Like Drew, I felt that this reading selection complemented the ABGW well and provided a smart, practical outline for the main terms and ideas of the discourse and rhetoric of argumentation. I especially appreciated the use of real-life examples; I tire quickly when a concept is strictly theoretical and has no direct approach to actual situations.
A passage that I found to be particularly useful was "Another important consideration for a kairotic stance involves the specific arguments that are currently circulating about a particular issue" (49). Along with the list of pertinent questions on the following page ("Which arguments receive more attention? Who is making these arguments? Which arguments receive less questions? Who is making these arguments?") this consideration relates directly to the exploratory essay assignment that I just assigned last week. Instead of asking students to simply find sources and regurgitate the facts about a given topic, I am requiring them to join the conversation about whatever issue they choose to question--to enter the on-going dialogue of "specific questions that are currently circulating about a particular issue."
That being said, I have taught a basic, no-frills research paper fifteen times so far in freshman comp, and every single time I have struggled. This paper has been sink-or-swim for most students, and I always dread those six weeks in the semester. Now I realize that perhaps I was just approaching it all wrong. With this current assignment does ask students to conduct research (I am specifically requiring at least six credible library sources) its entire goal is to begin with a question and then ask more questions from there without a definite answer or solution. Specifically, I am having my students choose a TV show that they wouldn't mind watching at least three episodes of, and then framing a question that relates directly to contemporary society that is generated from the show. Thus, they will be exploring this particular issue, not the show. The show is used only in the invention stage. We did a trial run with an episode of Modern Family last Friday, and it went pretty well. So, for once, I am genuinely looking forward to seeing what my students will come up with from this assignment, and not preparing for the chaos and confusion that usually ensues.
Anne,
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of incorporating tv shows in an attempt to get students to ask relevant questions that they could explore further through their research. Not only would this piqué their interest more than just assigning a topic and getting them to research that specific idea, but it would also help them identify broader implications of things that may seem to not be relevant to everyday lives. Great idea to get them to think on their feet, while getting them to work on something like a research paper that can be pretty tedious work, especially for students.
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ReplyDeleteAnne -
ReplyDeleteI am excited to hear how your exploratory essays go since you are using tv shows as a jumping off point. After introducing the exploratory essay to my students last week, I realized that for some of them, this seems like a totally confusing and nearly impossible assignment. I think in the future I need to provide more overall guidance with some specific guidelines, and use some sort of shared cultural experience as a starting point. Any other ideas that we can float on this type of assignment would be helpful for me too!
Yes, Anne and Kavita, I'd like to incorporate a movie or television show in my treatment for Unit III. I finally finished composing Unit II and I am not going back and redoing it even though this is a compelling approach. My only concern is that young people in this culture have become so sitcom oriented that they can't read (never mind write) or comprehend a complex sentence anymore. Nonetheless, I do agree that film (and television) are engaging and that if they engage students and get them thinking critically, there is some value to using these tools in the classroom. Do either of you have any suggestions for what I could show them that would help them argue academically? :-)
ReplyDeleteMonica, I showed my class "Winter's Bone," as we are talking about social issues and social responsibility in my class for the next two units.
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