Reflections 2014

Hi everyone,

In this second year of participation, I found the entries were easier to write and that I developed more practice and comfort with adding graphics and links to the posts. Creating posts is an enriching experience because the practice forces me to stop and think for a few moments about what I do that is working, not working, and what I can share with others that may help them along their path to being a great instructor.

This semester I began by writing about two tools that I enjoy using: the iPhone and the iPad. Then I wrote about one free program, Jing, that I use for Screencast videos for multiple purposes. In this post, I focused on how I use Jing to help English reading students to develop better pronunciation, fluency, and comprehension.

Then I went to a conference. I had taken so many notes at TYCA-West in Mesa, Arizona that I felt compelled to pour back over my notes and share what I had learned. First I presented on the value of going to conferences period and highlighted a little of the keynote speaker's comments as well. Next I moved on to presenting three specific presentations that I felt were beneficial to my colleagues here at the college. Just so you know, I have material to write another entire 9x9x25 left in the notebook, so I may continue to write as I get time.

Concerning the experience as a whole, the gifts are great, but they were less of the reason for writing this year as compared to last year. Yes, Todd did go the extra mile to get me sorbet since I am allergic to milk, and it was very good, and the house plant and books were awesome, and the chocolate cookies were delicious, but seriously, I just enjoy being a part of something bigger where I can share with colleagues and actually go through the process of reflecting upon my own teaching and learning process.

Technically speaking, I really liked the opening page on the 9x9x25 blog where we could click on an individual's name and read just his/her posts. That way I could read all of my English teacher colleagues' posts at once, and then move on and read those from FYE classes, and more. The sad part about this year is that I didn't spend as much time commenting on people's posts or on receiving comments. I am not sure what the difference was, but I felt more like an island this time around.

Still and all, it was a great experience, and I will certainly participate again next year. I wish you all the best as we head into the final weeks of the semester. I will miss you all Friday at the luncheon, but I will be with you in spirit. Have a blessed Thanksgiving, and I look forward to seeing you all at Winter Institute.

Speaking of Winter Institute, I hope many of you will come and participate. I have heard there will be a session on December 8 for Quality Matters. There will be an opening panel discussing the new FYE103 class experience. I have also heard of an opportunity to come listen to people who have participated in the 9x9x25 experience, and that is just a taste of what is to come!

Sincerely,

Tina Luffman

Changing Mindsets and Motivation for the Basic Writer

Christine Helfers from Mesa Community College presented on the mindset research of Carol Dweck and Patrick Sullivan concerning how it relates to the Basic Writer. Helfers asked, "What would improve student attitudes toward learning while providing interesting content for student reading and writing activities? She encouraged participants to read Carol Dweck's book, Mindset: The new Psychology of Success. She claims that Google Books contains most of the chapters for free for those who don't want to purchase a copy. For those who want to test your mindset, go to Carol Dweck's Web site.

Teachers and students need to learn to hear the fixed and the growth mindset. Then we can recognize we have a choice. Just transforming thinking from "I can't do it," to "I can't do it yet," indicates I can do it. Students need to identify steps or actions toward the growth mindset. Here is the link to Dweck's TED talk titled The Power of Yet. Please view it to learn how the simple word "yet" reframes the situation for students who are still needing to work more to achieve a particular level of achievement. Students learn they are not failures, but that they have a choice to continue on to achieve. Now they can identify a step or action toward success.

Helfers mentioned to us that Habits of Mind and Mindset are similar. After doing a little online research, I found Habits of Mind rubrics for K-12 school systems using Common Core. As a college instructor, please consider what relates to the college classroom and what does not.

In addition to improving student mindset, building motivation for learners is essential. In Helfer's developmental writing classroom, she uses short writing activities and assignments. I believe these are beneficial because success in small assignments build student efficacy. Here are some she suggests:

• Freewriting
• Interviews
• Visual invention work such as creating posters on how to reach goals
• Discussion questions from Mindset research
• Chapter questions from reading materials

A way to build even more motivation is in the larger writing projects. Helfers creates essay units developed on themes that encourage positive thinking in the minds of the students. Here are some topics she suggests;

• Grit mini-essay based based on Angela Duckworth's research: TED Talk
• Successful person they know after reading or listening to Dweck and doing an analysis paper
• Career exploration possibilities to help students build toward an ultimate goal.
• SMART goal setting essay
• Character sketch of a person who positively influenced you. She suggests people like Malcom Gladwell.

When we comment on student work, she encourages us to incorporate mindset principles into our response practices. Don't just say, "Good work." Be specific. Commend effort, but write what is effective to encourage students where they are doing well, and point out specific areas where improvement is needed.

Later I spent some time meeting with Christine Helfers, I asked her what she uses for a developmental writing textbook. She does not. She uses free sites on the Internet for grammar support. The bulk of her class consists of students writing drafts, and then she edits the drafts and returns them to the students. Students learn best when seeing their own errors in writing and having them identified and having the opportunity to correct these errors.

I was drawn to Helfers' ideas since these relate so well to what I was taught at Northern Arizona University in the Composition training I had in graduate school. We read chapters from Mina Shaugnessy's Errors and Expectations, Peter Elbow's Everyone Can Write, and many others. All in all, I found the presentation very stimulating to challenge me in the way I approach basic writing here at Yavapai College. I encourage you to do the same.

Collaboration in Your Writing Classroom: Team Projects

At the recent TYCA West Conference in Mesa Arizona, October 2014, Levi Martin from the University of Texas at El Paso presented on "Creating Collaborative Spaces that Empower Students in Collaborative Writing Practices." His presentation was lively and enjoyable. To set the stage for this instructor, he is a doctoral candidate who primarily teaches Technical Writing, Professional Writing, and occasional composition courses for the university.

Martin creates short lessons and places students into small teams to apply the lesson. He first defines collaboration as joint writing to help students understand what the term means in this situation. Then he has students write a team paper on Success Strategies.

Factors to consider when creating these collaborative projects are motivation, time with the team, having the right tools, developing team contracts, and having multiple conferences with the instructor, both team and individual.

Martin bases his team projects on Achievement Goal Theory, Walters, 2004, 236. He believes that higher motivation equals higher achievement. Once students graduate from college, their future professional needs will require collaborative skills in the workplace. Therefore, team work has high applicability and relevance to students.

Martin also states that he doesn't call collaborative writing "group work." He calls it "teamwork," which has a better connotation. Other ideas for names to call this type of collaboration are agencies, partners, think tank. I mentioned that the term "partners" has not always met with a positive connotation in my classroom, and the others seemed to agree.

When creating a writing center for students, he named the tutors "writing consultants." This term similarly gave students more of a desire to go see someone for assistance.

Martin favors increased student involvement. When students have a voice in creating the assignments, this practice creates a deeper understanding of the work and greater sense of ownership. Discussion on the goals of the assignment also opens the conversation to discuss the assignment and its purpose in a more directed, useful environment.

Time with team members is essential. Martin claims that after the initial honeymoon, students need time to work with and get to know one another in non-threatening context, the opportunity to learn strengths and weaknesses of the members, and time for peer review. The instructor is the catalyst. Martin grades the comments peers make on paper, not the draft itself. He gives 20% of the final grade to the comments made on other students drafts and 80% to the student's own final version.

This instructor also uses tools. Martin uses "the Google."

• Google Drive and Google Docs provide (a)synchronous platforms
• Instructor can join the conversation in a non-threatening way
• Students can compose, edit, revise collaboratively without being in the same place
• All changes and comments are recorded for both students and instructor
• He also uses color-coded writing. Each student is assigned a different color for text.
• Presence is key. No matter the software used, the instructor needs to be present.
• Students need to know the instructor is aware and active in development of the work.
• Instructor presence develops accountability and builds motivation.

Students develop the contracts for team projects.

• In conjunction with developing guidelines, students have ownership of the process they use to complete the work.
• Students develop their own responsibilities, dates, and repercussions.
• All team members write the contract, which gives exposure to a new genre of writing.
• Writing the contract increases student awareness of the process and responsibilities.

Both group and individual student conferences are vital to team project development and success. Class time works well for group conferences, according to Martin. He uses office hours for individual one-on-one conferences. The instructor needs to be aware of up-to-date progress on the project. 

Open communication is also vital. Students need to be able to contact the instructor with any issues, questions, and concerns regarding the class.Limit rules to correspondence within reason. Work to get students talking to you. The more comfortable they are, the better questions students ask.

Martin created a Twitter account for his students so they could ask him short questions for quick answers. This type of easy access keeps the instructor from giving out personal contact information. 

If you are interested in developing team projects with your class, I hope you will read through Martin's ideas here and take what works for you. It is my personal opinion that these ideas would work best for second year college students, but team projects can also be used for first year and even developmental classes. I wish you all the best as you challenge yourself to try these team projects with your students. Data shows that classrooms doing project learning activities have higher retention as students get involved with one another and develop accountability.