Bruffee
Brufee’s views on collaborative learning brought up some interesting points for me. I can definitely see how collaborative learning has a place in the modern classroom. I recently attended a Project Management seminar in which we talked about different generations and their particular styles of working. Gen Y, the students currently in college and entering the work force, were identified as needing the most emotional validation, but also as the best team workers. It makes sense that a generation with a heavy reliance on their peers and the ability to work well in a team or group would also be able to learn well in a collaborative setting. I can’t say it is my ideal situation in many cases, but it does make sense for some people, and the current crop of students appears to thrive in just such an environment.
In response to Brufee’s assertion that collaborative learning can be “the blind leading the blind,” I would agree with that if the students were left with absolutely no supervision. However, a professor could still have a highly collaborative class while still providing enough guidance to keep students on task and on topic. In a collaborative environment, the professor becomes a guide instead of an instructor.
Hartwell
I found the study Hartwell discussed on p. 578 particularly interesting. I would expect to see different errors in the writing of non-native speakers of English based on their native language and its similarity to English. Hartwell points out that this is not the case. It is very interesting that mastery of spoken English is so different than mastery of written English. I suppose it must be because when speaking we tend to ignore many of the conventions that we are used to putting in writing (or think we ought to put in writing). So should we try to speak more correctly, or relax our standards for writing? I’m not sure. Most people’s conversational English, while not necessarily correct, flows easily and is readily understood (not so in some cases though!). In fact, if they spoke in an entirely grammatically correct manner, it would likely seem stilted. I’m not willing to give up on standards for written grammar yet, but this did give me some food for thought.
Berlin
I was surprised by Berlin’s description of cognitive psychology and its claim that it is possible for rhetoric to be objective/neutral. In my view, rhetoric always has a persuasive element, so it would be nearly impossible for it to be objective. Most of this article seemed like common sense to me – of course we must teach students to look for the ideological elements of rhetoric – ideology is inherently a part of rhetoric.
Hi, Rebecca...
ReplyDeleteYour comments on spoken vs. written English resonated with me. My husband, a third generation Canadian of English ancestry, is finishing a degree in History and writes all the time. But, he's always struggled with English grammar. He's been successful so far (even had some papers published), but written communication is a constant battle. However, when he speaks about his subject, rather than writing about it, he is exceptionally eloquent. His content just doesn't translate as effectively from the spoken to the written. The first drafts of his prose are invariably stilted, as you observed. I think this type of experience is true for many people. Perhaps folks are so intent on "following the rules", or "remembering the rules", that they forget about the message they are trying to communicate. Hartwell's sentence with four errors is a great example of the problem of focusing on just grammatical errors and not logical ones.
Rebecca, just a quick caveat: It’s true that Gen Y (or “millenials,” as they’re also called) are generalized as being more team oriented. The truth is that they turn to their social networks more than Gen X does. However, in my classes, I’ve found this generalization to fall a little short (no surprise, really). They seem to have the same aversion to working in teams that I had as an undergrad (fear of teammates that might be less invested in the work). Still, working with troublesome teammates can be its own good lesson, and students do seem to learn that. And the other benefits of collaborative learning seem to overpower their aversion, so it’s worth it to build into a class. Just be careful how you do it, or you can sabotage the rest of the class/assignment goals. I learned this the hard way the first couple semesters I taught. :)
ReplyDeleteRebecca
ReplyDeleteYou raise some great points about collaborative learning, a topic I hold dear to my heart. I agree that such learning pedagogy is among the best of teaching methods, but, as you said, this model was designed, and flourishes, with a little professional moderating. My only question pertains to your statement regarding Gen-Y being the best team workers. I'm certain your facts are supported, but I am wondering if that same research sub-divided the results by education level or career field. My objection, if I may, is that my experience with most of Gen-Y is that they harbor a sense of entitlement, and like you said, need emotional validation. My observation in some, not all, is that the lack of that validation, especially if managed by the more independent Gen-X, later feeds the sense of entitlement, which leads to a passive-aggressive work stoppage or slow-down. Perhaps my finding, albeit based on a limited sample, is field sensitive. I would like to hear your thoughts! _RB
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post as well as the corresponding three responses. Bruffee made me say, "Heck yeah!" a lot, and Hartwell made say, "Really?!" You're right in your assumption about students needing some guidance; otherwise, it is the blind leading the blind. I like to let their canoe take on a bit of water, try to figure their tasks out for themselves, but of course, I'd never let them drown. Why? Because that's life. Oftentimes in and out of the workplace we have to struggle to find solutions to answers, and they aren't always easy to spot.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I agree with Hartwell's assertion that NNSs don't have common grammatical error patterns. I'm fairly confident that by reading written student text, I could detect if the student were Latin American, Arab, or Chinese by their grammatical issues. Hartwell's article DEFINITELY compliments issues brought up in class and assists in helping me redefine my stance on teaching grammar, but I'm not completely sold on this particular issue.
Great thoughts everyone!