Having never taught a writing course before, I feel that answering this week’s prompt is particularly challenging. Instead of attempting to transpose myself into the shoes of a teacher, I intend to share what I have observed as a writing student. In the past, I have struggled in classrooms that utilize audio or tactile styles of teaching. As a visual learner, I rely heavily on seeing examples, and writing notes. The learning style of the student can affect how they learn and how they compose. For example, an audio learner may draft by speaking their thoughts out loud several times before writing, while a visual learner may rely more heavily on a written outline.
The drafting process is a good example of how the different learning styles affect composition. I have been told that one should begin with the conclusion, or one should write a detailed summary, or a vague outline … and many other suggestions! The problem is that some people can think of an idea and immediately sit down and write, while others need the structure of an outline or summary to use as a road map for their work. Composition courses should encourage students to identify a drafting process that matches their learning and writing style.
In a composition course, students should be exposed to a variety of drafting methods, and they should be allowed to pick the method that suits them best. Sondra Perl (1978) explores the composition process and the steps that a student takes from idea to product, in “The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers.” This study revealed that students, who had previously been labeled as remedial, had a more sophisticated writing process than previously thought. This is important, because if the writing process can be identified and understood, there is a greater chance that the process can be improved. I think the most difficult challenge for teachers of composition (and teachers in general) is finding a teaching method that reaches all students regardless of their learning style.
I like your comment that 'Composition courses should encourage students to identify a drafting process that matches their learning and writing style'. I never really though of myself as having a particular writing style until I realized that other people composed differently. In school, I remember that it was a common practice to have us (the students) make an outline of what we wanted to say and then construct paragraphs accordingly. It was kind of a difficult way for me to get my thoughts on paper, I think because I wasn't always sure where my composition was going to take me and what examples I might end up using. I consider myself a very visual learner and communicator and as such, I like to 'see' my thoughts as they become words on a page. I often 'compose' now, by just starting to type on my computer. I write as if I am telling a story to an audience, then I go back and fine tune the mechanics, grammar, etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree that drafting is critical. First, if a student doesn't draft, then there's no revision, and it's in the process of revision that error and cohesion get worked on. Second, if there are no drafts, students often wait until minutes before the deadline. If this is the case, then they're in a position to think on the fly, well, or make a bad decision--plagiarize. So, requiring an earlier draft helps lower the stakes. Drafting, too, for me, helps students think about the thought processes that refine writing. Thinking through one's writing in phases or stages is helpful. Okay, now, (for instance), let's think about your audience. Your audience knows this, this, and this, so does that mean your draft should change now? How so?
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DeleteThe reading this week made some very good points on the subject of audience and composition. Knowing your audience can cause you to change not only how you write, but aslo the content you include. I particulalry like the example that the article used regarding the home for adults with mental retardation. The person writing to her neighbors would include drastically different information from the person who intends her audience to be the public at-large. In the first scenario the author can address her audience because she knows them. In the second scenario, she would have to be more vague. When addressing her neighbors she can talk about the benefits for that area, but the public will be more interested in how it will affect the city as a whole. The public audience will be less concerned with the effects on the neighborhood, because they are not directly affected.
DeleteI like that you highlight that people learn in different ways. People also learn at different speeds, of which writing is the slowest, which was mentioned in the Emig article. I know I learn by writing but the speed of the process depends on the content at hand.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up learning styles which is something I mentioned in one of my blogs and I, too, think it would be beneficial for students to identify a process that matches their learning and writing style, as you mention. I think this is something that would work well in adult learning situations at the college level or even community courses where it would be easy to allow these adults the freedom to choose how they best learn and how to approach their writings.
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