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More on "Guided Navigation"

Sun, 2006-11-26 09:17 — gpollitt

Alexis really articulates our message well in her blog entry. Here are some take-home points from the conference:

1. The process approach (getting students to do the things that good writers do) works, but the teacher has to make it work, and that takes a lot of effort and time--we think too much.

2. Teaching specific skills using modeling, scaffolding, and repetition also works. Like the process approach, the teacher also has to produce results. The grading load, however, is lighter than the grading load using a process approach. Students generally have an easier time learning skills, as opposed to developing writing talent. For the most part, students like this approach. As Alexis states in her blog entry, “They [the students] enjoyed the exercise and said more such practice would serve them.”

3. You don’t have to stop doing what works for you to use this approach. This is just another tool--an underused and highly effective one--in the teachers’ toolbox.

Here is a breakdown of how to do “Guided Navigation”:

Start with a model (a paragraph, an essay, a business document, etc.). Create what you think is an “A” version of that model, what you would like your students to produce without any help. Disassemble the model (see the samples in the PDF file) and give students the task of resembling it. At first, scaffold the model, using closed-ended questions and templates. You, the teacher, do most of the “heavy lifting.” Repeat the process as many times as necessary, gradually using less scaffolding. At the end of the series students perform the task with no help.

Attached are some sample exercises taken from the beginning, middle and end of “Fallacy Book: Boot Camp for your Brain.” With this book, the goal is to teach students to respond to fallacious arguments in writing. We have used these exercises in college-level critical thinking classes.

Thanks to Bradley for encouraging me to post this information. If anyone has any questions, ask away.

Gary

Comments

Sat, 2006-12-02 11:37 — Sara Jameson

Who is Alexis?

Hi Gary,
Thanks for posting this. I would like to know who Alexis is and what post you are referring to. Could you post a link for that? How do you see this model as similar to the templates in Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein's new book They Say, I Say which we are using in WR 121 at Oregon State and which Kate Sullivan is using at Lane CC?

Sara Jameson

Sun, 2006-12-03 12:19 — bradley

a link to alexis

Sara, and others,

Here's a link to Alexis's post on Gary's presentation.

bradley
bleckblog.org

Wed, 2006-12-06 19:18 — gpollitt

They say, I say

Sara,

I'm not familiar with the book "They say, I say." But I will go buy it tomorrow and see what they are doing.

It's funny because I cringe when I see the word "template." And I know a lot of other English teachers do too. At the same time, I've had some amazing results working with templates and closed-ended questions and complex models. The scaffolding is not the building. Once the students are trained we happily discard the scaffolding.

This is teaching "writing as a puzzle," "writing as model building." Again, I think some English teachers see this and they cringe. But I also see my students working with these complex puzzles/models and gaining mastery. And I think that this type of training helps prepare student for writing programs that emphasize voice and discovery.

Thanks

Gary

Sat, 2007-01-06 20:54 — gpollitt

Contrasts of Templates

Sara,

I finally got a copy of "They say, I say," so in response to your question about how the approaches are similar, here is my objective and unbiased analysis: I liked the book. I love giving students tools to work with, and this book does that. Some of the templates are quite similar to what we have done, but this does not surprise me because Graff and Birkenstein are responding to the same problems (the same problems the ALL writing teachers face in college) that Craig and I were struggling with.

Here are the differences:

If "They say, I say" were a store, it would be like a superstore that sells only templates. Think: ALL TEMPLATES, ALL THE TIME! The book has a template for a wide range of writing situations. No matter the assignment, the book would have templates to aid students in writing their papers, which is a good thing. They need help. If Craig and I had a store, we would be a little mom and pop's outfit (I can picture it in a seedy part of town; Craig would be out front with a broom). We’d have some templates, but there would also be some other stuff in the store too. Templates are a only part of what we sell in our little shop.

I started off using this strategy to teach what the MT SAC English Department called "text-based analysis,” (which I took to mean integration and analysis of text). Templates were a part of it, but another big part was the text that the students integrated into the templates. The relationship between the specific small bits of text we supply and the template is what creates accelerated learning. By generating the text to be integrated into the templates, we capitalize on two learning principles: Pimsluer’s “organic learning,” (which comes from the teaching of a foreign language, but it works the same for writing) and “simplification" (see Marvin Levine's "Effective Problem Solving"). With organic learning we use the course content (the theory) as text to be analyzed. We kill two birds with one stone. In exploring a simple version of a complex model, we simply generate text that fits perfectly to the template so the student achieves success right from the start. When students have to integrate and analyze text in college they have already had lots of practice doing it correctly.

Our approach also relies on repetition, using the similar model/template until the structure becomes engrained, until we have developed habits of mind. I always tell my students that after the semester end, they’ll never have to see my face again, and they will never have to use another template. Whereas, in "They Say, I Say," Students could use the book all through college. It would be really useful. So that is a big difference.

I just stated writing some step-by-step paraphrase exercises, and I have not used any templates so far. It’s all organic learning and exploration of a simple model with some scaffolding thrown in where needed. So I’m definitely template guy, but there are other things we can do to make the learning process more efficient. I should also note here that I'm operating on the edge of my competency, and I'm learning new stuff every day.

Gary