Who Would Have Thought?

The main concern that I run across when defining these terms, is defining the terms that look to be simple, such as:

• Critical Thinking
• Discipline
• Empowerment
• Form
• Genre Thinking

A few of theses look to have a simple definition but I'm afraid they'll have a lot more buried underneath the surface.  

Assignments to Explore Creativity in Composition

An assignment that I find most interesting is the photo essay, and I would add this assignment to my syllabus because it combines the ideas of collaboration and technology for a FYW class. Students can group together to choose a story that interests them, decide what major elements should be addressed to their audience, and figure out how they’re going to present it. And they also need to consider their limitations because the assignment will call for them to use only ten photos to make up their story, just so it forces them to be stricter with their choices. I also would like to offer a challenge to the assignment by adding the disposable Kodak camera idea, where students have to really think about the shot they take, making them consider what the right angle should be and where they should position their characters. It gets students to consider the five canons of rhetoric as they compose their photo essay, and then they can learn to apply those choices to their own writing.

If not a photo essay, I’ve considered doing an assignment that uses the element of film, where students can compose a five to ten minute video over a commercial or story.

To choose the story option, I think they should attempt to compress a story within at least ten minutes (we can even extend this to fifteen, if needed) that include the beginning, middle, and end while also focusing on the major elements of the story they choose. They can present this like a skit or at a serious cinematic level. If a story option seems too intense then they may attempt to do a commercial, where their main focus is to create a product and try to sell it. They need to consider who their audience is and what the purpose of their product is. Students need to make sure to point out the most important elements of their product and need to decide what tone fits best to advertise their product—should it have a serious approach or a comedic approach?

Also, if film is hard to come by, students have the option to perform these pieces live. They can perform their commercial like a skit or they can pitch their product to the class as if they were in a professional meeting.

  

I think, whatever choice they pick with the film assignment, they should write a response about the choices they make and why they chose them. Then for the other students who watch these films or performances they can write a response on what they thought was working and if they were convinced to buy the product or convinced in the story.

Both the photo essay and the film/performance assignments can play with creativity and innovation when it comes to composition. It also approaches the five canons of rhetoric, audience and purpose, and those further decisions we make to aid in our art of persuasion.   

An Interactive Classroom

For this blog post, I want to review multimodality and the use of technology for the classroom of composition. 

Multimodality gives students room to express themselves with composition, and using this mode can make it relatable to anyone’s designated field. It can also elaborate further into topics that students want to explore. I think it should be introduced as part of the FYC as a small project, something that can let students get creative. They can use any medium or any collaboration of media to orchestrate a piece that they feel passionate about. Plus it introduces students to use composition in this modern way and a tool that can applicable to their possible fields. For my class, I would like to set up this small project with a five to ten minute presentation to show their fellow students how they fulfilled this assignment. I think the more we demonstrate different ideas to our peers the more knowledge we gain about the different topics and the different ways of expressing those topics. Plus we include the element of speech, which let’s the art of composition be fulfilled successfully.

The incorporation of technology can be very interactive inside and outside of the classroom. Inside the classroom, we can make computers useful, especially if the classroom is technologically geared to have multiple screens projected on the main screen. If students have any relatable information to share they have access to do so. It’s a very interesting idea but it can also be very risky—the whole concern of not knowing what’s going to appear on the screen at any given moment can a big one. But it does give students a certain amount of freedom and can make the environment of discussion a lot more open. Outside the classroom, keeping a line of communication is highly important to have. Forums and blog posts are fine ideas to have as assignments because it’s designed to keep the classroom discussion continuous. 

Which does lead to my next discussion is that I do wish we were able to communicate more with students during grading, especially since grading papers is done online. Video responses to particular problems with grammar or critical thinking would feel easier when able to communicate them orally. Tutoring through a system like Skype can give that one on one interaction. It might fit better in a student’s schedule and might take care of quick questions or even questions that need answering extensively.       

Extended Analysis Review--The George Washington University

For this week’s blog post, I’ve reviewed the extended analysis of Jessica Smith, and I love the approach she had towards The George Washington University’s First Year Writing Program.

           

The George Washington University has a topic-driven program that enables students to explore a specific topic for their own desires. It gives students this “focus” and “flexibility” that Jessica has mentioned, which also gives professors the opportunity to stretch their own abilities as well. An act of conversation (instead of instructing answers) seems to present this freeing atmosphere that both professor and student can obtain, and I really enjoy this concept. It definitely doesn’t separate creativity from critical thinking, giving knowledge the ability to grow and to develop.

With this high focus on topic-driven, students are free to explore through a wide range of sources. They’re given the opportunity to connect to topics they feel most passionate about and are able to explore through a huge multitude of research so they are able to communicate topics confidently. It allows creativity to stretch and participate in these endeavors when the students are allowed to pick topics that fit within their comfort zones.

Along with strengthening their research abilities, students should hone in on their grammar skills. To be able to persuade effectively, students must be able to communicate with absolute clarity. I think FYC should stress on basic grammar skills because all students come from different backgrounds and not all students learn the same. Some will suffer by not learning grammar or by learning grammar the wrong way. Here in composition students should return to the roots of writing and get the training they need to communicate their passions successfully.

Creative writing allows identity and exploration. It should be a tool used in composition because it allows freedom in the academic space. Writing can be a challenge and exploratory writing and creative writing can construct an outlet that lets students, well, create and experiment. These “experimental” writings propel emotion, innovation, and voice in the students’ chosen fields.

The George Washington University approaches First Year Writing in a way that I feel I would enjoy in the art of teaching. It sounds to have a relaxing approach to writing for both students and professors, and actually indicates how writing should be viewed—something that can be applied within any field. Writing here seems to have this “user-friendly” vibe that allows students to explore writing on their own terms.