When researching scholarly articles for this post I came across a lot of interesting articles that conveyed a lot of new techniques I should consider when looking at grammar instruction. The article I was most interested in gaining knowledge from was in the English Journal this article contained some pretty worthwhile advice on grammar instruction. The article is called, "But When Do You Teach Grammar?" Allaying Community Concerns about Pedagogy by, David Gold (High School Edition). Urbana July 2006. Vol 95, issue 6, pg. 42-6. This article outlines the problems David Gold encountered when trying to set up an English program at a new private high school. Some teaching techniques that David Gold described proved to be very responsive in the new high school. One such technique, was described as "teach writing as a reflexive and reflective process, emphasizing the importance of multiple revisions through conferences, class workshops, and peer reviews in a supportive class community (Brooke, Mirtz, and Evans; Elbow; Murray). i think this strategy is very helpful in a classroom enviroment, where students can get feedback and learn from each other.
Gold also points out another strategy that I found to be against go teaching grammar. "Teach grammar, usage, and mechanics rhetorically, in the context of students' writing, not as separate "formal" subjects (Andrews et al.; Hartwell; Kolln; Weaver). " This statement I don't agree with fully, grammar should be taught in the context of student writing but there also should be some time devoted to formal lessons on grammar and how to use it, but they must be done right and with the students being engaged and motivated, this would prove to be a little difficult.
The last strategy i found to be a great asset was the "use (of) portfolio evaluations for each assignment, requiring students to turn in not only final papers but also their work at each stage in the process, including metacognitive essays that require students to reflect on their work as readers and writers (Hillocks; Raphael, Englert, and Kirschner; Yancey)." This I feel is a great way to approach assessment and to teach writing to students. As a teacher you can grade students work as a progression as well as seeing how and what your students are learning.
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2 comments:
Sounds like you found a really rich article Matt. I really appreciated your feedback in our class discussion today, and here in your blog as well.
Because I like to be the devil's advocate :) I was wondering how you might fashion a lesson around teaching grammar (in an isolated way, since you feel it will be necessary in some situations) that really engages students and improves their learning.
There's a lot of disturbing research out there that proves that isolated grammar lessons actually made student writing worse over time. It's a fine balance. What are your thoughts?
I like this article that you choose to discuss in the fishbowl. Because it allowed to explore many possible ways for students to learn grammar without being so hard thing to reach toward the end of high school or when they reach college.
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