created funny comic strips and even magazine articles ever since I was a young kid and now see that all of this has given me something that not many have- imagination, and for that I am thankful to all that has inspired me  Now, I live my life through my 12 year old daughter’s eyes which, by her own free will writes poems, stories and plays. She is constantly reading and writing and she reminds me so much of me when I was her age. I hope she doesn’t loose the spark as I did, for reading and writing should be pleasureful and not bombarded with pain.

Class #4 My Scribe For the Day

By Lidsay Centeno

I’m sorry Blanca I mean to say
for copying your poetic ways.
But your technique was fun and true
that I had to try writing a poem too.

So now with no further a do
here is the scribe I have written for you.
I will explain without delay
all the things we did that day.

The class began with a quiz
so Nora and Rob got down to biz.
The competition got down to size
when they announced there would be a prize.

Many questions were answered that day
but only one winner was truly at play
and that was Francheska who Nora and Rob honored
by giving her the well deserved and amazing dollar.

And just when we were having so much fun
we soon realized that their scribe was done.
Back to the class we had to go
to keep on with our educational flow.

The great debate of this week
was where we were going to meet
and since no one knew what to say
we are meeting in this classroom today.

“Winds of Change” we had discussed
and opinions rose without any fuss.
Some students from this reading had stated
that teaching techniques are not gold plated.

If teaching writing was what you aspired
techniques and abilities you must acquire.
You have to decline teaching the same old thing
and instead teaching students materials with a swing.

The truth and reality of the matter is
that a PhD does not make you a wiz.
This assumption has held teaching and learning back
by assuming that all degrees are white and black.

Kuhn had more or less the same idea
that not much change has been made real.
He states that some teachers wont make a change
because changing tradition is just purely strange.

I think that we all agreed
that Berlin was a drag to read.
And before we could say anything more
it was time to walk out the door.

Before our ritualistic class closing
we numbered traits writers should be owning.
They should have a point and perfect writing
and know their message shouldn’t be hiding.

All and all that’s all we revised
I hope you all enjoyed my scribe.

Class #3 Aug 25, 2008 Teaching Writing as a Process Not Product

In a perfect world we could set aside some teaching criteria and focus on the ones worth teaching- but this is not a perfect world  As much as a teacher wants to, most of the time we have to give more noticed to that which does not deserve it because in reality, it does. Writing is not a product but a process, but what if you as a teacher are trying to teach writing to ESL learners which know very little of the process, style, technique and even basics? What if these learners know nothing at all and you as their teacher must emphasize on the little things we as writers should not be focusing on? It puts a person between a rock and a hard place.

Sad but true, I as a teacher must focus on grammar usage and spelling and other nick nacks that shouldn’t matter because in reality they do. If we as teacher focus on everything else but, we will be later put down fellow teachers as well as the students by claiming we were not doing our job.We should see the writing process as baby steps. You cannot run before you learn to walk.