Blog #9 Jeanne Nixt

The Bastian article on “Bringing the Funk” took me on a bit of a ride.  At first, it made me a little angry, if I’m being honest.  It made me uncomfortable to picture myself a student in a classroom where I couldn’t understand the assignment at first, or how to do it well.  Then I wondered about the students who are marginalized in classrooms – lower socioeconomic status, minority of race/ethnicity/gender/sexuality – and I thought to myself: How do these students succeed in a new and uncomfortable environment when they may have trouble succeeding in the known environment?  I kept reading though, gaining the answers to the questions I had.  I thought about the students who may have a hard time in a traditional classroom setting with historically understood requirements.  Maybe the students whose did not fit the standard classroom mold might find this new innovative classroom much more appealing and comprehensible?

Below is a listicle of the things I noticed and found relevant in Bastian’s article;

Student discomfort came from the disruption of the convention (p.20)

Writers are everywhere (p.8).

 

Writing is an emotional as well as cognitive activity (p.9)

 

Once students were given examples of critiques, they had a better grasp of what the teacher wanted.

 

Peer sharing helped decrease confusion and increase comfort and confidence

 

Freedom of the style of the writing allowed freedom of expression and methods of thought.

 

(PowerPoints) are easier because we have always done them [said one student]

 

Discomfort about the assignment led to an increased confidence because the student was able to do the uncomfortable thing, proving to themselves that they could

 

Students had expectations entering the classroom which were not met, but rather challenged, which forced them to try new ways of expression and allowed them to experiment and grow

 

Four steps writing educators can use: (I found this super helpful)

·       Acknowledge and discuss student affective responses – meta-affective response

·       Teachers model innovating such as creating the assignment itself in a new way

·       Incorporate curricular support –‘behind the scenes’ – through examples which are teaching but less directly

·       Allowing student choice

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