My
biggest weakness regarding writing is getting started. I get hung up on
requirements, and how I’m going to fulfill those requirements. Sometimes times
I catch myself looking at writing as a task that I am required to do, and
something that I might not enjoy. I typically change my mind about I’m going to
write about several times, consider some points that I’ll hit, and ultimately
get distracted. Then that moment comes where I know I cannot put off the
assignment anymore, and ironically that’s when the fun part starts. I realize I
have a full blank screen, and I can fill it with whatever comes to mind. This
religious “procrastinating” process of mine, reminds me of an article that a
past TA once suggested I look up, called “Shitty First Drafts”. After reading
it, I gained a confident in my writing, that regardless of how bad it is, I can
always revise it. Furthermore, I should
revise it. I believe it is important for us as teachers to reassure our
students that even the best writers have “shitty first drafts” (link provided
below). Regardless, of whether the
teacher reads and grades every draft, it is important that our students are
recognizing that writing is a process and a skill that can be fine-tuned. When
students are given the opportunity to work with their peers and with teacher
assistance to improve their writing, they will learn to gain ownership of their
writing. They will see it as more of just a task (or product) that is a
requirement, but a skill that they can practice and perfect, just like sports,
music, or dance.
We all have different experiences with writing, and
I don’t expect everyone to have the same problems as me. This is why I strongly
believe in differentiating materials, and types of writing assessments. As a teacher, I need to recognize that
some students will enjoy writing, while others may struggle with grammar or
sentence structure, deterring them from enjoying writing. I found the writing
formats chart to solve this very issue. Some writing formats don’t focus on
grammar and writing skills, such as poems, song lyrics, comic strips, and/or
children’s book—yet, all of these still allow students to create and put
authentic thoughts on paper. After discussing this chart with my discipline
group, we also found that each type of writing format was useful in a biology
classroom. For example, students could make a resume, a “Wanted” poster, or a
Facebook page for various science topics, such as various elements, parts of
the cell body, and/or famous scientists. We also discussed how instead of
having students write a complete scientific lab report after every lab, we
could assign an abstract as the final product.
"Shitty First Drafts" -https://wrd.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/1-Shitty%20First%20Drafts.pdf
I love the idea of writing an abstract as the final product for a lab in a Biology class. We could also have a conclusion be the evaluation for a lab. I think learning how to write a lab report for a science class is very important. I know that I went into a science major in college with no real experience doing this and I had to learn very quickly.
ReplyDeleteStarting this learning process in high school, or even middle school would be very beneficial for students, and not just those that will go into the sciences. I know that lab writing can be daunting, it's very technical and different from other types of writing. Having the students write an abstract is a great way to start, or even have them write a conclusion. Dissect the lab report, writing a different part of it for each lab that they do with the ultimate goal of writing a complete report by the end of the first semester.
When I was learning how to write lab reports it also helped that one of my grad TA's explained how they go about writing theirs. They explained that they take the easy parts first, the materials and methods. They move on to the results as that is just all of your data collect and observations laid out, with no outside analysis or opinion. Next, they wrote their conclusion. Finally, they wrote their abstract, they noted that it was easier for them to write their summary of the experiment after they had analyze it and made their conclusions. Whether you write your reports like this, or you take a different approach, walking through how you do it, will give your students an idea of how to begin and how to write theirs.
I could not agree anymore. When I was younger I dreaded writing; I too would procrastinate as much as possible. In fact, I still do but that's due to work and other things I have to do. I used to hate everything that had to do with writing: getting started, proof reading, final drafts etc. I would do it just to get it all out of the way and never think about it again. At least until I got to college and realized that will not cut it. I learned that proof reading and peer reviews were there to not only help us but make us better writers in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI believe this should be started at an earlier age as well. I know a lot of students do not like writing, but some things we actually enjoy writing about. I just wrote a research paper last semester about a topic I enjoyed. That definitely made the writing process a lot easier. Instead of having students begin learning to write with boring topics that we could care less about, we should consider teaching students to write on topics that they enjoy or can relate too. When I began writing it was all chosen for me. They were topics I did not care about or had an interest in. So that naturally made me associate writing with boring topics. We definitely have to teach our students to write, there is no way around it. But we should have them associate writing with better experiences in order for them not too look at it so negatively.
I think that the RAFT strategy we covered in class would be awesome to apply in lab reports. How cool would it be to assign new, random RAFTs, to students with each lab report they write? I think the idea of writing the abstracts is great, but I also think that students might also enjoy writing about their labs in new, and novel ways.
ReplyDeleteImagine writing a short poem about titration, or an E-mail from the parts of a compound being separated during electrolysis. I know it sounds corny, but, often, getting students to get their pen to paper involves getting a little corny.
I love the idea of Shitty First Drafts. If I'm not mistaken, that refers to a chapter from Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird. I show that chapter to my older students, becuase it reinforces the idea that all writing does not have to be perfect the first time, in fact, in can be the worst thing ever the first time, but that's okay. What really counts is putting the ideas on paper and figuring out what you want to say. You can always fix it later. I think in science classes especially, students may be unfamiliar writing about a science topic. I think the two ways to approach writing in science are exactly what you said: make it creative, and make sure students know writing is ALWAYS a process, in any class, not just English. Even experts in their disciplines will struggle at first, but the trick is staying with it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your great post, Brigid!
ReplyDeleteI agree completely. Getting started is the hardest part. I think the second hardest part is finishing. As Steven has mentioned, we focus on the product, not the process, and that's the issue. We hesitate to start because what we have to say isn't fully formed...yet. What we need to get through to our students is to just start typing away. Get the ideas all out there, and then it's possible to massage, add nuance, and rearrange. That's the beautiful thing about using a word processor. Nothing has to be fully formed. The process can be more like shaping clay on a potter's wheel, refining and refining until what you have expresses exactly what you want to say. The key though is getting the lump of clay on the wheel to start and then begin spinning.
John -