Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Freshman Comp as Disaster Response
Recently, I started reading this article by James Pangborn called "Freshman Composition as Disaster Response." I haven't finished it, so I can't actually say if it's all that great, but the content is pretty interesting. In the article he compares the way Freshman deal with writing assignments to how people deal with disasters. One of the main messages, that I've read so far, was that the effects created by the way students deal with their writing can be what lead them to plagiarize. In the article he talks about how many Freshman, like people in "high-stakes, time-sensitive" situations, tend to struggle with effective time management, they develop tunnel vision, which affects their ability to make decisions and evaluate consequences. When they get caught in these problems their first instinct is to revert back to something that has worked for them in the past. For Freshman writer, that tends to be the way they were taught to write in high school. That's about as far into the article as I've gotten, but it seems to make sense. Freshman don't deal with pressure very well and deadlines can create the time-sensitive situations that Pangborn was talking about. In those types of situations students fall back on what's comfortable or they may have a higher risk of cheating. Those are things that I'm going to have to take into account in my own classroom and try to develop my lesson plans in a way that deters that type of thinking.
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I think the article is right on. I have worked with countless students that were really close to their due dates, and sometimes they freak out, which is uncomfortable both for them and the people trying to help them. In the composition class, I think it wise to structure the assignment so students are required to do it in phases if it's any more than four or five pages. In 103 recently I had some difficulties getting students to respond in class "early" about their assignments, because I think they get into this mentality where they plan on doing it a couple of days before the first draft is due and resist doing it any sooner, but being pretty emphatic about certain parts being required on specific days could suffice.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that time management is something that we need to stress--especially in freshmen classrooms. I place a lot of emphasis on the writing process, having students compare outline strategies in class group activities, peer review, and providing feedback on mandatory drafts. I hope that by students recognizing that they can produce better quality work when they are mindful of the time constraints that are found with collegiate work, they will be more likely to employ the idea of writing as a process in other classes. By looking at drafts and seeing ideas come organically to the writers in my class, I am fairly certain that the ideas that are being produced are their own and not plagiarized. That being said, if there is something that doesn't sound like the author's voice or is just *really* well stated (like, beyond the writer's shown capabilities) I will look it up to ensure that it's not taken from somewhere that I can find. I haven't had a case of plagiarism this semester, which has felt really nice. I am hoping that my luck will continue in 104! *Knocks on wood.*
ReplyDeleteSuch an interesting comparison. I would agree that many students develop "tunnel vision" and sometimes become less capable of making ethical, responsible decisions regarding their writing assignments. I would guess that breaking up the final product into pieces that they turn in over the project's duration would be useful for students. While many students will wait until the night before to write a section, at least when they put together all the pieces, the probability they will reread the pieces they've already written is greater.
ReplyDeleteTime management is another thing we could learn in a higher educational institute, because it is just simply important in academic setting and professional field as well.
ReplyDeleteSo I always like the teacher gives each due date for topic, and draft and final separately for the paper.
This is really interesting! In thinking ahead to 104, I feel as though the structure of a semester-long project makes it harder for a student to panic at the last minute—even if they panic at the last minute between each project due date, the whole semester still functions to make total procrastination/poor time management impossible, because each assignment can build on the previous one.
ReplyDeleteBeing a new grad student, many of my undergrad professors, peers, and family members ask me how it's going and how I like it. I always respond positively with the explinatino that I prefer how classes are going now due to the fact I don't have countless papers due every 3 or 4 weeks, which allows me time to focus on a my larger, end-of-the-semester projects. Though they're larger than any projects I've done before, I feel as if I'll not only feel more comfortable and confident turning these projects in, but I also appreciate this set up as it's easier for me to give an more valiant effort. I like Ebriki's idea of a semester long project as it supports my feelings towards papers and projects. This perhaps will allow students to utilize more knowledge they've gained throughout the semester in their final paper as well as take off pressure since they have a multitude of other classes, all of which are expecting papers around the same time in the school year.
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