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Student ownership and blogging
- 1. How Students Developed Ownership of their Learning with Blogging M.E. Ellen Graber Lichtman 1 http://teachingknowledge.wordpress.com
- 3. Sample of TKT student writing 3
- 4. Sample of TKT student writing 4
- 5. Traits of Writing used by UMSNH From TKT Student Syllabus: “Each written assignment will be graded following the Department of Languages Guidelines which include: • Ideas and content • Organization • Use of language • Sentence Fluency • Vocabulary • Use of conventions 5
- 6. Why was this happening? 6
- 9. 9 Writing Differences Video we don’t speak americano
- 12. Students setting up their blogs 12
- 13. Benefits of class blogging 13 Courtesy of Edna Sackson
- 16. Oral Tradition: Evidence around the world 16 Reflection of 77,681 visitors since December 2010 at What Ed Said: my mentor blog
- 17. Oral Traditions: Closer Examination 17
- 19. Students’ Initial Reaction to Blogging 19
- 20. A visit to our class blog: Homework page 20
- 21. Link to teacher challenge 21
- 24. Some Web-based teaching tools 24
- 25. Student’s wordle and comment 25
- 26. Student blog = student centered learning 26
- 27. Advantages of student blogs 27
- 31. Wrap up 31
- 32. New Project: Just a Peek http://writingcu.wordpress.com/2011/ 09/26/just-a-peek-writing-community/ 32
- 33. Bibliography Brown, D. (2005). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices. Pearson Education. Carrasco-Altamirano, A. (2003). La escuela puede enseñar estrategias de lectura y promover su regular empleo. Revista Mexicana de Investigación Educativa (Vol 8:17) pg. 129-142. Retrieved from http://www.comie.org.mx/v1/revista/visualizador.php?articulo=ART00366&criterio=http://www.comie.org.mx/documentos/rmie/v08/n017/pdf/rmiev08n 17scB04n02es.pdf Chang, L.C. (2003). An examination of cross-cultural negotiation: Using Hofstede Framework. Journal American Academy of Business, Cambridge MA. 2(2). P567, Retrieved from http://www.nitbj.com/content/references/Chang,%20L..pdf Crawford, T. (2010) The struggle to enter a discourse community. Universidad de Guanajuato. Mex. Gilmore, J.; Strickland, D.; Timmerman, B.; Maher M.; &Feldon, D. (2010). Weeds in the flower garden: An exploration of plagiarism in graduate students’ research proposals and its connection to enculturation, ESL and contextual factors. International Journal for Educational Integrity. 6(1) p13-28. EBSCO Host Database #52427280 Hamp-Lyons L. & B. Heasley (1992) Study Writing. A Course in Written English for Academic and Professional Purposes. C.U.P. Hofstede, G. (2009). Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions. ITIM Internationa. Retrieved from http://www.geert-hofstede.com/ Hurley, S. R., & Tinajero, J. V. (2001). Literacy assessment of second language. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon Custom Publishing Jarratt, S.C.; Losh, E., & Puente, D. (2005). Transnational Identifications: Biliterate writers in a first-year humanities course. University of Irvine, CA. Revised thesis. Retrieved from http://www.writing.uci.edu/transident.pdf. Jee, M.J. (2008). Using blogs as eportfolios en ESL/EFL writing classes. SLWIS Newsletter (Vol 3:2). Lopez-Rocha, S. (2005). From stereotypes to communication styles. International Journal of Learning. 12(5), p51-59. EBSCO Host Database #24978795 Mariscal-Hay, B. (2008). Mexican oral traditions and cultural identity. Podcast from seminar series from Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. Retrieved from http://usmex.ucsd.edu/events/event_2009051448374.htm 33
- 34. Bibliography McCargar, D.F. (1993). Teacher and student role expectations: Cross-cultural differences and implications. Modern Language Journal. 77(2) p192-208. EBSCO Host Database #9309075856 Ovando, C. J., Collier, V. P., & Combs, M. C. (2005). Bilingual & ESL classrooms: Teaching in multicultural contexts (4th ed). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Santos, S. (2010). EFL Writing in Mexican Universities: Research and experience. Universidad Autonoma de Nayarit. Mex. Smith, P.H., Murillo, L.A. & Jiménez, R.T. (2009). The social construction of literacy in a Mexican community: Coming soon to your school? Book chapter 20 in Affirming students’ right to their own language. NCTE and Routledge, NY. pg. 303-318 Retrieved from http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:5ZzQ8671zNwJ:www.utb.edu/vpaa/coe/Documents/CI%2520Patrick%2520Smith%2520Documents/The%25 20social%2520construction%2520of%2520literacy%2520in%2520a%2520Mexican%2520community.pdf+paucity+of+reading+and+writing+habits+in+Mexic o&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESguLzoTmAhkl9VCrfLMyQt4x552- KV4QZ8iII7lcJLYXSL8zd9RvbFJdlHf_MdAEyorPcqPraOfWhESblzLw48GWNGdwYsEtkdDLoJ83buWsmR7qu371FnULzeWsLRopkGyACBi&sig=AHIEtbRPYcI_kG6Y IZWB-QmzOsQJ8o_EFQ&pli=1 Thorne, S. (). Dangerous knowledge: Some uses of oversimplification by basic writers. Journal of Teaching Writing. pg. 263-278. Retrieved from http://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/teachingwriting/article/view/1118/1090 Van Horn, B. L. (1996). Assessment and adult learners: Getting the most from standardized and information assessment instruments. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED407543 Waters, S. & Burt, R. (2011). Teacher Challenge: Kick Start Activity. Edublogs, supported by Challenger Institute of Technology. Retreived from http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/ Waters, S. (2011). Why Blog? Edublogs Teacher Challenge. Retrieved May, 2011 from http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/why-blog/ Wibergh, F. &Hawthorne, N. (2010). Understanding international students. Video uploaded from www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7pYB6W049I Xuemei Li (2007). Identities and beliefs in ESL Writing: From Product to Processes. TESL Canada Journal. Winter 25(1). p41-64. EBSCO Host Database #27892229 34
Editor's Notes
- 2 During the period of four years of a Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) preparation course in the University of Michoacan, teacher-trainee/students demonstrated a lack of inherent English writing skills, such as knowledge of the writing process and structural organization of essays. Alarmingly, these advanced level students who had entered the TKT preparation course because they aspired to teaching positions had difficulty producing coherent texts. Could the Mexican teaching of writing skills emphasize such different subskills that advanced EFL students first had to learn how to write in their second language, not their first (Smith et al., 2009, Hofstede, 2009; Hurley & Tinajero, 2001)or was there another reason?
- 3 Was it true that the majority of students in the TKT Preparation Course had not acquired sufficient writing abilities in English? The TKT groups are usually composed of practicing teachers and advanced students of English who have recently finished a Teacher Training Course from outside the university or have demonstrated a high enough level of English proficiency from within the university and aspire to be teachers or are already practicing teachers in private schools.
- 4 In the TKT preparation course, students are expected to be capable of planning and executing written pieces for various functions in English (Hamp-Lyons & Heasley 1992) while maintaining a high standard of English proficiency. The premise is that since trainees will be teaching writing in English, they themselves should be proficient.
- 5 In the teacher-training classroom, trainees must produce well-written texts which follow certain traits of writing in English. During the time I have been giving TKT Preparation Courses (since 2007), trainees have shown evidence of poor planning and organization, lack of revision and carelessness in writing as evidenced in spelling mistakes, poor grammar construction and confusing vocabulary applied in a haphazard manner. As future teachers, what kind of writing skills would they be sharing with their future students if they were unable to show evidence of proficiency in writing in English themselves? Furthermore, why was this happening?
- 6 Were trainees aware of their lack of writing skills, or were they trying to do the least amount of work in the least amount of time to get through what they considered to be meaningless assignments? As a result of this wake up call, I had some serious analysis and evaluation to do. This scenario happens all too often in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom; however, should the same scenario be repeated in the TKT preparation classroom?
- 7 In order to enter the TKT preparation course in the University of Michoacan, candidates take a standardized placement exam (Oxford) as well as written admissions essay in which they state their purposes and expectations for taking the course. During this stringent admissions process, many unsuitable candidates are directed towards a writing workshop instead in order to build their language and production skills, so the course is given to candidates who truly want and need support in certifying themselves with the TKT preparation exams. Mexico has now accepted TKT certification as part of the teacher training process, and all teachers, past, present and future, must take this certification in order to teach English. All candidates of TKT preparation courses since 2008 have gone through this screening process. How could it be that after producing well-organized admissions essays and demonstrating sufficient language proficiency in a timed, standardized situation, students produced poor quality, haphazard work during the class itself? Was the cause a lack of language proficiency, a lack of motivation due to meaningless assignments, a lack of individual student organization or a lack of time to produce the quality of work expected in such a high level course (Hofstede, 2009; Hurley & Tinajero, 2001; Lopez-Rocha, 2005; McCargar, 1993; Xuemei, 2007)? The answer had to be found and the situation corrected.
- 8 While researching possible explanations for the trainees’ low level writing skills, the author ran into cultural considerations and student patterns of thought which might have affected student output. First of all, English writing is cultural; it is differently organized than Mexican traditional means of written communication. Mexico comes from an oral tradition (Mariscal, 2008). The Mexican writing tradition has grown out of the very formal Nahuatl whose rhetorical structure is based on indigenous languages (Crawford, 2007). Now, I could have made a sophisticated video to show you what my opinion and philosophy on the differences between English writing traditions and Mexican writing traditions using another of the Web 2.0 applications that are free to use, but I wanted to wow you with a demonstration of different multimedia techniques. If you have ever read Garcia Marquez or Isabel Allende, then you know the richness in Latin American prose, which expresses and communicates in a vine like pattern, without being linear and sequential. American and British writers are much more forthwith, as represented in the next slide.
- 9 Direct and to the point, without beating around the bush, the English style of writing closely resembles the flight of the bumblebee. it says what it will say in the introduction and follows a logical, linear structure to express an opinion, prove a point or defend a hypothesis. As further proof of the difference between the structure of English and other languages, I invite you to watch this video about foreign students studying English.
- 10 Secondly, many TKT candidates were involved in the process of finishing their university studies or working professionally. Thus they did not consider the short essays required for their hard copy TKT portfolio to be especially relevant in comparison to other assignments and correspondingly spent little time preparing their work. Finally, the trainer found that most students considered the hard copy portfolio a mere course requirement and did not think what they produced would ever be useful for them in their teaching career. When asked after having finished their course and their certifications, previous students admitted to shelving their portfolio binder and not opening them to use what they had collected and produced during the course. These explanations showed a fault in the course design more than with student production. With these considerations in mind, a method had to be designed involving students more meaningfully in their learning process.
- 11 I decided to replace the formally-written binder portfolio with the creation of reflective blogs in a community blogspace (Cox-Peterson & Olson, 2007; Brown, 2005; Hurley & Tinajero, 2001, Waters, 2011, Jee, 2008). Through the interlinked blogs, a unifying framework was created in which differentiated students discussed and interacted on a common platform. As blogging became the vehicle for expression, reflection, interaction and exploration of Web 2.0 tools, the trainees moved from fear of the unknown and avoidance behaviors to active participation.
- 12 At first, the struggle began against the stereotypes falsely believed about public university students. In private schools and universities, the application of Web-based teaching tools are an active part of the curriculum due to readily available Internet access and the fact that most students come to school with their own laptops. However, the majority of students in the Department of Languages at the University of Michoacan do not have more than rudimentary knowledge of Web 2.0 tools in their learning process and professors falsely believe that students do not have access to Internet or computers. Upon taking a survey of all students during four semesters, this professor found that 97% of her students had access to Internet and lap tops or home computers.
- 13 The advantages of moving from paper-based to e-portfolios through blogging made themselves evident from the first week of implementation. Naturally providing communicative skills in English inlearning how to use them, online Web 2.0 tools became a focus of the TKT course, thus supplying an excellent real-life context for practicing the target language. Using Web 2.0 tools jump started student learning processes. Not only were students able to review their homework assignments on the main class blog, read and respond to thought-provoking posts by the teacher and to each other, but they also developed a repertoire of applicable online tools for future teaching. Trainees knew that their blogs were monitored not only by their own professor, but also by readers from around the world through the professor’s professional learning network (PLN), so they felt compelled to write with more care and avoid plagiarism (Gilmore et al., 2010, Van Horn, 1996).
- 14 The best consequence was that the classroom environment veered away from teacher-centered passive learning, which was based on a teacher-controlled class blog. This was the traditional, customary framework in which most students felt comfortable. The use of student-created e-portfolios through blogs focused on student-centered work, reflection, theoretical investigation through interaction and collaboration, and practice with free Web tools (Van Horn, 1996).
- 15 The use of student-created e-portfolios through blogs focused on student-centered work, reflection, theoretical investigation through interaction and collaboration, and practice with free Web tools (Van Horn, 1996).
- 16 However, although they were writing with more conscientiousness, students still struggled with their writing. Upon comparing cluster maps from different blogs in the teaching world, I observed that societies which have historically depended upon an oral tradition communication most strongly coincided where there were less blogs. This tendency points to an overlooked cultural consideration: using blogs might not be natural for students located in Mexico
- 17 Upon examining the map more closely, out of 69,310 visitors and 220,242 page views, we can see that the majority of hits come to the Edublogs Website from countries which have a well-developed writing tradition. Observe the different sized circles which represent the number of visitors which have visited the pages from different sections in the world. You can see that Morelia’s circle has now morphed into a larger circle with Mexico City, and is larger than Guadalajara or Monterrey, two important cities in Mexico and certainly larger than Morelia, which has a population of around one million people. Upon examining Morelia more closely, you can observe that there is a little yellow circle where Morelia is. I am convinced that THAT is one of my students signing up for his or her blog while the cluster map was being formed at the beginning of September. This screenshot was taken on September 9, 2011.
- 18 We can see Mexico has had 517 clicks onto the Edublog’s Webpage, and as one of the blogsites I recommend my students to use is Edublogs, I am afraid that the majority of recent hits from Mexico comes from my students setting up their blogs. In June of 2011, Mexico had 446 clicks. These extra clicks may have resulted from the TKT courses I have been giving since then including a summer course and this autumn. Students signing up might have accounted for this increase in numbers. I like to think so.
- 19 At first TKT students felt uncomfortable with the shifted paradigm. In the traditional classrooms found in Mexico, they had not had much access to active learning techniques. Although the uncertainty avoidance factor (Hofstede, 2009, Chang, 2003) at the beginning of the semester was more elevated than usual due to the novelty of using online applications and the steep learning curve of having to learn how to use blogs, most students who created their own blogs instead of hard-copy portfolios worked through their uncertainty to become empowered, engaged and more confident than previous training courses.
- 20 A visit to our class blog (http://teachingknowledge.wordpress.com) demonstrates the framework: -a home page of the class blog with tabs to go to pages which contain important class information that students need to know.
- 21 link to Edublog’s Teacher Challenge, with clear instructions for setting up blogs. (Waters, 2011)
- 22-Guidelines for writing essays and posting and making commentaries on other people’s blogs. Interestingly, these guidelines had been set up by previous writing students.
- 23-Occasional posts which stimulated creative thinking to differentiate learning and promote student interaction. The fun began when people from outside the class or around the world participated.
- 24-Multiple opportunities for differentiation through suggested Web 2.0 tools which students could use for responding to their own blog posts. The computer-savvy students tried out new Web 2.0 applications such as Glogster, while those just starting out accomplished basic tasks using programs they were already comfortable with ensuring that every student reached milestones in their goals.
- 25. In student Wordles, we can observe the active learning process as they discover new Web tools which can be later applied to future teaching situations. It reads: Hey there, I hope you like my little colorful and chubby wordle. I thought this was a great way for reviewing at the end of the day. It’s fun, easy and helps you retain vocabulary in a different way. My kids really have to see this!
- 26 The big jump in student ownership and writing improvement came at this point. While students were posting comments onto the main teacher-controlled class blog, what they wrote still reflected a lack of interest and a lack of proofreading, with the blog administrator still controlling the editing, moderating, and revising tools. In other words, the teacher still controlled the learning when using the class blog. Once the class members set up their own blogs, trainees started to feel responsible for what they were writing and began to take more care posting into their blog posts. The blogging became student-centered instead of teacher-centered.
- 27 Advantages of student blogs became clearer to all stakeholders through their use. The result of publishing work in a public place created authentic and practical opportunities for sharing thoughts, ideas and trying out new teaching tools; provided eye opening experiences for future teachers; and most importantly, brought the meaningful dimension of reality to student blogs. Reduced turn-around time on assignment feedback was a positive outcome for students. By subscribing through Reader-feeds to each student’s blog, the teacher received notification via email when students posted their work. Through the use of free Web 2.0 tools such as Toondoo, Glogster, Voicethreads, and Fotobabble for personal responses to assignments, trainees practiced tools which could be implemented in their classrooms. Trainees added blog rolls onto their own blogs to compare and comment on their classmates’ blog posts. In this process they had inadvertently created their first professional learning network (PLN). The more technologically savvy students added cluster maps and flag indicators which showed how many people were visiting their blogs. Since I had linked my class blog to my own PLN through my twitter account and my own mentors, plenty of people have been lurking and even commenting on my trainees’ blogs. After two weeks in an intensive summer course, one student said he was amazed at the visitors who had checked out his blog, 31 hits from different countries! The excitement ran high when students realized that what they had written was important enough for other people to read. This was probably the biggest motivating factor in changing trainees’ ideas of the importance of proofreading and taking responsibility for what they posted on line. Communication no longer was a side dish; it was the main plate of a full course dinner.
- 28 The result: students with insufficient writing skills became involved with their writing. The pressure to perform well did not come from the teacher, but from the real context in which we were working. Meaningful and relevant writing was taking place because students were aware that people all over the world would be reading and sometimes even commenting on what they wrote. Interconnectivity grew through the use of blogs. Past TKT students kept in touch and expanded their own PLNs as they commented on the class blog posts and student posts.
- 29 Although the learning curve was steep at the beginning of the course, most trainees met their challenges each according to their possibilities. Trainees with computer skills found themselves exploring new means to create interest in their own classes and had fun showing the facilitator their new tricks. Those trainees who came with few Internet or writing skills were channeled toward a Writing Workshop before taking the TKT preparation course in order to gain valuable blogging experience before jumping into TKT training. However, some students who had little computer knowledge resented having to work on blogs. Trainees with few technological skills were often bewildered by so many new things at the beginning of the course. As they eased into the class format, they grew more comfortable and began actively using their blogs. They eventually left their hard copy portfolios behind.
- 30 Those students with no computer skills felt like they finally had the opportunity to learn basic computer skills. Since the class was differentiated, hard copy portfolios were also accepted as a work and reflection format. One kindergarten teacher explained while she worked on her hard copy portfolio to complete her assignments, that she had started working on her blogging skills on her own in what she coined her final wake up call. She felt that she had waited far too long to learn to do more than turn on the computer and was ready to learn, seeing the outcome and the possibilities for communication with students, administration and parents in her school. The sentiments of the class were summed up by some teacher comments on their blogs. “My expectations for this class were big but the results were twice better! This course made me feel alive again in many ways, I was hungry for knowledge and I am and more so now. Knowing that you are reaching your goals gives you a special daily strength.” “The main reason I wanted to become a teacher was first off to be able to share knowledge for people who are anxious to learn as I am, being able to manage my time and hopefully teach abroad. Although I don’t discard any of my just mentioned desires, there’s something that has growing on my soul and it is to make a change in México. I am so grateful that with the effort of some people, an EFL teacher support community has started here and I want to be part of it.” “I can’t wait to start teaching! I have this heart feeling that through the process I will end up loving it! Thanks to this course I am a better person, not only have I grown academically but personally as well. I have always wailed because I am such a sensitive person and knowing that as a teacher you must have that sensitive touch makes me want to meet all my potential.” My own comment: Blogging? Gloogster? Voicethread?… Yeap, I was scared to death to deal with technology which is not my main skill, well guess what? I knew from the first moment it was going to be scary but challenging, I am sure that made this course more interesting to me. The key is to really confront our fears, because when we do, and when we look at them, we really begin to realize that we are capable of handling them. My main goal was, is and will be ¡ I can do this!
- 31 Teaching through student-owned blogs changed the focus of the learning/teaching process in the TKT preparation classes. Personally, I do not consider myself to be very technological. However, many of my colleagues consider me to be so because I use blogs and free Web tools in the learning/ teaching process. My students consider me to be a guru…at first, until they find out that blogging is not difficult. HOWEVER: my principal has asked me to tone down my teaching this semester…no more blogging. She says that I am asking the students for too much. Back to the drawing board to redesign the course to keep it active and engaging….using other techniques! The challenge of it all! But reality strikes again: out of the 1600 students who have taken the TKT Preparation Course and who have used blogs for the first time in their life, only 10 of them have communicated to me that they continue to use blogs in their own teaching. Hmmmm, this calls for a new project.
- 32 This is my latest project: I invite all English teachers, all TKT students and anyone who wants to write for fun, get feedback and read other writers’ creations, to join in the fun on my new project. P.S. This project flopped. It was based on Two Teachers writing blog, which sponsors a writing project called A Slice of Life. It happens every day during the month of March, or once a week during the year for those of us who like to write short poems, prose or just share. In Mexico, in my own specific learning situation, it was not popular and after three months, I gave it up. It could be rejuvenated with writers….