Sorting through Gems (or Narrowing Down Relevant Texts)

      I have begun to read up on my topic of cross-content writing.  The amount of information on the subject of writing is immeasurable really.  I started my search at the library and at first I seemed to find a lot of great articles.  After printing them out and preparing to read I realized they were mostly research articles.  They detailed data from other research studies.  Unfortunately none of those had the name Kyla A. Cornier across the top.  I read over the data even though I thought it would be a waste of time.  To my pleasant surprise many of the articles were still informative.
       The first was by Mustafa Ulusoy from Gazi University.  It was entitles Content Area Reading and Writing: Practices and Beliefs.  It was published in the Australian Journal of Teacher Education.  This article looked at the results of several studies that surveyed teachers.  One study found that teachers who used effective reading and writing strategies said they learned them, not in education classes but instead, in their own college reading and language courses (Ulusoy, 3).  One study also noted that "teachers felt betrayed because they did not receive formal knowledge of reading in their teacher education training"( 3).  After reading that article I felt like I was already getting an idea about what it must be like to be a teacher of a content other than ELA and being asked to teach reading and writing.  "Frustrated" was one word used and "lost" came to mind, as well.
      The next articles had more up beat tones.  The first was written by an ELA teacher who took the initiative, "brainstormed and coached content teachers in developing expository writing assignments and reviewed preliminary assessments"(Merten, 16).  The name of the article was Reading and Writing Alignment Across Content Areas. In this article Mertel outlines the strategies her team used to work together on implementing the CCCS into all of their contents.  They focused primarily on expository writing to help students in all content areas.  They did not share any real opinions on the subject of cross-content writing.  This article had a more "how-to" feel about it. The second article of this kind was entitled: The Value of Writing "How-to" Books in High School World History and Geography Class.  As you can probably tell by the title it also had a "How-to" feel about it.  This particular teacher however, did state her opinion.  After detailing the project, she then states seven ways this project will benefit student learning. Clearly, she is in favor of cross-content writing. 
      After reading all of these articles I was excited to begin teaching but no closer to getting any real knowledge on the subject of cross-content writing, where it came from and why or why not it should be done.  I was missing a seminal text.  I suddenly realized that should be the first thing I read if I'm going to call this research.  So I started to look at influential writers on the subject of writing.  I found Elbow, Graves and Emig and I read some overviews of their work.  I wanted to read them all but I realized they were not who I was looking for.  I started to panic a bit.  I wondered how am I going to find something really relevant.  I suddenly remembered that I had JUST sat in the library for close to three hours being instructed on "How-to" use the library database!
       What I found next was exciting, a free book!  It's called "How Writing Shapes Thinking" by Judith A. Langer and Arthur N. Applebee. In this study they look at writing and it's use in "fostering learning and integrating new information with prior knowledge and experience"(3).  In this text I read something that really opened my eyes.  It said that writing in the classroom only takes place when the "teachers believe that the students have relevant prior knowledge to draw upon in their writing"(42). Otherwise, they noted that teachers use lectures or demonstration.  Getting teachers to use writing means getting them to actually believe in their students and see them as knowledgeable! The implications of that are huge and I'm starting to see one of those "big ideas" formulating within the concept of cross-content writing. 

I have a lot more to read and research but so far I'm excited to see where my research takes me!  I haven't finished the book by Langer and Applebee but that is my first order of business.  They have a lot of wisdom to share and gems for my Writing Kyleidoscope! ;)
    

Writing Across the Board

      One observation that I have made as a parent and as a student teacher is the benefit of a cross-content education. It is common practice in some middle schools to have a team of teachers who work together on a curriculum that allows for the students to approach a theme or subject from numerous academic fields. How could this not be beneficial? When all the educators work together and plan lessons that enrich a student’s knowledge surrounding one subject, the students come away with a depth of knowledge in that particular subject. However, when the shift is made to look specifically at a skill, such as writing, how does the effect change? Should all content teachers be including writing as part of their curriculum? I want to find out more about this approach to building stronger writers.

      When I think of a physical skill, such as dance, I know that proper form and execution is important. Having someone there to guide and direct you is crucial in ensuring that a dancer is keeping proper form. Are students writing in health class, math class and science class? If so, how is the writing presented, instructed and graded? Most importantly, does that matter when it comes to helping students become better writers? These are some of the questions I would like to have answered. I recognize that the more you do something the better you become. As teachers of other content what should be their responsibility when guiding students through a writing assignment?

      Eventually I will be an educator myself and I will have the ability to share my opinion on this subject, as part of a learning community. Where will my opinion come from? I don’t want to share a vague opinion based on what I’ve heard others say. As the English teacher I want to have a strong opinion based on my own experiences. This I-Search Project is a great way to begin forming my opinion and to get some solid knowledge on the subject. When the day comes that my administration calls for cross-content writing, I want to be sure that I am a valuable resource in helping the program run smoothly, no matter what my findings are. If it shows that an ill prepared team can cause harm, I want to help my team prepare and be a resource for them. If it shows that any writing is good writing, I want to be able to encourage whatever they are willing to do.

       I think this research will benefit all of my classmates. Eventually everyone in my class will be a part of a team of educators and will be asked, as ELA teachers, for some assistance or guidance when it comes to written work and assignments. My research will help inform them and hopefully help them find the information they need to help others. If there are resources to help all educators teach writing to their students I want to get access to those resources and be able to share them with all of my colleagues.

       My research will begin at the local high school here in East Providence. I have a contact who teaches Personal Finances class and I would like to get some basic information on his practices, as well as the practices within the school as a whole. From there I will decide whether I want to research further in that school. I would ideally like to do research in a school that does require cross-content writing and one that does not. Comparing test results from standardized tests may prove useful in this situation. When looking into the research already done I have a professor that is knowledgeable on the subject. I plan to go to her and get some recommendations on reading. I want to get some basic information in order to formulate well rounded questions for my subjects.

       When it comes to interviewing teachers I know they can become defensive if they feel like their methods are being analyzed. I worry that I will not get completely accurate answers if the teacher feels that they are not doing what they know to be best. I will have to take that into consideration. One idea I have is to ask for samples of a student’s work in multiple classes so I can get an idea of how the student approaches writing in each class. I hope to get some solid information on best practices when it comes to cross-content writing. This will involve looking at the big picture and comparing many perspectives. I am worried that there will be too many variable, meaning that it may depend on each student’s abilities. At this point in my journey I’m wondering how I can narrow my idea down to something more manageable.

Starting With a Scope

Welcome to my blog Kyleidoscope Writing! Over the next few months I hope to discover more about the beauty of writing and I'll be sharing what I find with you. Here is a video to introduce the scope from which I'll be viewing the subject of writing! Thanks for watching!