Thinking About Peer Feedback

I haven’t gotten too far past researching and thinking in terms of my inquiry project.  This is my response to Jillian on the discussion page for our group.  I think it’s an important foundation for where I will be going with this project:

I think in terms of determining what your goal is (and I’m saying this for my benefit), it is important to think about what you consider effective peer feedback to be?  Personally, I think it has to do with equipping our students with the language and strategies of critical writers and then showing them how they can use this to give each other peer feedback.  Ultimately, though, why is peer feedback important? What do we want our students to glean from such feedback?  I guess in my mind, I see peer feedback as a way to ensure that our students have a real audience as well as the chance to think critically about writing outside of their own–and ultimately we want them to be able to transfer this critical eye to their own writing.  I feel like this is a chicken and the egg question.  Do students need to become critical of their own writing before they can be critical of others–or vice versa?  I suppose the two things are…reciprocal.

Some of the strategies I have tried previously have included peer feedback circles where I provided a guide for them to follow as they read each others’ drafts, using blogs and comments as a way to encourage more holistic responses, and workshopping on peer feedback after finding that there was a deficit in students responses.  Looking back on these things, I think what I lacked was a focus on revision and how to use feedback to revise as well as showing students how peer feedback can help them to think critically about their own writing.  I also think that I need to equip my students with the right language to use as well as to provide additional models of what being critical of writing looks like.  Some of the things I’m thinking about include using outside model essays to analyze for strengths and weaknesses and to give feedback as a group–and then to revise together, possibly showing one of those Annenberg (sp?) videos of educators and students in action, one-on-one conferencing as well as group conferencing (where I’m involved–providing feedback in one-on-one and then facilitating in groups), and modeling how to use feedback to revise writing (which I think I would try to intertwine into my one-on-one conferences as well as model in a mini-lesson using a model essay I wrote for the assignment).  I think these practices will be shaky during this essay writing sequence since it will be the first time using them, but am hoping to build off of for our upcoming research paper at the end of March/beginning of April.

In terms of my writing sequence, I am thinking that I will moving through the following steps:

Day 1:   Essay intro; brainstorming ideas; reading essays as arguments and dissecting for process; discussing elements and applying to collaborative essay; thesis and graphic organizer for individual essay due next class

Day 2:  Thesis workshop; library day to draft; one-on-one conferencing to review game plans; begin drafting for next class

Day 3:  Library day to draft and continue one-on-one conferences; continue drafting for next class

Day 4:  Group conferencing to review drafts and continue drafting

Day 5: Peer feedback mini-lesson; fishbowl for peer feedback; peer feedback circles

Day 6: Revising workshop; library time to revise and edit; optional conferences

Day 7: Publication day–post to blog and receive audience responses (two stars and a wish?)

Great Grammar (TE 804 Reading – Anderson)

While waiting for this article to load, I was taken back to last fall semester, when I took a class on English Grammar as part of the TESOL program.  While I found the information in the class to be fascinating and useful, all I remember is how BORED I was sitting in the class as the professor lectured–despite her having professed how important it was to make English fun for second language learners.  And this is often students’ experience with grammar.  It’s boring.  How do we change this perception?  Hopefully Jeff Anderson has some good suggestions for me:

“Zooming In and Zooming Out: Putting Grammar in Context into Context” by Jeff Andersen

• What does it mean to teach grammar in context?
  • Grammar doesn’t need to be taught in the context of a whole text.
  • One purpose of teaching grammar is to give students “time to notice what effect the author’s crafting had on the reader–to play around with whatifs, imitation, permutation–they began using those skills in the context of their writing to shape meaning.  So we teach grammar to equip our students’ with tools to be effective authors…
  • I agree–students don’t necessarily need to know the labels for grammatical elements as long as they learn how to effectively manipulate them in their writing.
  • Zoom in and then back out to teach grammatical concepts–part of scaffolding
  • Teach grammar in the context of teaching students to be writers
  • Teach grammar so students take a writers’ stance, not a right or wrong stance.
• Lesson:
  • Ground in one grammatical context.
  • Connect with mentor text to find examples
  • Play with mentor text to discover how the grammar rule can be manipulated–and how to decide what is most effective.
  • Students’ play with another text to examine the rule–like linguists…
  • Students play with their writing using the rule and determine how to manipulate it best in their own writing.

This makes me think that it would be helpful to highlight four or five grammatical features in a unit of study, to integrate them in studying the text and contant writing, and then to focus on that in any extended writing assignments…

Thinking Through Assessment Through My Students’ Eyes

In order to make this assignment most useful for me, I decided to twist it to resemble an essay my students will be writing at the end of this month.  They will have the option of choosing between four prompts.  I chose the following:  In your essay, your job is to put Macbeth, Lady Macbeth on trial for the murder of Duncan.  Develop an argument in response to following question: If the main theme of Macbeth is ambition, whose ambition is the driving force of the play—Macbeth’s, Lady Macbeth’s, or both?  Once you determine who is at fault for the murder, act as the prosecuting attorney for the murderer, and prove who they should be convicted of the crime.  Note: Because the answer to this question is not clear cut, you may find it useful to discuss Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship in order to build your argument.  

1. Form an opinion:

While Lady Macbeth fueled Macbeth’s growing ambition to become king of Scotland, ultimately Macbeth’s desire for power was the driving force in the play.  Not only did he share his ambition with his wife and give in to her goading, but he was ultimately responsible for acting against the natural order by committing regicide, thus setting off a chain of unnatural events. 

1.  
   1. Five reasons: Macbeth’s ambition

                                                               i.      He begins to entertain the idea and shares it with Lady Macbeth in I.iii.                                                             ii.      He gives in to Lady Macbeth’s berating (I.vii.).                                                            iii.      He allows Malcolm and Donalbain to be blamed, giving him clear access to the crown.                                                            iv.      He plots to murder Banquo and Fleance in order to overturn the second part of the witches’ prophecy—without his wife’s suggestion.                                                              v.      He commissions the death of Lady MacDuff and her children.                                                            vi.      He leads Scotland into war without any concern for the state of the country or for his suicidal wife.

1.  
   1. Five reasons: Lady Macbeth’s ambition

                                                               i.      She goads Macbeth on in I.vii by calling him less than a man.                                                             ii.      She uses guilt to manipulate Macbeth by saying that she is going to measure his love for her by his willingness to become king (I.vii.38-39).                                                            iii.      She comes up with the plan to murder Duncan and plants the knives on the guards (I.vii.59-72).                                                            iv.      She encourages Macbeth to put on a façade in order to maintain his authority.                                                              v.      She is embarrassed by Macbeth’s behavior at the party. 

1. Audience:

My audience for this essay would be both fictional and real.   In the play, I might be trying to convince the people of Scotland that Macbeth was truly responsible for murdering Duncan—and is definitely not fit to be the king.  I might also be trying to prove the innocence of Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, since they were originally accused of murder, by proving that Macbeth was the real murderer.  Outside of the text, I would be trying to convince my teacher—in order to receive a good grade—as well as my classmates.   

1. Evidence:

My evidence for the people of Scotland would be the dialogue between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as well as Macbeth’s inner thoughts and actions.  Normally, these things would not be as easy to support, but in the case of this essay, that means I will be using textual support.  This evidence will also prove to my teacher that I have developed a well-formed argument based on my familiarity and engagement with the text.  In both cases, I will be looking for textual support that shows how Macbeth’s responsibility for Duncan’s death grew through the play.  For example, I would cite the scene where Lady Macbeth comes up with the murder—but Macbeth actually goes through with it.  I would also cite his the two soliloquies that appear early in the play (1) right after he talks to the witches, and (2) right before he murders Duncan to demonstrate that he had entertained the idea even without Lady Macbeth’s goading.  I would also cite his dramatic change after the murder, particularly his lack of remorse and his other murders to prove that he knew what he wanted and knew how to get it.  All of this things would demonstrate that Macbeth’s heart was set on being king—and knowing the people of Scotland and my teacher, the idea of regicide and murder would be unacceptable.  Ultimately, I need to paint Macbeth in a very dark light.   

1. Using Writing to Persuade:

I need to make sure I’m gradually building my argument.  I need to connect my audience to the essay from the start by showing them why they should care about reading my writing.  I should take a clear cut stand on the issue and should support that issue with three or more strong statements.  I should develop these statements with textual support and additional elaboration.  I should also paint Lady Macbeth in a more appealing light to make her a more sympathetic character; in connection to this, I should also address the counterargument.  Finally I should bring my argument to a close, being sure to come back to my original claim.  Besides following this process, I should also make sure that none of what I say is counter to my original argument.  I should also make sure that I follow proper grammatical and mechanical conventions to demonstrate that I am a reliable writer.  Related to this, I must also cite my textual support to show that I am giving credit to my sources.   

1. Outline:

Thesis Statement: While Lady Macbeth fueled Macbeth’s growing ambition to become king of Scotland, ultimately Macbeth’s desire for power was the driving force in the play.  Not only did he share his ambition with his wife and give in to her goading, but he was ultimately responsible for acting against the natural order by committing regicide, thus setting off a chain of unnatural events.

1.  
   1. Body Paragraph #1: Macbeth originally entertained the idea by giving into the witches’ suggestion, continuing to consider it and then sharing it with his wife. 

                                                               i.      Macbeth’s reaction to the witches’ prophecy (I.iii): 1.       “Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:
By Sinel’s death I know I am thane of Glamis;
But how of Cawdor? the thane of Cawdor lives,
A prosperous gentleman; and to be king
Stands not within the prospect of belief,
No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence
You owe this strange intelligence? or why
Upon this blasted heath you stop our way
With such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you.”                                                             ii.      Macbeth undoubtedly desires to be the king (I.iii): 1.       “If ill, why hath it given me earnest of success.”                                                            iii.      Macbeth commits to the suggestion by putting it to paper, sharing it with his wife, calling her his “dearest partner of greatness,” and asking her to consider it (I.v.)

1.  
   1. With full knowledge of the consequences of regicide, Macbeth responds to his wife’s goading and his desire for power by murdering Duncan—rather than following his conscience.

                                                               i.      Macbeth knows that killing Duncan is wrong as demonstrated in his soliloquy at the beginning of I.vii.                                                               ii.      He shares his doubt with his wife, but after she goads him, he decides to prove his manliness and love for his wife—as well as to fulfill his desire for power—but committing to murdering Duncan in the second part of I.vii.                                                            iii.      Macbeth killed Duncan: “I have done the deed” (II.ii.15).

1.  
   1. Rather than demonstrating regret for killing Duncan, Macbeth pursues his quest relentlessly.

                                                               i.      He allows Malcolm and Donalbain to be blamed for the murder, giving him clear access to the throne.                                                             ii.      He plots the murder of Banquo and Fleance in order to get them out of the way, anticipating the fulfillment of the second half of the witches’ prophecy. (III.i).                                                            iii.      He commissions the murder of MacDuff’s family (IV.i).                                                            iv.      He leads Scotland into war in order to protect the throne for himself (V.iii).    

Beginning Macbeth

This past week, I officially started Macbeth with my students. To a certain degree, I feel a great amount of pressure to plow through it since according to the pacing chart, we should have done it back in December–but I can’t do that to my kids. It’s not their fault that testing and snow days and block scheduling and more has slowly eaten away at our class time. And one thing I have definitely taken away from my own education is that often times a depth over breadth approach is much more productive.

But anyway.

I have tried to plan out our unit on Power and Ambition to make it manageable and to ensure that I am really scaffolding students’ learning–and interest-throughout the unit. This past week, our lessons built their general understanding of the plot of Macbeth through a rap song and predicting about the story–as well as by connecting it back to our previous weeks’ discussion of of power in society today and back in the Renaissance.

We also got up on our feet this week with some acting and playing with Shakespearean language (thanks Shakespeare Set Free!). This coming week, we will be moving through Act I, and my intentions are to develop their understanding of the characters, setting and plot. I’m also planning to bring in some of the vocab terms and literary terms, which I will build on the following week. Too much? I hope not…

For the characters and setting, we will establish this together as a class and will construct a character wall showing connections between characters as well as adjectives associated with each character. I’m hoping it will be a useful resource that we can continue building as we move through the play. For the setting, this is fairly straightforward–I can connect it back to our previous discussion of the Middle Ages, show a short clip of the beginning of Macbeth (a little teaser for later), maybe do a quickwrite about what they imagine the setting looks like and feels like, and make sure to emphasize the weather and darkness. I’m really hoping they connect with the imagery in the play since this will make it much easier to visualize and therefore relate to. Out of all of these things, the vocabulary part is the least interesting and most challenging part for me–and to be honest, may well have been neglected had we not discussed it recently with Of Mice and Men. I definitely see the importance of foregrounding new vocab and using it to build reading fluency–and like the fact that I can connect it back to our school’s increased emphasis on test-prep. Here’s what I’m thinking

Reference OMM Lesson: Day 1
Objectives: SW connect new vocabulary words to existing knowledge; SW use vocabulary words in context

1. [continue from yesterday...]
2. QW: What is/are the purposes of learning new vocabulary?
3. discuss their (students’) purposes in learning new vocab – in connecting this to reading a story – in connecting this to writing or speaking -
4. pass out vocabulary list – talk through each word – what does it remind you of? How can we remember it? How is it used in a sentence?
5. Show models of past vocab paragraphs – especially models where past students used words well together
6. Some writing time – use first 8 words in a vocab story or paragraph – due on DAY 3.

I like all of this; for my purposes I intend to adapt this and to do the following as a mini-lesson:

1. QW: What is/are the purposes of learning new vocabulary?
2. Discuss their (students’) purposes in learning new vocab – in connecting this to reading a story – in connecting this to writing or speaking -
3. Pass out vocabulary list – talk through each word – what does it remind you of? How can we remember it? How is it used in a sentence?
4. To build on the acting we did last week in class and that we will continue doing, I will incorporate word charades with words from Act I and II in the same vein as the TE 804 session from a couple weeks ago. Do I want to do this as a whole class activity? Or since I already have group work, have two groups prepare their versions of I.iii while the other groups prepare for charades? And then do the small group question activity with everyone after? Bridge this to a discussion of the rest of Act I. Then the Reading Check Quiz then begin Act II? This could work…

Another idea:

1. act out pages 4-6 (half of room watch Lennie, half watch George – students taking notes on observations of what actors do to bring the characters to life)
2. Discuss what we learn about these characters – what is significant?
3. Act out pages 13-15 – repeat above –
4. create 2 column character chart (character, description) to use as reading guide
5. predict about future –intro chapter 2: why is this chapter going to be important to the book? Why are this chapter’s events going to be important to George and Lennie (possibly tie to imagining yourself entering a new school – you are looking for who may or may not be good friends)

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While I have the two groups performing I.iii, I could have the rest of the class watching Macbeth, Banquo and the witches and creating a list of adjectives to describe them. Prior to this, we could return to a discussion of scenes i and ii and begin constructing a list of adjectives for Duncan and Macbeth. Then after the acting we could post the characters on the wall and then post some of these adjectives around the characters.

OR

 

1. assign key characters (possibly not George or Lennie) to small groups to become experts for: [half page handout: for your assigned character, come up with at least 2 pictures

   ---

I could do the same thing after we move into Act II–we could construct our character wall since the major characters will be introduced by then…So I could save the character wall to aide our analysis of Act II towards the end of this week/beginning of next. My lesson for Mon/Tues could look like this:

1) Students will discuss the following question in their journal: What is/are the purposes of learning new vocabulary?2) As a whole class, we will discuss the students’ purposes in learning new vocab – in connecting this to reading a story – in connecting this to writing or speaking.

3) Pass out vocabulary list for Acts I and II; discuss how knowing this terms will aide their reading; talk through each word – what does it remind you of? How can we remember it? How is it used in a sentence?

4) To build on the acting we did last week in class and that we will continue doing, partners will receive a word from the vocab list and must prepare a short skit to illustrate the word. Everyone will have five minutes to prepare. Then the class will be divided into two halves; each partner set will present their short skit and teams will have a chance to guess the word. After guessing the word, they must justify their reasoning.

5) We will return to Act I with our new knowledge; we will watch beginning clip of Macbeth to discuss setting and what the setting of the play suggests about how the story will unfold.

6) In small groups, students will receive an envelope with instructions. They will either (a) respond to five questions and post their responses on the appropriate butcher paper, or (b) prepare a short skit of I.iii. They will have 15 minutes.

7) We will reconvene as a class to go over the answers to the five questions, using this to build our understanding of Act I.iii. We will also discuss the remaining scenes in Act I.

8) Our acting groups will perform their skits; during their performances, the remaining groups will be responsible for watching an assigned character: Macbeth, Banquo, or the witches. They must focus on two things (a) how their characters are portrayed differently in the two versions, and (b) how they would describe their characters. We will return to this discussion in the next class period.

9) Students will complete Reading Check Quiz I.

10) We will begin listening to/reading Act II in class.

HW: Students will read II.1-2; they must come up with a list of five adjectives for Lady Macbeth.

TE 804 – Engaging Male Students in Reading and Inquiry

Making it Matter Through the Power of Inquiry (Wilhelm and Smith)

Notes from Reading:

• We are most fully engaged and happy when we are in the flow–when we are experiencing something so intensely that nothing else matters.
• FLOW
  • Competence and control – make choices, state opinions, create something in order to display individual identity (creating independent learners)
  • Appropriate challenge and assistance to meet the challenge (scaffolding; zone of proximal development)
  • Clear goals and immediate feedback
  • Immersion in the immediate (relevancy)
  • The importance of the social (well they are teenagers after all…)
• “As teachers, we must:”
  • structure instruction to directly and explicitly address issues of genuine importance
  • expand notions of text and curriculum, and what counts as meaningful reading and learning
  • expand notions of competence, especially student competence, and find more ways to celebrate, name, and extend it

Building the Textual Lineages of African American Male Adolescents (Tattum)

Notes from Reading:

• African American male adolescents are among our nation’s poorest readers.
• The same rules of engaging disinterested readers still apply; engage by using relevant texts, share purpose, etc.

Breaking It Down:

During our last TE 802 class of the semester, we discussed some of the reasons we write–to communicate, to explore, to connect, to digest, to argue, etc., etc. Likewise, in thinking about why we read, many of these reasons continue to apply; according to Wilhelm/Smith’s essay and Tatum’s reading we read based on the relevancy and importance of the reading material to our lives. Our learning is increased when it is relevant and challenging–something that certainly seems to have motivated my own literacy learning. It is essential for students to see themselves, to see their lives and obstacles and joys reflected in the texts they read.  Unfortunately, however, the connection between the texts used in a classroom–typically canonical texts written by “dead white men”–and students’ lives is not immediately apparent for the student being forced to read them.This seems particularly true in my senior English classroom, where, according to the Detroit Public Schools pacing chart, I’m expected to teach the history of British literature from the Anglo Saxon period to today to my students, who are allAfrican America.  Certainly this does not mean that the texts we study are irrelevant; to a certain extent Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Macbeth, and Gulliver’s Travels have lasted this long because of their universal relevance (although something may be said about the fact that they became a part of mainstream literature because they were (a) British, and (b) written by people in positions of power or in close proximity to those in positions of power).  However, this does not mean that my students’ see themselves and their lives reflected in the texts at first glance.  And according to Wilhelm/Smith and Tatum, it’s no wonder that engaging them in this pieces is difficult at times.   Nevertheless, I am gradually learning how to climb over this enormous obstacle–one that I imagine I will face consistently throughout my career–thanks to a little bit of inquiry in the classroom.

With each unit of study, I have gradually tried to push against my students’ resistance to reading the assigned texts by trying to incorporate the components of FLOW.  With Beowulf, we did a lot of reading in class, connected their experience with the text with the new movie with Angelina Jolie and Anthony Hopkins, and used small group work regularly for literary analysis.  This was fairly successful–for some of my students.  I had one student several weeks later explain her level of anger by saying she was about to go “Beowulf” on someone.  Recently, as we began discussing Macbeth, I was excited to see another female student compare Beowulf to to Macbeth.  Obviously, they had definitely engaged in the text and were continuing to connect with it.  As we moved into Canterbury Tales, I continued to use similar techniques, incorporating Shrek as a hook to illustrate satire and then building on this.  Despite the excitement that I saw in class, I was surprised at the end of the unit to have several students comment on how much they didn’t like Canterbury Tales (I like it after all–why shouldn’t they!?).  And these students were several of my male students.  Thinking about this in relation with Wilhelm/Smith and Tatum reminds me that even when my students appear engaged in class, appear to be excited about a text–that does not necessarily mean all of them are.  As I evaluate the gender composition of my class, about 30% of my 95 students are male and of that percentage, about 50% consistently demonstrate familiarity and interest in the texts we read–meaning that between 15-20 of my students are disengaging at some point.  And this is just for my males…consequently, reading Wilhelm/Smith and Tatum is certainly relevant to my teaching at this time.

As we have moved into Macbeth, I have definitely tried to incorporate greater levels of inquiry in the class as well as thinking about how to scaffold students’ learning with a difficult text.  How do I ensure that those 15-20 male students are connected with the text?  How do I continue to pull in my remaining students?  In evaluating which students are typically disenchanted with reading, it is useful to note that the majority of them are either dance majors or music technology majors at my school (demonstrating higher levels of kinesthetic and audio intelligence?).  Fortunately for me, Aileen recently shared Flocabulary with me and as I dug around online, I found their rap version of Macbeth.  Playing this for my students this past week worked as a very successful hook into Macbeth and allowed to incorporate the prereading strategy of prediction.  What was even more exciting was the fact that several of my male students that I know have checked out in the past were very interested, asking me, “Who is this?” when I played the song.

As I have moved into this unit, I have also tried to think about how to ensure that a unit on the Renaissance and Shakespeare is relevant to students’ lives as well as to ensure that our purpose in the unit was not just to understand Renaissance history or Macbeth, but examine something that seemed a little more relevant–and examining power in society and how power affects people seems to have struck a chord with my students, particularly in relation to the upcoming elections and the Kilpatrick fiasco in Detroit.  Last week, I used the idea of an opinonaire to get my students to start thinking about the essential questions in our unit–and as I wrote in a previous entry, it led to such an excellent class period and an engaging discussion between students–where I know I was spending the majority of my time listening and facilitating to ensure everyone engaged in the discussion.  As a quick run down of that lesson, I wrote eight sentences on butcher paper with an “Agree” and “Disagree” column under each and then posted them around the room.  Students then spent about eight minutes rotating between posters marking how they felt.  And then we discussed–with students understanding that at some point, I wanted to hear all of their voices.  Anyway.  This discussion laid an important foundation for our unit, and so after compiling the results recently, I distributed them to my classes–with the Macbeth scene guide printed on back (thanks Christine!).  Hopefully, we will be able to consistently come back to this and to use that discussion to frame our reading of Macbeth.  And hopefully that means I can tap into some of the energy and engagement from that lesson as we read Macbeth in order to ensure FLOW in my classroom–by showing my students–especially those disengaged males–how relevant Macbeth really is.

Other ways I will be incorporating FLOW and Tatum:

• Scaffolding reading of Macbeth to build my students’ ability to read independently
• Acting!  Allowing my student to construct skits of their own using prewritten scenarios and later using Macbeth.
• Coming back to the essential questions: (1) How does power and ambition influence people? and (2) How will you achieve your ambitions?
• Engaging in the text in large and small group discussions
• Continuing to incorporate the rap song, technology (podcasts and blogs), and other online resources to develop relevance of text and our writing about the text
• Incorporating important relevant current issues–the election and Kwame Kilpatrick situation to demonstrate relevance

TE 804 – McCann 10 & 13

McCann 10 – Discussion-Based Approaches to Teaching Composition

• Support and collaboration leads to development in writing.
• Ideas for teaching argument
  • Use case study for discussion/debate; students must back up opinions; can then connect to writing

  Idea: Macbeth is on trial; article in “newspaper”; students debate in class; then write analysis essay

Idea: Refer to McCann 10 for writing sequence for constructing an argument for writing workshop at the end of February. 

1. Read scenario
2. Write reactions
3. Discuss in small groups
4. Share in large group
5. Mini-lesson on argument process model using scenario
6. Read/analyze arguments using process mode to evaluate
7. Write response as a group
8. Use process independently for essay

Note: Need a prompt for Macbeth that is controversial, interesting, connects to focus of inquiry.

• Use essential questions?
•  Write Letter to Editor with regard to Macbeth and students respond–could incorporate into newspaper project.

McCann 13: Generating and Evaluating Discussion

• Question slips at door to allow students prepare; call on later (authentic discussion?)
• Small-Group Report
• Silent Discussion (This was useful and interesting; I think I need to push students more here; maybe I could have stopped by groups and added my two cents…or modeled how I would think through it…)
• Three-Index Card Discussion (I LIKE THIS!)

TE 804 – January 25, 2008 – Discussion Practices

TE804 Class – January 11, 2008

What have I learned that I’m explicitly/implicitly taking into my career?
What are my goals for this semester for myself? For my students?In inquiry, the role of the teacher is to provide guidance and support. My purpose is to help my students to learn how to learn without me.

In ELA, “We are in the business of communicating, of being taken seriously” in our speaking and writing (Dawson).