Writing Showcase Deadline Tomorrow!

If you had students who produced particularly good writing this past quarter, please encourage them to submit to the 2014 Writing Showcase. The Showcase celebrates the hard work of SNL student writers and provides inspiration for other students working on writing projects. The submission period is open until April 1, 2014, and winners will be recognized at the Spring Awards Luncheon.

Click here for more information, past winners, and an application form. 

The Wrong Way to Teach Grammar

Yesterday Michelle Navarre Cleary was a guest on Wisconsin Public Radio’s The Kathleen Dunn Show. During the hour she discussed, in short, the wrong way to teach grammar.

Navarre Cleary’s appearance on the program expanded on her recent article in The Atlantic, in which she outlined the research on the ineffectiveness of teaching grammar—memorizing parts of speech, drilling, diagramming sentences—before students are given the chance to actually write. “There is a real cost to ignoring such findings,” she wrote, and by focusing on grammatical correctness, students “never give themselves the chance to explore their ideas or ways of expressing those ideas.”  

Some schools have moved beyond the traditional model, and those that did have seen positive results: programs at Arizona State and the Community College of Baltimore that allow developmental students to start writing immediately resulted in higher pass rates and less time spent in developmental  courses.

“Good writing is clear thinking,” she says, noting that sometimes “it’s easier to worry about where the comma goes than to really push yourself to clarify your ideas.” But if students are allowed to focus on those ideas, grammar will follow naturally: “it’s in that effort to communicate that people start to learn what makes sense in terms of arranging their words in sentences.”

To read the full article in The Atlantic, click here.

To listen to the WPR recoding, click here.



And a reminder for your students: the deadline to submit to the Writing Showcase is April 1st!

10 Things Parenting Has Taught Me About Writing

by Steffanie Triller Fry

Nine months ago, I gave birth to my first child. For the nine months since, I have been trying to reconcile my identity as a writer with my identity as a parent. When I saw that there was a panel entitled “The Parent-Writer: Can We Really Have It All?” at the annual conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs this February, I jumped at the chance to learn how parenting had transformed other authors’ writing. But, the panelists never touched transformation. Mostly, they emphasized the need to get enough time to devote to writing – a problem we all face, parent or not.

I must admit that I smiled when I learned that of the five panelists, all published professional writers, three had one child each and two of them had two children. I think my recent student who parents five children ranging in age from fifteen months to seventeen years and who is currently working on her Advanced Project could tell these panelists a thing or two about being a parent-writer!

The thoughts missing from this panel presentation prompted me to ponder on the ways parenting has affected my own writing, and how it continues to affect the writing that adult students-parents-writers do each day.

            Adult students spend a significant amount of time outside of the classroom on non-academic endeavors. But, research has shown that these non-academic pursuits may enhance the learning that takes place inside of the classroom. Not surprisingly, Graham and Donaldson found in their study of nearly 27,811 college students, approximately two-thirds of whom were over the age of 27, that adult students spend significantly more time involved in off-campus activities (including raising children) than younger students. But significantly, Graham and Donaldson also found that the adult students’ reported academic growth was also greater than younger students’ reported growth across 26 categories, including “Improving writing ability” and “Developing creativity and original ideas” (Table 1.) 

            While a significant subset of the scholarship in the field of rhetoric and composition in the past five years has discussed learning transfer, most of this research has considered how students use the skills they learn in first-year composition in the disciplines and in the field. Little has focused on the way students use prior learning processes when they learn in the composition classroom (Moore 11). One exception is Michelle Navarre Cleary’s “Flowing and Freestyling: Learning from Adult Students about Process Knowledge Transfer.” In this article she considers the ways that adult students Tiffany and Doppel learn in their home and work lives, and how these processes of learning transfer to their academic work. Tiffany and Doppel, however, are not parents.

These studies in learning transfer beg the question: what can parent-students as parent-writers transfer from their learning in the home to their studies outside of the home?

            Though the spaces in which I am parent, writer, teacher, and many other things are separate, as part of my identity they are inseparable. Just as what is true in parenting is often true in teaching, I can learn about my relation to my written work from my relationship with my child.

            To begin this conversation, below I suggest ten things that parenting has taught me about writing:

10. Comparison is the source of my discontent. Life is easier when I focus on my baby and my writing.

9. Anything goes – just so no one gets hurt. But sometimes we have to get hurt. Pain is a powerful stimulus for learning to take place. 

8. It’s always easier when there’s a routine.

7. When something goes wrong, it will eventually be forgiven, even if it takes a ton of hugs and kisses.

6. Lots of people have done it, gotten through it, succeeded; and they all seem so successful and calm in the light of day. But they all have their sleepless nights. It’s how they respond to the anxiety and unpredictability that makes the difference.

5. I may have to do the same thing over and over again to get the desired result. But it may take a month or two or three to figure out what that thing is, and then it may change.

4. A creator and their creation are forever connected: it is difficult to leave my daughter in the care of another already – I can’t imagine sending her out into the world. I’m similarly reluctant to share my writing with others, and the world.

3. We were all babies once; every adult was once someone’s child. These adults who were once children are our readers, characters, and inspiration. At its core, writing is a humanistic activity, and I am writing my best when I am remembering this.

2. Feeding solves all problems.

1. Children are natural muses. Whenever I have writer’s block, I either look into the eyes of my child, or get down and try to look at the world through the eyes of my child. Either way, I learn something new.

In the past nine months I’ve experienced a steep learning curve: I’ve been trying to learn not only how to parent, but how to write and parent at the same time. I cannot help but think about my student who conceived her papers while washing dishes at the kitchen sink. Because she faced out the window while sudsing the glasses and plates, in these moments her children could not reach her, and she used this time to imagine her papers from beginning to end. Being a parent not only taught her to make the most of the time she had; being a parent transformed dishwashing into a sacred space where her intellectual mind could flourish. I know I have many other students and colleagues who know much more about how parenting has affected their ability to create. I encourage comments to this post to share what you have learned! Please add your own ways that parenting has transformed your ability to write, create, craft, or work.

Works Cited

Graham, Steve and Joe F. Donaldson. "Adult Students' Academic And Intellectual Development In College." Adult Education Quarterly 49.3 (1999): 147. Professional Development Collection. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.

Moore, Jessie. “Mapping the Questions: The State of Writing-Related Transfer Research.” Composition Forum 26 (2012). http://compositionforum.com/issue/26/

. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.

Navarre Cleary, Michelle. “Flowing and Freestyling: Learning from Adult Students about Process Knowledge Transfer.” College Composition and Communication 64:4 (2013): 661-687. Print.

A Response to the Realities of Scholarly Writing

SNL Writing News recently featured an essay on the pitfalls of searching for a "scholarly writing utopia." In "Writing 20 Minutes Every. Single. Day." Ryan Cordell likewise abandons the search, but he takes the theme a step further by offering concrete suggestions for maintaining productivity once you've committed to this new way of thinking about writing. Cordell's first step was joining a faculty writing group (something offered by the UCWbL to DePaul instructors), and from that experience he identified several principles that have kept him on track, such as accountability, scheduling, limits, and momentum, all of which he expands on in his essay.

Writing Showcase Deadline: April 1

If you had students who produced particularly good writing this past quarter, please encourage them to submit to the 2014 Writing Showcase. The Showcase celebrates the hard work of SNL student writers and provides inspiration for other students working on writing projects. The submission period is open until April 1, 2014, and winners will be recognized at the Spring Awards Luncheon.

Click here for more information, past winners, and an application form. 

How Do We Do Language?

by Kamilah Cummings

In their new book We Do Language: English Language Variation in the Secondary English Classroom, Anne Harper Charity Hudley and Christine Mallinson encourage educators to take a more critical approach to understanding the ways that students employ non-standardized English language varieties. Although the primary audience for the book is secondary English teachers, anyone who teaches in today’s ever-changing linguistically diverse classrooms will find it a beneficial resource.

Language is as inextricably linked to our cultural experiences as the number of boxes that we can check on a form. As people, cultures, technologies, and contexts change, so does the language that we use to express ourselves. I don’t have to look any farther than that last text that I sent or received to see how new literacies have changed language. With that being said, as educators it is still somewhat difficult to determine what is permissible in terms of non-standardized use of English in the college classroom.  Navigating the space between expectations for standardized English proficiency and acceptance of non-standardized English varieties can be second nature for some and completely perplexing for others. To assist in navigating this terrain, Charity Hudley and Mallinson advocate for what they call “linguistic awareness” in classrooms and beyond. 

The chapter that I found most intriguing in this regard was titled “Language Varies.” In it the authors identify what they describe as three linguistic truths and explain why it is important to possess more than a superficial understanding of these seemingly obvious truths. The truths put forth are: “Communication Occurs in Social Contexts,” “Language is Always Changing,” and “Language Differences are not Language Deficits” (ch. 2). Additionally, they include a set of “linguistic reflection” questions such as “Where do you hear different types of language?” and “What type of language variation do you find interesting?” (ch. 2). These questions encourage readers to confront our own ideas about language varieties. The chapter concludes with suggestions for “supporting linguistically and culturally diverse students” (ch. 2). Although the authors do not provide specific strategies for doing this, they argue  that “to help all students . . . become communicatively competent, it is important for educators to be able to identify language differences in culturally responsive and sociolinguistically informed ways” (ch.2).The authors believe that educators who have a firm grasp of the linguistic truths “are able to build on their students’ home languages and language varieties as they help [them] learn the norms and conventions of standardized English” (ch. 2).

Charity Hudley and Mallinson assert that, “language varieties are often stigmatized,” which brings with it additional ills (ch. 2). To that end they argue, “The tenets of multiculuralism challenge us to critically examine these notions, however, and, to see [language] differences as part of the natural spectrum of humanity” (ch. 2). This becomes of increasing importance as the ever-expanding definition of multiculturalism presents itself in college classrooms, particularly for adults students whose cultural and linguistic voices may be more firmly cemented.

The authors argue, “Any language variety is just as logical and internally consistent as another, and, just like standardized English, non-standardized varities of English are rule-governed and predictable in their linguistic structure” (ch. 2). Therein lies the problem for many instructors; how does one become familiar with the rules of the language variety that a student is using?  I have experienced situations where colleagues have wrongly equated a student’s incorrect use of grammar with a dialect or vernacular. On the more disturbing end of the spectrum, I vividly remember an experience where I witnessed a colleague belittle a student by telling him that his use of an English language variety showed his “inability to speak standard American English.” In that case, I intervened to salvage what remained of the student’s visibily diminished self-esteem. Because of my familiarity with the language variety he used, I was able to offer suggestions that would help rather than hinder the student’s academic progress.

In cases where I am unfamiliar with a language variety, I ask the student to explain to me what he or she means. I find that this empowers students because rather than feel that they are deficient, they see that they are using a variation of the language and that they are fluent enough to translate it into another variety. Depending on the assignment, we can determine which variety of English is best suited for the audience. If students do not learn the correct contexts for using standardized and non-standardized varieties of English in the college classroom, where will they learn them?

Although some hardline sociolinguists and home language advocates argue that one should be able to use any English language variety anywhere, the reality is that we live in a world where context dictates which variety of English we use as much as it dictates that I don’t wear my pajamas to a job interview. As an educator, I would do my students a grave disservice to not teach this. As educators we can find ways to empower students linguistically and respect their cultural identities. To support this notion, the authors cite earlier work by Smitherman and Villanueva who argue, “real-word educational and professional situations bring together speakers of different languages and language varieties. Students who are able to navigate this diversity are well positioned to succeed in a multicultural society” (qtd in Charity Hudley and Mallinson, ch. 2). I would argue that the same is true for faculty. I believe that the more linguistically aware I am as a teacher, the better prepared I will be to teach in our multicultural classrooms. 

Works Cited

Charity Hudley, Anne Harper and Christine Mallinson. We Do Language: English Language Variation in the Secondary English Classroom. New York: Teachers College Press, 2014. Kindle file.

"The Road to Scholarly Writing Utopia"

"Stuck in a writing rut?" asks a recent blog post on the Chronicle of Higher Education's Vitae website. Joli Jensen, professor of communication at the University of Tulsa, has--as have most faculty--been there. Writes Jensen:

Academic life seems to offer us an ideal writing environment. In exchange for teaching a few classes a week, professors supposedly get the time, space, and support they need for their scholarly work. Outsiders picture us in quiet book-lined offices, thinking great thoughts. They assume we're in the company of colleagues who share our interests and offer us writing guidance.

In short, a writing utopia. "But," as Jensen can confirm, "academic reality rarely matches our dreams." Even in what she characterizes as "a fortunate academic career," writing is an ever-present challenge. Her solution is, essentially, letting go of those dreams:

All the research on writing productivity tells us this: To be productive, writers need frequent, low-stress contact with a project that interests them in a supportive environment. When I say this to colleagues, their response is usually stunned silence, then rueful laughter. Their experience, and mine too, has been just the opposite--infrequent, high-stress contact with projects that feel like albatrosses. So let's accept that we live in a writing dystopia, and then find ways to write in it anyway....Once we let go of these delusions, we can identify and address the real obstacles that hinder our scholarly writing, and find ways to overcome them. 

To read Jensen's full essay, click here.