1. How do the literacy practices—particularly, writing Think Pieces based off the course reader—act to afford or constrain our understanding of the course material and the intention of the course in general?
Instructor Interview:
· Purpose of the Course
1. introduce students to social theories of writing
2. understand writing as being situated in particular social contexts
3. how writing works in contexts other than school, such as the home, the community, and the workplace
4. students read published studies of writing that “adopt social theories of writing and that they take up this approach as they design, conduct, and present their own research on literate practices at work in a particular community
5. become familiar with the discourse employed in social approach to writing (social context, literate practice, discourse community, etc…
· Course Reader Articles
1. serve as one way for students to start to get a feel for how writing is indeed situated in particular communities
2. illustrates how writing changes as it gets used in different communities
3. allows students to “participate in research in fields like education, writing studies, and anthropology
4. “Overall, when I read what students write in Think Pieces and post on the Inquiry Page, talk to students before and after class, and listen to how their research is coming along, I think students have used the articles in a variety of ways to help them meet the various demands of the course. They’ve also used them in ways that I never would have imagined.”
· Purpose of Think Pieces
1. important to give students plenty of opportunities to engage in relatively “low stakes” kinds of writing—writing that doesn’t get graded
2. affords people the opportunity to work through the issues and questions they have about the readings or what gets brought up in class or their research projects
3. provides students with opportunities to use the new terms they’re learning
4. provides students with regular opportunities to engage with the new theoretical approaches “without them having to worry whether it’s ‘correct’ or not
5. instructor does not want the Think Pieces to function primarily as a form of surveillance, to demonstrate that students have read the material
6. provide students uncomfortable speaking in class to have their thoughts and opinions heard
7. instructor observed behavior of students using Think Pieces as a kind of “script” when they make comments in class discussion
8. tie Think Pieces to research aspect of course
9. “Like everything else that teachers bring into classrooms, it is often the case that students use Think Pieces in ways that I could never have imagined.”
· Diverse Formats for Writing Think Pieces
1. by inviting students to use whatever means they have at their disposal as they communicate something about a reading, a class discussion, or perhaps even something else, instructor affords them the level of agency that learners need in order to more fully engage with what’s going on
2. aware that research requires more standard format for writing; thus, Think Pieces allows students to explore different formats
· Unevaluated Think Pieces
1. instructor wanted students to really engage with what they were articulating in their Think Pieces; thus, instead of putting grade on them, he wanted to “respond to what they were saying, ask them a few questions, suggest new directions and issues they might want to think about, and explain some points that it seemed like they might be struggling with.”
2. “It’s almost as if they thought to themselves, ‘Well, I’ve got to do these Think Pieces, so I guess I’ll use them in a productive fashion.”
3. instructor is aware that some students just write something down on a piece of paper and turn it in so they get credit for handing something in
4. instructor is aware that students do not necessarily have to read articles in order to write Think Pieces, since they are not graded and “based on how much they displayed that the student had ‘done the reading’.”
· Course Design and Instructor Self-Reflection
1. students accustomed to just “doing school” aren’t going to feel like much is going on, or that the instructor isn’t living up to their expectations (“digest the readings for them,” tell them what they need to know and think, etc…)
Jeff Vece Interview #1
· Purpose of the Course
1. initially, he had no idea what the purpose of the course was
2. thought of it as a writing class in general: how to write compositions, “stuff I had already learned before”
3. didn’t think it would be that hard
4. in this class, he actually likes what we are doing…research project is interesting
5. less agency than education majors
6. expected to get a “B” overall in this course
· Course Reader Articles
1. readings are mostly for discussion and writing Think Pieces
2. dislikes workplace writing articles, but understands their significance to the course; one of the main themes
· Purpose of Think Pieces
1. thought of them as checking for who read
2. initially saw them as busy work
3. currently understands that the things we write are important to the class
4. spends roughly ten to fifteen minutes, and it is usually about a page, single-spaced
5. when awake and engaged, writing a page is easy
6. I like writing Think Pieces because it is autonomous—not chore-like
7. more useful when you can write about what you want
8. up to students to bring up elements of their Think Pieces during discussion; don’t necessarily have to integrate Think Pieces into the discussion
· Diverse Formats for Writing Think Pieces
1. all have been in essay form, like a reader response, and that is easy because he is used to that format
2. no introduction or conclusion
3. just think and write
4. partially a “time thing”
· Unevaluated Think Pieces
Yejoon Koh Interview #1
· Purpose of the Course
1. expected to get a “B” in the course—seems to be his average for classes in general
2. had no idea what the course was going to be about; saw “Theory of Composition” and thought he would be learning different styles of writing
3. thought the first day of class, “Oh, crap…it’s one of those touchy-feely classes!”
4. he would rather be in lecture
5. initial impression of the instructor was that, “he was trying to be cool with the students and liberal about the class,” but feels the instructor does a good job getting the students engaged and questioning things
6. doesn’t like to talk in class
· Course Reader Articles
1. feels deficient in reading because he has a short attention span, and there are always other things he’d rather be doing
2. does the reading when a Think Piece is due
· Purpose of Think Pieces
1. usually does bare minimum to get a decent grade
2. thought they were busy work and felt annoyed
3. better than other homework
4. enjoys the fact that you can “ramble off instead of writing what teachers expect
5. usually writes about ½ to one full page of single-spaced typing, and spends about a half-hour
6. completes them right before they are due
7. effort depends on interest in the article and what else is due around that same time
8. “I don’t mind doing them once a week, but when one is due every class period, such as in the beginning, it becomes annoying and a hassle.”
9. Think Pieces get him to think about the article, as opposed to “proving you’ve read and being able to predict what teachers want you to gain.”
· Diverse Formats for Writing Think Pieces
1. usually touches on what the reading was about or what was said in class
2. writes what he thinks in a “reader-response” format
3. thinks using diverse formats is cool, but he only did one unorthodox Think Piece (one in graffiti hand style) because it took too long
· Unevaluated Think Pieces
Mike Ramirez Interview #1
· Purpose of the Course
1. figured he would get an “A” in the course
2. thought the purpose was to learn how to write papers
3. after he found out about the course, he thought that is would be “us working all semester long on some research paper. I thought it would be easy with little required reading but a lot of writing. I expected Think Piece things.”
4. “ I love this class. I feel it to be very interesting, and I dislike missing. I do skip occasionally, but only if something else comes up.”
· Course Reader Articles
1. least effort spent on reading the articles
2. “I don’t really get a lot out of them, but I understand how they are necessary for us when doing our research.”
3. they don’t really apply too much most of the time, but they generate discussion
4. “I hate articles.”
· Purpose of Think Pieces
1. in terms of abilities, he thinks he has figured out how to get around doing most of the work for his classes—he can determine what is necessary and what is not
2. he expected he would be writing something like Think Pieces, and he thinks they are great, “as they keep us accountable for readings and they promote some great discussion.”
3. spends roughly thirty minutes
4. does not exert too much time and research, but takes them pretty seriously
5. depends what is going on with life when sitting down to write
6. feels Think Pieces develop our thoughts before we walk into the classroom
· Diverse Formats for Writing Think Pieces
1. exerts the most effort on creative writing
2. likes to use just about any format that fits the piece. “They all take about the same time; there is no pattern.”
· Unevaluated Think Pieces
Kim Davis Interview #1
· Purpose of the Course
1. I initially thought the purpose of this course was to learn how to grade secondary student’s compositions
2. I figured I would get an “A”
3. I never expected that research would be an aspect—a big requirement—of this course, and I initially was excited about that
4. as the course progressed, the research aspect began—and still is—to haunt me
5. I like to discuss, in general, so that is something I value about the course—it makes me realize how many people do NOT agree with me
· Course Reader Articles
1. I like reading, but I hate articles
2. it is not so bad, though—it’s nice to take a break from textbooks and novels
3. some articles are really difficult to write Think Pieces about, but I can usually find a line or two that sparks something
· Purpose of Think Pieces
1. I always thought Think Pieces were to primarily check who has and hasn’t read
2. they show the teacher that the students are capable of taking the material a step further—to illustrate their ability to manipulate the subject matter
3. they are stressless and create less anxiety for the student, while keeping them engaged in the material
4. I never really thought of Think Pieces in terms of conducting research…I always somehow separated Think Pieces from the research aspect of the course
· Diverse Formats for Writing Think Pieces
1. I think using diverse format is more entertaining for both teacher and student
2. they are more fun to do
3. take too much time, though
4. would be more creative if there were less Think Pieces to do and more time to do them
· Unevaluated Think Pieces
1. allows students to just do the assignment without having to worry about how much credit they are going to get
2. takes away agency to do the assignment in a way… “They aren’t graded, so why try to impress the teacher?”
2. How do the literacy practices—particularly, writing Think Pieces based off the course reader—act to afford or constrain our literacy practices in general?
Instructor Interview
· Purpose of Course
1. “Hopefully, they’ll employ what they come to learn from this course as they participate in other communities and assume different roles after graduation.”
2. students planning to be teachers, take some of what they have learned in class and think critically about how they will approach writing instruction in the future
3. education students could also implement research into their own teaching practices, having students do “a kind of cut-down version of the research that the undergraduates in 381 are doing.”
· Course Reader Articles
1. “Because the readings focus on writing in contexts with which students are familiar with (e.g., school, the workplace, the home, etc…), they also serve as a way for students to connect their own experiences with writing with those discussed in the articles and in class.”
· Purpose of Think Pieces
1. connect with experiences outside the classroom
2. students use Think Pieces in ways instructor could not imagine
· Diverse Formats for Writing Think Pieces
1. students can make their own decision about which format might best serve their needs for a particular Think Piece; “the goals they want a particular Think Piece to accomplish, which kinds of genres will best allow them to meet these goals, how best to go about creating the Think Piece, the affordances and constraints associated with the format they chose.”
2. affords the level of agency that learners need in order to more fully engage with what’s going on
3. instructor is aware that some students are reluctant to do so, and this seems strange given “people’s reactions to always being told exactly how to write, how many pages, what format to use, etc…”
· Unevaluated Think Pieces
1. allows students to “deal with other things”