My
IRW unit would be part of a course that is based on the theme, “Myself and My World.” It would be a built on a blend of cognitive and
socio-cultural theory. The arc of the
class would move from the personal (the student), to another (another person),
to society. We would focus on inner,
personal growth as well as the student’s place in society. We would practice cognitive and
meta-cognitive skill building, but an important part of the class would be
focused on the power of reading and writing to shape people’s cultural and
political beliefs.
I
will focus on the first unit for this posting, and will follow up with a little
information about how the rest of the course will look.
The
first unit would focus on autobiographies in reading (perhaps one example written
by myself) and in writing. We would start with blogging and other
low-stakes writing, including a personal introduction, followed by a difficulty
paper and other reflection pieces on reading and writing. We would discuss metacognitive aspects of
reading and writing, and would work on study skills such as annotation and
active reading. We would do teacher-guided peer reviews for content, clarity
and organization. Grammar would be
discussed throughout the course as needed.
The culminating project for the
unit would be an autobiographical essay describing a moment or period in time
from the student’s life that caused a change in ideals or attitudes. The finished essay would be composed and
presented online for the classmates to see, which would allow the inclusion of images
and hyperlinks.
I
need to do more research to find a few good examples of autobiographies for
students. Here is one online autobiography
that we might use in class.
The
second unit would be based on biographies, again, both in reading and writing,
and the culminating paper would be a research biography of a person of the
student’s choosing.
The
third unit would be based on a social issue or social change and the student’s
attitudes towards that issue. It would
be a persuasive paper that discusses the issue in detail (allowing the student
to do more research) as well as the student’s attitudes and thoughts on the
issue.
The
fourth unit would be a major revision of one of the previous projects, and a
reflection piece on what the student learned over the course of the semester.
Hi Michael, I really like the expansive nature of your unit plan moving from the personal, to personhood to the social. I'm curious how essential it is for students to undertake inter-connection and whether it's necessary to unpack the ideas of systemic interconnectivity on the level of literacy. I think that they could gain a lot from this unit!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sean. That is my hope, and that I would learn a lot from the students too.
DeleteHi Michael, I would also like my IRW unit to include autobiographies. How do you feel about allowing the students to write their own autobiographies in one of their low-stakes bloggs? I like how you facilitate your students in finding their identity and things that have changed them. You also allow your students to be creative and express themselves online. I'm interested to know how and when you would discuss grammar in your unit? This is something I would also like to do, but I'm not sure what it would look like yet. It sounds like you have the beginings of a great class.
ReplyDeleteHey Michael, thanks for your comments. Yes, one of their low-stakes writings would definitely be a draft of their autobiography. As for grammar, I think I would try to frame it not as "grammar lessons," but as ways to improve their proofreading, which would be done only during the last draft of their larger papers. I would do some practice with proofreading in class (or at home) too, good cognitivist that I am. :)
DeleteI wonder if it might help to check out the "From Me to We" project 826 Valencia does with John O'Connell High School. Of course it is a very different student base (inner-city high school juniors) but the aim of the project is to get students to write about a group they are a part of that other people may not understand. 826 then publishes a book of these essays. It is something like an autobiography but more focused on conferring understanding to people who may see them as other. I don't have a copy but I can pick one up from 826 if you'd like to check it out.
ReplyDeleteNiki, that would be awesome if you could pick that up. I would be really interested in taking a look at that. Thanks! Very nice of you to offer.
DeleteHello Michael,
ReplyDeleteHaving the autobiographies published online seems like a good move. It should drive home the point to the students that they are now part of the public sphere, part of civil society, of the democratic dialogue (which it is the role of a public institution like SFSU to enrich with a diversity of voices). While being more social and democratic, essays published online are also more personal--because of the multimedia potential of online publishing. It's definitely the way to go.
Thanks Collin. Yeah, I think the students might be more engaged if they can include images, links, songs, etc. It would be different from the stale ole five paragraph essay (I hope!).
DeleteI really like the way that you've structured the development of your course. Reading this post made me imagine an expanding point. Not only does it move from novice to more experienced, but it also moves from personal to more worldly and from structured to more independent. You've also put so much thought into your plan. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteHi Michael--
ReplyDeleteYou say that your plan is built on "a blend of cognitive and socio-cultural theory", but from the title and unit explanation there is a very obvious expressivist thread. The multiple pedagogy approach is well executed here. I like that you're addressing student learning outcomes. It's productive to think about our pedagogical approaches alongside what we actually want students to be able to do. I like that you've included your own writing in this unit so that your students see you as instructor AND writer.