Rhetoric >
Technical Communication > Theories and Methods >nAuthentic Writing
Annotated
Bibliography of:
Dawson, Christine M. "Beyond
Checklists and Rubrics: Engaging Students in Authentic Conversations about
their Writing." English Journal, vol. 98, no. 5, 2009., pp. 66-71.
Authentic conversations
My goal, like that expressed by Dawson, “is to develop [students
to] talk about writing, [so] I try to get students to read excerpts of their
writing aloud as soon as possible. I want them to practice listening to the
sounds of their own words, as well as the words of their peers.” This goes
beyond responding with written
notes. He writes about his struggle as a writer compared to how his
students, new to writing, deal with the entire writing process. This is what I refer
to as the technical communication procedure, from having an idea (either
assigned or coming alive in its eureka-moment), to coming up with initial
research questions, to the first round of fact-gathering, to refining (or redefining)
those questions, to gathering more and more informative facts, and on to the
first, second, and third draft, then to new questions and reiterative research.
To help his students navigate that process, Dawson has students trade their written
work for peer-review, despite recognized uneven results. Even Dawson sees that
some students give their peers deep document analysis while others just write “Good
Job,” providing no useful feedback.
He admits that it is difficult for any writer,
from novice through professional, to receive a “checklist about … writing” in
early stages of the writing process. That is why he works to give writing students
the authentic discussions which, he also contends, are “not the norm in
secondary English classrooms (Nystrand).” Dawson believes high school and
college composition teachers rely on simple “recitation practices,” instead of taking
the time to help students build skills of critical analysis, editing, provide
lessons on how to listen to and accept feedback.
Authentic discussion
He shows that authentic discussion forces
students to apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students with
an open mind think outside the box, as it were. Furthermore, it encourages “students
and teachers [to] collaboratively delve into complex ideas, building on
each other's contributions as they explore real-life problems and processes (Hillocks;
McCann et al.; Nystrand; Wilhelm).”
An experienced secondary school English
teacher, Dawson sees the positive results of using student peer-reviews. More importantly,
he recognizes the important and added positive impact that the authentic
discussions provide when students read their writing aloud and openly listen to
class commentary.
Authentic writing
Technical communication relies on practitioners
first learning the value of authentic writing. We can capture students’
imagination if we allow them to freely and openly offer opinions in authentic conversations
about their peer’s writing. This opens the student-writer to learning how to
give positive and gently productive (otherwise seen as negative) suggestions, how
to listen and react to peer feedback (both positive and what is perceived as negative),
and how to apply those comments.
Dawson concludes that “making authentic writing
discussions an instructional priority engaging in authentic writing discussions
helps students develop writing practices that extend beyond an individual piece
of writing.” Students who master authentic discussion will be effective professional
technical communicators who are able to open valuable exchanges of information
in the workplace.References
Works Cited
Hillocks, George, Jr. Teaching Writing
as Reflective Practice. New York: Teachers College, 1995.
McCann, Thomas M., et al. Talking in
Class: Using Discussion to Enhance Teaching and Learning. Urbana: NCTE, 2006.
Nystrand, Martin. Opening Dialogue:
Understanding the Dynamics of Language and Learning in the English Classroom.
New York: Teachers College, 1997.
Virginia Commonwealth University.
Teaching, learning & technology in Higher Education. authenticassessment.gif.
http://wp.vcu.edu/grad602/course-materials/s-13/resources-session-13/,
2013.
Wilhelm,
Jeffrey D. Engaging Readers and Writers with Inquiry: Promoting Deep
Understandings in Language Arts and the Content Areas with Guiding Questions.
New York: Scholastic, 2007.
Links
Frawley, Chris. (10 May 2010).providing
Feedback with written commentss improves student learning skills.Virginia
Department of Education’s Training & Technical Assistance Center
Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction. Wisconsin’s Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning: Guiding principle 4: Learning is a
collaborative responsibility. http://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cal/pdf/guiding-principles4.pdf
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