Achtung, Baby! Using Audio Feedback in the Classroom

When U2 had something to say to their fans in the '90s, they used German and asked us to Achtung, Baby!  When I have something to say to my students, I use Audacity, Screenr, Jing, or even Audioboo, and I, too, want them to listen up.



From Flickr, courtesy of xrayspx

The issue of how teachers give feedback has been relevant as long as teachers have asked students to compose their thoughts. Written feedback may appear as only terminal comments, as praise/comment/question, as a series of checks and question marks, or any combination of words and symbols meant to reward, punish, shame or inform the writer (depending on the professionalism and disposition of the teacher). English Journal published an essay from Bardine, Schmitz-Bardine and Deegan that highlights a number of key points about feedback. One key issue is the benefits of conferencing. I've highlighted the work of Don Murray in 2 previous posts ("Implications 1" and "Implications 2"), and of course he wrote about the importance of discussing students' work with them, also. It's no secret. But what if we are struggling to find the time, management style, or method for having those meetings?

While it's not an honest quid pro quo, audio feedback is a worthy surrogate for the conference, and I'll explain why.

Let's Retire the Boxing Gloves

I recently came across another article concerned with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and the impact that they will have on English classes.  This time, from Emory University’s English professor Mark Bauerlein.  To be honest, I’m kind of getting tired of the same complaints being raised over and over again about the standards.

Ultimately, I think—and the standards emphasize this in the document—that implementation comes down to the state and local level, and if the committees charged with writing curriculum ask themselves the hard questions and spend the time to reflect on what is best for students, the end product is going to be strong.  That has been my experience.

Besides, if anyone is going to critique the standards—to be clear, I’m just talking about the standards, not the exams, data culture, political rhetoric, etc. that comes along with them—he/she should check out this 2011 article that appeared in Education Week, by Mike Schmoker and Gerald Graff.

 

As far as Bauerlein’s concerns about literature selections being limited in the English classroom, let me explain why this is not a concern if the standards are implemented effectively.  In addition, to be blunt, this appears to be just another manifestation of the divide that has happened the past 25 years or so in English departments between literature and rhetoric and composition professors. 

Reflections on Don Murray's Implications for Writing Part 2

image from wikimedia,
some rights reserved from Stowe

Don Murray has so much good advice for writing teachers that I had to break my reponse into two posts. Again, his focus is on having teachers see writing as a process, not a product.

Implication 6: Mechanics come last. Comma splices are difficult to ignore, but they're even more difficult to correct withou a pen in hand. When I'm conferencing with a student, I've tried to leave the pen on the desk and read for meaning and logic. After revision, that sentence with the comma splice may not even be there. It's an important lesson to teach our peer editors, also. They need to look for more than misspellings.

Playing College: Twice the Credit, Half the Respect

The November 2013 Council Chronicle arrived today. I'm always interested to see what's new. The cover lists that there's a "New NCTE Policy Research Brief" related to "First-Year Writing." At Joliet West High School, Sean and I teach a dual credit Rhetoric course: students take a placement test, and once admitted they can earn credit from Joliet Junior College for English 101-102: Rhetoric by getting a C or higher. The link above explains in more detail how it works.

To teach the course, JJC requires a Master's in English, and after I earned a degree in English Studies from Elmhurst College, I picked up two sections of Rhetoric and have taught it since 2008. As the class grew, Sean picked up 1 section, and he even picked up a night class of Rhetoric at the college itself.

I bring this up because the Policy Research Brief from NCTE suggests that the class we teach at the high school "cannot fully replicate the experiences of First-Year Writing because high school students' social and cognitive development is at a different level" (14). Further, the Policy adds, "Allowing college credit for writing courses completed while in high school will not help students to fully develop capacities for engagement, persistence, collaboration, reflection, metacognition, flexibility, and ownership that will help them to grow as writers and learners" (15). Well...where to begin.

Beethoven vs. English 101

A Composer Composing

Composers vs. Composition. There's a connotation there: composers are artists, they are musicians, they are creative. Composition, on the other hand, is that class we take; it's studious; it's tedious; it involves a desk, a lamp, some white noise, a can of Diet Pepsi or a mug of lukewarm coffee. How can we help our students to think of themselves as composers?

My sons (are not droids)

The medium. That's one place to start. An artist has tools at his disposal. Composer John Williams of Star Wars and Indiana Jones fame had violins and trumpets at his disposal. Digital composition offers our artists tools. Do they want sound? An image? A video that works as a metaphor? A hyperlink to another composer whose work has inspired their own? There's a creative freedom with a digital medium that can foster our artists' creativity. On paper, a students' creativity--or lack of it--can be exposed, but that isn't so wrong. We need to see those flaws, too. But what if the images, links, videos and hypertext aren't crutches for students, but instead opportunities?