Blogging as a Means to Meet LTED618 Student Learning Outcomes

Upon reviewing the student learning outcomes located on page 1 of the syllabus, I do feel that this course and the construction of blog posts has supported me in successfully gaining the knowledge and competency in those skill areas. Blogs are a form of personal writing (Tompkins, 2012) providing the opportunity for informal reflection and engagement with new course concepts. There are a variety of modes, genres and formats that I explored further in my blog posts. I was able to revisit readings, respond to my peers, and utilize this platform as an interactive tool. Based on the criteria of specific posts, I would adjust my writing in response to the change in audience and purpose. For example, for entry 6 I was writing to Dr. Jones with the purpose of reflecting on class at the midpoint of the semester. In entries 8 and 10 my audience was primarily the peers I was responding to, with the purpose of providing feedback and honing in on a specific question, comment or reading they discussed. Of course, Dr. Jones and my peers have access to this blog all semester, but I was still able to adjust my audience and purpose for some pieces, while maintaining my first-person dialogue. 

Additionally, I feel that a written blog reflecting upon our readings, course presentations and discussions highlights the parallels between the reading and writing processes. In my first entry, I explored my own reading and writing processes upon reading Tompkins (2012) and Tierney and Pearson (1983), and I continued to engage in these practices weekly through my Genre Pieces Project. In examining the composition and comprehension of reading and writing, I was able to reflect on the cognitive processes that take place while reading and writing and learn about specific strategies to support students as composers and comprehenders of texts. Blog tasks encouraged me to consider strategies I would implement based upon our readings, to support my future community of readers and writers. 

I think it is important to note that this blogging platform was intended to demonstrate my own thinking and cognitive processes. This self-awareness is important. As Tompkins (2012) states, “successful writing requires active and deliberate self-regulation…self-regulation is meta-cognitive because it involves the active control of thought processes” (p. 44). Open entries allowed for me to select which readings I would like to explore further, setting a goal for clarifying my understanding. In my blog posts I was able to pose questions and monitor my understanding of material. I was able to assess my own development in blogging by revisiting my posts throughout the semester and returning to topics I wanted to explore further. Blogging was one way for me to engage in the writing process. Tompkins (2012) develops reader's understanding of the writing process across the text, and blog posts were an additional tool to engage, reflect and build my understanding of this process. I think that blogging was a great way to support me in achieving the student learning outcomes located on our course syllabus.

Reference

Tierney, R. & Pearson, P. D. (1983).  Toward a composing model of reading.  Language Arts, 60(5), 568-580.

A Reflection of the Genre Expert Workshops

Throughout this semester, I have engaged in Genre Expert Workshops for Journal Reading and Writing, Letter Reading and Writing, the Persuasive Genre, Descriptive Genre, Biography Genre, Poetry Genre, as well as my own exploration of the Narrative Genre. As I reflect upon these experiences, I feel I have developed a deeper understanding of the Biography Genre. 

I knew that “Biographical writing focuses on people” (Tompkins, 2012, p. 230), but I did not consider the various types of life stories within this genre. I felt familiar and comfortable with biography vs. autobiography, where an autobiography is written by the individual themself, and a biography is written about an individual by another individual. I also was aware of memoirs, but not how it is distinguished from the other types. Explicit instruction and engagement with mentor texts illustrated the four types of life stories I will encounter when teaching and learning about the biography genre. I really love the visual that this group created, to help us visualize the connection of these four types but recognize their distinctions from one another using Tompkins (2012) descriptions. I will be including this visual, so I can refer back to it via my reading and writing blog. I also consider this a great resource for the classroom environment. 

While in class, I engaged with a biography mentor text, “Abby Wambach” written by Esther Porter. I dove deeper into this mentor text by gathering general information about Abby Wambach’s life. The author used the form of a timeline or lifeline, which Tompkins (2012) described on p. 241. I had not ever considered the specific form that authors use to illustrate one's life in a biography text, so this was a valuable experience. Tompkins (2012) also indicates additional forms that readers and writers can utilize, such as photographs, quotes, letters, stories, newspaper articles, etc. (p. 241). I then analyzed the audience, who I felt this text was written for. I indicated that it was written for soccer fans and female athletes, as this text often noted her accomplishments for women in sports. Examining mentor texts was valuable for a few reasons. First, it gave me an idea of high-quality books I could include in my own classroom and instruction, Tompkins (2012) states, “Teachers read-aloud award-winning and other high-quality picture books and chapter books…chosen carefully to highlight an aspect of writing” (p. 19). Second, it allowed me to examine one specific book with the guidance and support of each mentor group, to analyze the text and apply my new learning. Genre Expert Workshops allowed us to explore many of the genres and Tompkins (2012) text, which is a valuable tool for teachers of reading and writing across all grade levels. 

Reference

Porter, E. (2016). Abby Wambach. Capstone Press.

Entry 11- Exploring Poetry

 

For this open entry, I would like to focus on the poetry genre that we are exploring for this week's class. I would like to engage deeply with this genre through a blog post, due to missing class for the CARS 2022 event. As many can relate, I have always had anxiety when it came to writing poetry. This was a topic of discussion on our first night of class when we wrote the “If I were in charge of the world” poem. When I think of writing poetry, I find it intimidating, and scary, and I think this tends to be a common attitude towards poetry. I wonder why? Is it because it is known as a unique genre, intended to evoke an emotional response, and potentially transform one's perception of the world? (Tompkins, 2012). Even as Tompkins (2012) describes, “poets choose words carefully and structure lines and stanzas in creative ways” (p. 156), I feel this immense pressure to compose an artful and life changing poem.

I should refer to this feeling as past tense, because Tompkins (2012) has illustrated how vast the poetry genre is, and has shown me that I too, can be a poet. As writers and thinkers, we do not need to go into poetry writing with nothing but a pen and paper, writing poetry can be scaffolded through various poetic forms. For example, formula poems. I love how the poetry group included the five senses poem in their PowerPoint, because I engaged in five sense poetry writing for one of my genre pieces. I found that having a structure, “smells, tastes, looks, feels, sounds” (p. 147) helped me overcome the feelings of anxiety and be creative while maintaining a specific structure or pattern. Tompkins (2012) also explores color poems, wish poems, I am poems, etc. Now I have a tool guide of the various poetic forms, and I can relate my own experiences with poetry to craft a writing workshop with scaffolded support and peer discussion. 

The power point also introduces McKenzie’s article, which explores a “poetry coffee house” (Ferguson, 2017, p. 209). Although I am not able to hear her discussion of this article, she selected a great quote and image to illustrate this concept to me. I feel inspired to create an environment where all genres are explored and appreciated. Implementing a poetry coffee house, introducing students to various poetic forms, and scaffolding their writing can help diminish those feelings of anxiety or fear of not being creative enough, and encourage students to explore their identities as poets. As a literacy educator, I know I need to build and support a community of readers and writers. Additionally, Tompkins (2012) draws our attention to children and their, “natural affinity for songs, verses and rhymes” (p. 156). Think of how many songs you have memorized, even after not hearing them for years, you can recite them. Introducing poetry writing can help build this connection between enjoying poetry and constructing poems. I enjoyed exploring this chapter as I worked through my genre pieces, as well as for this week's class. 

Reference

Ferguson, K. (2017). A Poetry Coffee House: Creating a Cool Community of Writers. Reading Teacher, 71(2), 209-213.

Entry 10: Persuasive Writing

As I browse my peers' writing blogs, I find myself drawn to Kayli’s ninth entry. I love the fun title (you did persuade me of your understanding :D), as well as the selection of images throughout the piece. I haven't seen the “pillars that persuade” graphic before and I think it is excellent. To me, this visual emphasizes that all three appeals are in a way, essential, to a solid persuasive argument. I don’t specifically remember learning about the three appeals until high school. Yeah, that's right…high school! But perhaps I had learned about them without attaching the ethos, logos, pathos name. I still find myself getting a bit confused between ethos and pathos. I always want to consider ethos the emotional appeal, but need to remember it is the “appeal to character…does the persuader have the expertise or personal experience necessary to endorse a product or a cause?” (Tompkins, 2012, p. 252). Kayli, like you, I found that the presentation was very informative. Engaging with mentor texts and picking out the different appeals was a valuable application of the persuasive genre's components. Additionally, I loved how they encouraged us to look for advertisements. I found one that appealed to all three. Did you have the same experience? Or did your advertisement only include one or two of the appeals?

I would like to address your acknowledgement that the persuasive genre has been overlooked by you, and I would agree that taking this writing course has been extremely valuable in helping me envision how I can teach all of the specific genres to support my students' writing. Genre specific instruction was not a part of my undergraduate studies, but Tompkins (2012) shares the resources and strategies to create strong readers and writers. Not only that, but the instructional overview is really helpful in showing grade appropriate goals for each genre. Below is the persuasive genre table, found on page 260 of Tompkins (2012).

When you share your experience creating an advertisement of sorts to persuade your peers, I think about how that experience stands out to you as a student. You were able to actively engage with the appeals, establish a purpose, and share it with your audience. When we create fun and interactive learning opportunities for our students, I think they are going to hold on to that knowledge and experience much longer and in a more meaningful way. Tompkins (2012) states, “Teachers introduce persuasive writing by showing how persuasion is used in everyday life” (p. 260). Our peers modeled this by beginning their presentation each taking on a specific appeal. The learning experience that you had in college could be adapted and given to students for the persuasive writing unit. Advertisements are all around us, students would have the opportunity to examine and evaluate the advertisements around them and use that to guide their own argument. Explicit instruction and modeling of the appeals could demonstrate how they can strengthen their argument and persuade a real audience (their classmates!). Kayli, I thank you for sharing your writing with me and giving me the opportunity to further reflect upon the persuasive genre. 

Entry 9- Reflecting on Blogging

I thought I would use this open entry as an opportunity to revisit the article, Blogging As A Means of Crafting Writing by Jan Lacina and Robin Griffith (2012). I have been engaging in various writing tasks for my blog, and I think I would benefit from continuing to reflect upon this experience with this article as a basis of my reflection. Over the course of this semester, I have engaged in blog writing that responded to specific questions, open entries, and now reading our peers' blogs to bless, address or press. As I read through my peers' blogs and constructed a response, I noticed how my perspective shifted from submitting a general blog post. When addressing Brenna specifically, I could feel how I “became mindful of, and connected to [my] audience” (Lacina and Griffith, 2012, p. 316). I feel that shifting to viewing our peers' blogs and constructing responses has further developed a community of writers in  LTED 618 (Lacina and Griffith, 2012). By moving beyond having only the professor read your writing/blog, there is a unique interaction among classmates that exists when sharing and responding to each other's blogs. 

In many of my undergraduate and graduate classes, I engaged in journal writing. This was similar in that it was more informal and allowed me to process the assignments and experiences from the course. It was more personal, whereas when I blog, I have a specific audience, referring back to that idea of a writing community. Tompkins (2012) describes blogs as an interactive process, and I would agree that this interaction makes me feel more aware of my audience.

I admit that open entries have been a bit challenging for me, I am not used to having so much choice. I found that as I began blogging it was nice to have questions to guide me through my writing process. Open entries have been a shift, but as Lacina and Griffiths (2012) article describes, blogs are, “primarily used as an online medium for self-expression” and that people are, “motivated to write when they have a choice in topics” (p. 316). Blogging was not a tool utilized in my early education, which is why I feel it was challenging for me to have choice, when I have been so used to responding to and following a particular structure. Even in my journal writing, there were often questions to guide each entry. Revisiting this article, and continuing to reflect on my blogging experience, has convinced me even further to instill blogging in my future classroom. I am curious to ask my peers, have you seen or used blogging in early elementary classrooms? Such as first or second-grade? 

Reference

Lacina, J. & Griffith, R. (2012).  Blogging as a means of crafting writing.  The Reading Teacher, 66(4), 316-320.

Entry #8- Applauding My Peers Blog

I really enjoyed being able to look through my peers' blogs for this week's post, I found myself particularly drawn to Brenna's blog post #7. I would first like to applaud, or “bless”, Brenna for her honesty surrounding her challenges as a first-year teacher. I am currently in full time graduate school and will be entering my first year of teaching very soon. The other day my mentor teacher in my clinical assistant placement was telling me that NO ONE ever feels ready or prepared in their first few years of teaching. As much as this still terrifies me, I found some peace in knowing that many of us will face these same challenges, you are not alone! 

Brenna, as you raise some of your concerns surrounding what is on grade-level and developmentally appropriate, I wonder, do you have a teacher mentor in school? Do your grade-level peers meet? Conferencing is a valuable strategy for the writing process (Tompkins, 2012), and I think this could be a strategy for you to adopt with your fellow teachers. You could look at samples of their students' writing, bring your student samples, etc. As I revisited Tompkins (2012), I also found chapter 4 valuable in outlining some of the grade-level expectations for writing. I have attached figure 4.9, found on p. 95. I find this rubric really helpful in outlining writing expectations. Tomkins (2012) did not include 1st grade in this chapter specifically, but I find the kindergarten expectations helpful, especially when considering the impact of online learning from the pandemic, as you recognized. Do you feel that your school has altered student expectations due to the pandemic? Or are students' writing abilities held to the same standard? 

As we know, students have unique strengths and needs. Brenna recognizes this in her own students. I would love to draw our attention to Tompkins (2012), where primary trait scoring is discussed, “The focus in primary trait scoring is on whether students have incorporated specific traits in their compositions” (p. 94). I think that this is a valuable approach that can be embedded in all writing tasks. Specific traits that are grade-appropriate can be modeled, such as capitalizing the beginning of sentences, writing complete sentences, using punctuation etc. Students can receive support in including these traits, and students can also apply these traits/skills independently. I would also utilize a checklist for students, this way they can refer to it to guide and check their writing. This can be a tool for your assessment of their final product, as well as a support throughout the entire writing process, that can be altered based on specific student needs. I applaud Brenna’s recognition of the writing process, or process assessment. As a student, I have always appreciated when credit is not only given for the final product, but for all of the work leading up to that. That applies to my experiences in college, but more specifically in my earlier schooling experiences. I think that primary trait score and checklists could support Brenna in her writing instruction and scoring. Thank you for opening your blog to me, I applaud your honesty and know your students are lucky to have you, Brenna! :)

Entry 7- Exploring the Narrative Genre

For this open entry, I feel intrigued to write about an article I recently read for my Genre Expert Project, titled Comprehension Strategy Instruction: Teaching Narrative Text Structure Awareness by Susan Dymock (2007). A concept that I keep finding myself coming back to is the parallel processes of reading and writing. I found that this article ties reading comprehension and the construction of narrative writing together very nicely, emphasizing the importance of text structure awareness. This may seem obvious, but sometimes reading and writing can seem like different, isolated tasks and until this semester, I have not examined the parallels between the two in such depth. This makes me want to highlight the similarities between these processes in my future classrooms. I wonder how early that can be expressed to students through instruction? I anticipate I will begin teaching 1st or 2nd grade, where students are just beginning to engage in the writing process and start reading more advanced books. I am curious how they would react to reading and writing highlighted as similar processes.

From Tompkins (2012) and Dymock (2007), I have developed an understanding that explicit instruction of text structure, more specifically, the elements of specific genres, can support students across their reading, writing, and their comprehension. Through my exploration of the narrative genre thus far, there has been an emphasis on the story elements, or story grammars as Dymock (2007) calls them. These are the setting, theme, characters, plot, and resolution that are “an attempt to construct a set of rules that can generate a structure for any story” (p. 161) and provide “an overall structure for teaching narrative text structure awareness” (p. 162). These are key elements that students should be able to identify and construct while reading and writing the narrative genre. 

Not only does this article delve into the significance of explicit instruction of the narrative text structure, but it introduces the visual representations of the narrative structure analysis. For example, the story graph. This reminds me of what I learned in school, that the hill is the rising action, leading to the peak of the mountain, which is the climax of the story, and following that is the falling action. Dymock (2007) describes that “story graph[s] visually represent how plot develops, showing the high and low action points of the story as it progresses over time” (p. 163).

Below is an image from this article, which shows one example of a story graph. This visual is a bit different from what I remember from school, so I think it is interesting to include. 

I think that a visual representation is a great way to scaffold narrative text structure instruction and would support visual learners. I can also see how this map could be simplified based on the grade level, for example using a different visual, like a story web. “A story web is like a word web where the terms defining the structure of a story surround the title” (p. 164). Below I will include an example of a story web, using the mentor text The Lorax (Seuss, 1971).

Further reflecting on the connections between our course textbook and the article I selected for my Genre Expert Project was a valuable experience. It further solidified what I consider are the most significant takeaways from this article, that I may very well include in my presentation.

References

Dymock, S. (2007). Comprehension strategy instruction: Teaching narrative text structure awareness. The Reading Teacher, 61(2), 161–167. https://doi.org/10.1598/rt.61.2.6

Seuss, G. T. (1979). The Lorax, by dr. Seuss. Random House.