Multigenre writing

Gillespie’s article on multigenre responses to literature reinforces what I imagine will be an excellent resource for the classroom. Let’s face it, we will be working in an educational environment that has to compete with i-pods, IMs, i-friends and yes even cell phones (though David has a pragmatic solution to the latter). In this context, educators can choose to adhere to the antiquated FPT, or can open the door to student creativity. It boils down to our philosophies as educators. If we truly believe students are constructors of knowledge, then loosening our strangle-hold on rigid, formulaic organization will produce magnificently unanticipated results. Multigenre projects will be more difficult to grade(how do I grade a map anyway?), but Gillespies’ experience illustrates the importance of letting students direct their learning on an individual level.

Students constructing . . .
multigenre responses
have captured their minds

Does this mean that the five paragraph essay is completely irrelevant, or that explicit instruction on organization should be disregarded? The answer of course is a resounding "no". On both sides of the white board, the FTP works well. Students have an effective tool with which to organize thought, the teacher has a concrete method to teach and a rubric to grade objectively. The pitfall lies in students misunderstanding the uses of the FTP. In the classroom, this format should be used as a starting point with which to build from, not an absolute to be turned to at every opportunity. I agree with Wesley in that the teacher should be focusing on the fundamental structure of expository writing, the introduction, the body and the conclusion. The FTP is merely one variation of this structure.



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Writing Process

Seamus Heaney's writing room.

After reading about the writing process in the Dornan et. al selection, I was initially struck with how familiar it all sounded. In high school and college, my creative writing teachers employed what is more or less the "process" (prewriting, writing, post-writing etc.). It made a lot of sense then as it does now reading the passage. The main element missing in my experience, and one could surely argue that it is the most important, is the structured peer-review time. My high school teacher, Mr. Beckman would sooner have shaved his famously thick and bushy sideburns than let us actually converse about our writing. When the door closed, he was in charge, the sole possessor of good taste and style. However, he provided us with opportunities to prewrite in a number of ways, I actually remember doing the bubble exercise where we connected different concepts together for future writing exercises. We also learned a good deal of editing techniques. On the other hand, I realize how much I missed by not sharing my work with my peers and look forward to future classroom experiences where I can experience the strikes and gutters of writing with my students.

I really liked this article in the Guardian that featured writing rooms of famous writers. Be sure to check out Jonathan Safran Foer.