Top 3

When asked to reflect on the three most significant texts, I find it very difficult to do so. I have picked up many new ideas and practices through the various works we have read. Some readings covered the same ideas which worked to further reinforce the practices.

The first text I would like to discuss would be Gee's. Most times I wanted to throw the book across the room out of frustration, but within those pages were important concepts that I was able to implement in my teaching. His discussion on psychosocial moratorium and the importance of it intrigued me. I know that it is important for the student to feel "safe" in their environment in order to fully embrace the learning experience. I was able to make the connections between his learning through video games and daily school life. The only negative thing I would have to say about Gee's words is that he is seems completely against how teachers work these days which I feel overgeneralizes teachers as professionals.

The second work we read that was significant was Murray's article on writing as a process. This article reinforced ideas I have been thinking about with my own English classes. Student writing should be a process that they, themselves control. Sure the teacher can give some suggestions for prewriting activities, but the work must be the students. If they would prefer starting with their body paragraphs and ending with their introduction, no one should penalize them for doing so. The teacher should become the facilitator when it comes to writing. Allow the students to revise their work as many times as they see fit, trying to be creative and intelligent with their word choice. Observing the student during this process is where the assessment should lie. Taking note of the time being put in and the steps they have taken is what we should focus on, not necessarily how many misplaced commas they end up with.
This article reminded me of what I believe in as a teacher.

The last text we read with significance to this class would be the article I read for my presentation. Selfe explained how aurality needs to have a place right with writing. She gave me a deeper understanding of how different people absorb and compose their thoughts. People are sometimes more easily understood when they can talk to another person. Not everyone can write the necessary information down on paper, but they do know what is going on. She basically opens up a whole new forum for assessing students without a formal written assessment. One of the main reasons this article was significant to me is because from reading that article I started branching out from her sources and links, finding other comparable websites on WAC and aurality in the classroom. I feel anytime you can begin branching out, you have something important.

Like I said many things stick out in my mind as being important, some of which I can not remember who exactly said it. I will just mention that the low stakes assignments are something I have adopted for my classroom on a much more frequent level and I have not seen anything, but positive feedback.