thesisthoughts

Last Sunday was the second meeting of the course at N. I began the meeting by requesting that the teachers write for five minutes about themselves as writers. I threw a few questions in the air like “What do you you write and when?” or “How do you feel about writing?” and left them to it. To my surprise, the few that arrived on time began writing without objection. Again I was aware of how long five minutes are when you are actually engaged in text composition. I stopped them before they finished and was sorry that I had not dared to ask for ten minutes. I wrote together with them.

The discussion afterwards centered around their reaction to the task, directions which emerged during writing and the place place of “real writing” in their lives. One of the teachers volunteered to read her piece to the group. One of the participants was surprised to realize that she hadn’t written anything personal for years. She said “I write all the time but it is only work related technical writing, nothing that is really personal”.

Afterwards I brought texts which grade six pupils had written on the same topic “I am a writer”. They were surprised to see that children can write reflective texts and that they know so much about what helps and hinders the writing process.

My lecture on “A new framework for understanding cognition and affect in writing” / Hayes* went well and lively discussion followed. Many questions were asked, some of them I promised would be answered in the next few meetings.

Towards the end of the session we talked about narrative and the benefits of writing and discussing teaching stories. I explained that our next meeting would not be face to face, it will be on the virtual campus. I presented the task that they will be required to fulfill there.

Yesterday I visited the classroom of one of the course participants. As we discussed her work she mentioned that the process she is undergoing with her pupils at the moment is the one she has chosen to write about in her narrative. I got the impression that the very fact that she knows that she will be writing about her work in this unit is influencing the way she works with her students and directs their learning. This is a question worth thinking and talking about.

 *Hayes, J. R. (2000). A new framework for understanding cognition and affect in writing. In R. Indrisano, & J. R. Squire (Eds.), Perspectives on writing: Research, theory, and practice (pp. 6-44). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.

• I was more experienced, my lesson plan and content were better rehearsed
• My laptop connected easily to the projector and I could begin with the photo story presentation I had prepared on writing
• The group was much bigger and more varied (25 teachers from grades 1 – 6, some of them literacy coordinators).
• The centre itself has much more comfortable learning conditions, tables, chairs etc.
• I had never met the teachers and they were eager (more eager?) to see what I have to offer.
• I was excited by the prospect of contributing to the schools in such a remote, rural area. The centre is a two hour drive from my place (which is also far away from the big smoke!).

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the long country drive. As long as it doesn’t rain on Sundays, I will be fine.

Some of the things that interested me and demand thought and lengthy discussion are:

• At least 3 of the teachers repeatedly remarked that writing is a born trait. Each time the idea arose I tried to attach a question mark to it. I commented that we will attend to this question during the course.
• Many of the teachers were in hysterics when they read the description of the final assignment. A few remarked that they may have to drop out of the course because of the writing component. I tried to calm them down.

It is disturbing that some of the teachers who enrolled in a course on teaching writing aren’t 100% convinced that they have the ability to change the way their pupils view writing and write. One of my aims in the first meeting was to start a questioning process, one in which they will critically examine their own practice and  their beliefs concerning themselves as teachers and their pupils.