There were so many cool quotes in these 2 ch.s that it was hard to isolate only 3! But I would definately say I was especially intrigued and inspired with all the great information B & B gave us regarding student portfolios!
In my opinion, one of the best ways to become a better writer is PRACTICE, but I think of equal importance in this goal is to not only read, but also to assess and critique the writing of OTHERS ie our students! I think at least reading others writing in general, such as novels, poems, news stories etc, is a primary step in becoming a better writer! In this sense, it's only natural that a teacher can become a better writer just by reading and becoming a part of their student's writing!
As I said, become a PART of the students writing, not the over-seer or the almighty! B&B tell us on page 105 that "When we give ownership over the direction of [student's] learning, they will work to their greatest capacity and in a creative fashion." Creative is the key word here. I think part of tapping that creativeness we all seem to have inherently, we as writing teachers need to utilize OUR creativity. This semester, I have really fallen in love with the idea and knowledge of teaching writing in multiple genres. I think this strategy fosters creativity and the means to unlock this creativity in our students! Portfolios are a great way of teaching and utilizing creativity and on multiple levels. Because each piece is a new genre or mode, the student will likely have more opportunities to find a mode of writing that they can wrap their mind around. Portfolios not only allow our students to "have ownership over the direction of their learning" , but it also allows teachers to assess students over multiple levels and genres. In teaching w/ portfolios, it helps to instill a sense of self esteem, indepedence and self-discipline in our students as writers and as people.
Another benfit of teaching with portfolios is that they "foster responsibility, self evaluation and accountability within students". These are characteristics that "we all need and use on a daily basis in the 'real world'" (P. 100). By allowing our students to have more freedom and to take more accountability in their writing, they will benefit beyond imagination. Portfolios also provide a great self- assessment tool for students to view their work as it progresses into a multi genre work.
Why,? Because "portfolios place just as much importance on process than on product" (p. 106). For example, it is very important during the PROCESS of teaching multi genre writng, that the teacher give copious instruction on not only the process of compiling a portfolio but also to teach the process of the WRITING ITSELF! ie brainstorming, free-writing, pre-writing, drafting, revising, drafting some more, revising etc. Once the students know this process, it will allow them to actually create the seperate pieces that will comprise their final product, thus placing importance on both process and product.
Yes, I do believe that teaching writing to secondary students utilizing portfolios and processes will produce on our end, better writers, better thinkers and better students! I also like the fact that in utilizng portfolios, the teacher can see this as a tool and an opportunity for both formative and summative assessments. It allows the teacher to keep an eye on the student's progress(or not), while continuing to keep the student in the driver seat. And when the student is done with their final product, they will also be able to keep and have it. To have something to generate ideas for future work (more revising and drafting!), as well as something to show others. This is a way that we writing teachers can help our students personalize their writing, and to cherish it as a tool that can accomplish everything from filling out applications and resumes, to writing poetry for their significant other, to writing all those papers that are coming up in college! It's a gift of simply being able to express oneself using the written word!
What can I say? It's a win-win!
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