I think the two demos today really honed in on the motivation we have been discussing.
Using a free write activity before starting on a formal or creative writing project can definitely lead to motivation. The students spend their time writing without really thinking, and then they can go back and perhaps choose something that they've written to continue. This is huge for the students! Instead of have the teacher say "ok, I need a five paragraph essay about _________," the students have the option to pick what they write about. As I mentioned before, when the students can pick their topic, they tend to be more motivated to do it well. (I completely understand that there are going to be times when the teacher HAS to say "we need a five paragraph essay about ______," but I think the more free will that the students are given to write about a chosen topic, the easier and better the writing becomes.)
I think it's the same thing about creating a soundtrack. This, I feel, is a genius activity. It gets the students to really think about what they are doing, and better yet - they have to defend it. The students get the practice of persuading/defending/rationalizing/etc without even realizing they are doing it. This is a unique way to test a student's understanding and reasoning process!
I feel like a lot of the demos we have been exposed to hit on motivation in some way. I believe it was Karen (but I may be wrong) who said "why would we assign something we don't want to grade?" These demonstrations show us unique and fun ways to "test" the students, and a lot of times the students don't even know they're being tested.
I agree! Many of the pieces we discussed today gave us so much to think and talk about today. Looking at the form of writing was a great conversation for us to have. I think the motivation of the teachers is just as important as the motivation of the students. I think freedom in choices of writing is the key to grabbing those students immediately into the activity. I know that there are so many pieces of restrictions put on students that letting them choose their topics can help to create some agency in the class for the students.
ReplyDeleteMaggie -
ReplyDeleteI have struggled mightily with the issue of motivation. Let's face it, for most students education is about motivation that comes "outside-in", meaning that it is not intrinsic. It is pressure from parents or teachers and rarely is provided with rational reason which applies to the students' current stage of life. I agree with you that a key to creating motivation is "choice". However, I would prefer to call this "ownership" rather than motivation. They are very similar but I would say that it is possible for teachers to create community environments which hold students accountable for "owning" their work, be they responses in a discussion or fully realized creative products. The point is that, by having to own their work instead of being able to say "It may suck but it's not my fault because the teacher made me do it.", the students are meant to take responsibility and hopefully find their own personal motivation for their contribution. Can we create classroom communities that encourage "ownership" by our students? We grade products but I wonder if we shouldn't really be assessing the process.
I am really beginning to change my ideas surrounding free writing and how to use it in the classroom. I think the phrase itself can be "obnoxious" to some students, especially the ones who don't enjoy writing (which is sometimes a majority of them). Free writing sounds great in theory but immediately it comes to my mind (and I often think like a teenager in many ways), "this is not free because I have to do it and though I can write about whatever, I don't want to write in the first place so yuck!" I'm trying to brain storm a different name or phrase for "free writing" so it seems less like writing about anything and more like time / space to be you for a few minutes. If anyone has any ideas - let me know!
ReplyDeleteRe-naming the free write:
Delete1) Writing session (??)
2) Thoughts on paper (could be called a TOP session if you wanna acronym it)
3) Free response
4) "My reality..." time (in which the only stipulation is that the first two words be "My reality..." and then they continue whichever way they want to go for the remainder of the timed session.)