Collaborative Essay

You have until Friday to turn in draft 1 of your collaborative essay.  Use MCL to do so.  Make sure that the essay is organized and developed.  Don't just drop your part in and walk away.  At the end of the paper, provide a table of contents of sorts explaining who did what in the paper.  Be specific.  Each person should take credit for the paragraphs that he or she wrote.  Have this work in by Friday afternoon.

Note: This first draft will be evaluated mostly on its organization and structure.  The evaluation of the second draft will focus primarily on the content and clarity of the writing.

Please read the following pages:

The Rhetorical Situation   

• Introduction
• Audience
• Context
• Example 1
• Example 2
• Conclusion

Week 3-Wednesday

The Essence of the Paper

Today we take one more step toward organizing the collaborative essay.  Please share your individual pieces with each other.  Take time to ask each other questions and begin to figure out how each section works individually and together.  After reading each of the pieces come up with one sentence that captures the essence of the paper. 

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Outlining

Use the sentence to tease out the main points of the essay.  Identify each point and then the supporting details.  Develop a formal outline before you leave class today.  Use the outline so that each person has a clear idea of what to focus on and turn in by Friday.  Remember that this first draft will be graded.  It should look, smell, taste, feel, and sound like an essay.  Aim for that 95! 

Week 3

Today we begin working on the collaborative essay based on the teaching/learning experiment from last week.   The paper should cover the following:

      A description of the experience emphasizing key moments

      What was learned about the learning and teaching process

      A recommendation or two based on the experience

      Pictures

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Here's the process I'd like for you to use to come up with the paper:

1. Have one person serve as the recorder for the group.  This person will jot down the main points of the discussion within the group. 
2. Have each person in the group share her notes.  These should first be read aloud.  Later, they should be emailed to everyone in the group. Upload the notes to the Imagination Federation site.  Name your file using the following protocol:  First Name Last Name Notes1
3. Have two people in the group act as artists/visualizers.  The role of these individuals is to provide a visual that takes into account what the group is discussing.  This can take the form of a drawing, a cluster, a diagram of some sort, or some other visual means.
4. Discuss the main points of each of the notes and determine what the group would want to focus on in this essay. Have one person keep the group on task in the discussion.
5. Come up with a thesis statement and working outline. (Review thesis statements.  Complete MCL exercise together).
6. Assign each person a section of the outline.
7. Each person will then bring their section to class on Wednesday.

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Resources for Organizing

Mindmapping

Class Activities

Today we keep exploring the notion of education.  I'd like for you to look at a classic in rock history, Pink Floyd's "We Don't Need No Education."

Take a quick shot at writing a response to the images and music in this piece.  What does the video have to say to you?  Any connections with the other readings you have done?  Where is Raquel?  Write four paragraphs.  Start your introduction with an anecdote.  Include an interesting quote in the second paragraph.  Use at least one semi-colon in the third paragraph.  Conclude with a startling last thought.

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Sharing Writing

Take time to share your writing with your group.  Provide some feedback.  Use the following questions as a guideline (Allegheny):

***Be sure to read through the entire essay-and the draft workshop sheet-before you begin the critique. 
1. Does the opening paragraph 'grab' you? Does it begin energetically, with plenty of active verbs? How else could it be improved?

2. a) State the thesis of this paper. Does it interest you? Why or why not?
b) Does the thesis effectively link the writer's personal experience with the text s/he has chosen? How could the writer improve thesis focus?

3. a) Does the writer focus upon a pivotal incident (or incidents), and offer a thoughtful parallel with one of the texts we have studied? How convincing does s/he make the case for the linkage between the two? Suggest some ways in which the writer could strengthen the parallels.
b) How well is the comparison supported by quotations from the text[s]? Do you find these quotes well-chosen and relevant? Are they cited correctly?

4. Does the writer vividly and clearly describe the situation in his/her own life, making it come alive for the reader? Make some suggestions aimed toward a more lively personal account.

5. How could this essay be improved on the sentence level? Mark your copies of the draft, making specific suggestions to improve sentence structure and overall clarity.

6. Does the conclusion provide closure and offer an interesting final insight that helps you to understand the significance of the experience? How could the writer make it more effective?

7. Finally, shut your eyes and think about the paper. What did you get out of it?

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A Word about Punctuation

Dependent and Independent Clauses

Comma Splices

Run-ons

Fragments

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MyCompLab Diagnostic Results

Please write a one or two paragraph report regarding your diagnostic results.  Point out which areas you plan on addressing and dates you expect to have them completed.

Remember that this Friday you are working on your educational experiment.  Make sure to take copious notes.  Bring those with you to class on Monday.

You will also have a peer review assignment in MyCompLab.  Look for that and have it done by Monday as well.

For Class on 5/19

I enjoyed our discussion this morning.  Please don't forget to bring a printout of your diagnostic grammar results.  Your response to last week's readings are due in MyComplab before class on Wednesday.  Finish reading the New York Times article.

Week 2

We continue exploring the idea of education.  You are currently working on a reflective response to the links I provided last week and the discussion we had in class.  I'd like to add another layer of information to this on-going conversation.  

The first layer comes from a recent New York Times article on the different views regarding college education.  It should come very close to home as you are engaging in one of the most life altering actions a person can take.  The questions the article raises should spark some deep thinking.

The second link is of a video interview I did two weeks ago in Nicaragua.  It's of a thirteen year old girl, the only person in her village to go to secondary school.  Her goal is to graduate and go to college.  Her effort is valiant and one to be deeply admired.  There are questions regarding her future, however, even if she gets the opportunity to complete her goal.  What might those be?  How is her story and effort connected to yours?

   New York Times

   Raquel Mendoza González

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A Word about the Diagnostic

I'm not sure if you have access to the review page pointing out each of the areas that were covered by the exam, but if you do, please print it out.  I'd like for each person to make sure to cover those areas that gave the most trouble.  I'll explain what I mean in class.

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A Word about Grading Scales

I use a very simple grading scale that takes into account just three levels.  I've used this system for some time now and it works, allowing me to create a very transparent system of grading.  Here it is:

✓+ = 95%

✓   = 77%

✓-  = 68%

Although there is no B grade in the individual grades, students can earn a B through a combination of the ✓+ and ✓.  

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Research

Library Databases

Evernote

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Other Resources

Gustavo Esteva

Unitierra

Barefoot College

We Start

“Never let school interfere with your education." ~Mark Twain

     I came across the following quote in the Barefoot College website, a school in India dedicated to working with rural children.  As I read about this school, I clearly connected the work they were doing to my experience in Nicaragua.  I then wondered what this far away effort had to do with us here in Miami.  It was then that I came across an article by Gustavo Esteva; he reminded me of the things that bring me the most pleasure when I teach well.  

     His piece pointed to the possibility that my role in the classroom as all knowing and complete authority is one of the stumbling blocks in allowing you, the so called students, to actually become engaged to the point that you become aware of the truth of Twain's statement.  Many of my years as a student were spent passively receiving whatever my teachers and schools wanted.  In the process, I often found myself bored out of my mind, twisted by the pressure and force of grades and the consequences of not playing by the rules.

     In my years of teaching, I have struggled even more with this.  I work in an institution that demands that I grade you and that I teach certain "skills" that often seem so disconnected from the reality of your own lives.  I cringe at the damage I have done and take solace in the effort I make every term to encourage creativity, joy in learning, and non-conformity in the face of institutional pressure and force.

     Please visit the three links I've made reference to in this short reflection and let's dialogue regarding the implications of a semester of exploration and profound learning.