Read, Think, Write, Repeat KMWP Teacher Demonstration Montyne Morris

Context “One of my major goals as a first-year composition instructor is to find ways for students to take charge of their writing, to provide them with a sense that writing matters.” Charles Tryon or Montyne Morris?

Inquiry What is the value of blogging in the composition classroom?

Class Goals Using a blog, our students will practice:  Critical reading  Critical thinking  Argument  Writing

Step One: READ In your Web browser, type Follow the link to read about KSU’s Mission.KSU’s Mission

Step Two: THINK KSU Claims?

Step Two: THINK SOME MORE 1.Take a 10-minute walk around campus. 2.Look for tangible evidence that supports or refutes KSU claims. 3.Be back at your computer in 10 minutes. (turn around in 5 minutes!)

Preparing to WRITE… What makes a good blog post?

Preparing to WRITE… Return to Read, Think, Write, RepeatRead, Think, Write, Repeat ( Use your WORDPRESS.COM user name and password to login. From your DASHBOARD, click NEW POST.

Step Three: WRITE Describe at least one thing you observed and how you think it supports or refutes a claim we discussed. (5 min.)

TEACHER DEBRIEFING What we’ve done so far…What we’ve practiced… Step One: READ Step Two: THINK Step Three: WRITE

Step Four: REPEAT Return to Read, Think, Write, Repeat to read all the posts.Read, Think, Write, Repeat Write a comment on at least two other postings.

TEACHER DEBRIEFING What we’ve added…What we’ve practiced… Step Four: REPEAT

Why this works Weblogs are all about literacy. (Warlick) Student who blog have to read, think, write and repeat. (Warlick)

Why this works Students will take writing more seriously if they are writing for public audiences on the Internet. (Lowe and Williams) The instant feedback and endless arguments so typical of blogs surface good/bad arguments. (Tryon)

Why this works When you blog you know others will read it; you have an awareness of the possibility that others may disagree. (Walker) We must teach writing in a collaborative environment, because this is where our students live. (Walker)

“I have had much success with blogging as a tool for making the basic concepts of rhetoric more tangible and for helping students discover that writing for a larger audience is a valuable activity...” (Tryon)

TEACHER DEBRIEFING How can we build on this? What is required to facilitate? How can we adapt for K-12? What are your concerns?

“ Is it ethical not to provide students with opportunities to perform in public? My eight year old has been learning to play the violin for just over a year and has already played at five public concerts. Why should learning writing or thinking be different?” (Walker)

Working Bibliography Bloch, Joel and Cathryn Crosby. “Blogging and Academic Writing Development.” Handbook of Research on Computer-Enhanced Language Acquisition and Learning. Eds. Felicia Zhang and Beth Barber. Hershey: Information Science Reference, Print. Lowe, Charles and Terra Williams. “Moving to the Public: Weblogs in the Writing Classroom.” Into the Blogosphere. Ed. Laura J. Gurak, Smiljana Antonijevic, Laurie Johnson, Clancy Ratliff, and Jessica Reyman. June Web. 16 June Penrod, Diane. “Blogging and Basic Writing.” Teaching Basic Writing. McGraw-Hill Higher Education Web. 16 June Tryon, Charles. “Writing and Citizenship: Using Blogs to Teach First-Year Composition.” Pedagogy 6.1 (2006): Project MUSE. Web. 16 Jun Walker, Jill. “Weblogs: Learning in Public.” On the Horizon 13.2 (2005): Web. 16 June Warlick, David F. Classroom Blogging: A Teacher’s Guide to Blogs, Wikis, & Other Tools that are Shaping a New Information Landscape. 2 nd ed. Raleigh: Lulu.com, Print.