Process Analysis of a Process Analysis

I haven't been blogging lately, but I've been reading - a lot.  I've got posts upcoming on Rick Riordan's The Kane Chronicles (preview: loved) and Syrie James' The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte, which made me want to re-read Jane Eyre, Villette, Wuthering Heights, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall IMMEDIATELY.  I resisted and instead devoured A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle (what have I been missing all this time?!), Cut by Patricia McCormick, and Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher.  Detailed posts to come.

Regular readers of this blog know that I am an English teacher at a community college.  It's hard, but when everything comes together, it's awesome.  I had one of those moments yesterday when my students gave their Process Analysis Presentation.  This project has matured a lot over the past two years, and I'm just so damn pleased about how it all went down yesterday that I wanted to share with someone other than my husband, who listened politely and then changed the subject. 

I teach ENG 111: Expository Writing.  What began as an unsavory challenge while I was a teaching assistant at N. C. State is now my baby.  I love this class, and I am constantly tweaking it to (I hope) make it better.  We teach the modes at my current college, and I have always assigned some form of a process analysis.  At first, it was just an essay, but I allowed students to pick topics they are experts at (with my approval!! I learned that lesson the hard way...) and design the document as if it were going in a magazine - color, bullets, photos, etc.  It was generally well received, and at the request of my students, who wanted to share their essays with the class, I added an oral presentation component.  In keeping with the visual interest of the project, I stated they had to have a visual aid of some sort - poster, PowerPoint, demonstration, etc. (but NOT the essay).  I've had students come in and wow us with their musical skills or baked goods, but while the project showed promise, students were not demonstrating the oral communication skills I wanted.  Instead students couldn't understand what their presentation should be about or put tons of energy into the essay and minimal thought into the presentation.  The presentations themselves, conducted in traditional one-to-twenty format, were excruciating - not because the topics were boring but because the students lacked finesse in their delivery.  They continued to indulge in the same presentation pitfalls:

• minimal eye contact,
• no practice/confidence resulting in stumbling, stuttering, umms, and general awkwardness for all,
• hiding behind technology with little to no knowledge as to how to actually use it,
• reading off of slides or posters with no room or desire for improvisation.

You get the idea.  I knew something had to give, and in a bold move for an English teacher, I let go of the essay.  I reasoned that a well-thought presentation required written and organizational skills of some sort, the final product would just be different.  I also addressed two of the main issues listed above head on.  I banned technology and required old school posters ONLY.  I also implemented a strategy I learned as a teaching assistant, perfected by my friend and fellow teacher Erika, the gallery walk.  On presentation day, instead of suffering through one dry, uncomfortable presentation after another (again not because of topics but because of nerves on the part of the presenter), I split the class in half and station the presenters with their posters at various points around the room.  The other half of the class acts as audience and must visit each presenter.  Therefore, each presenter has to deliver his or her presentation multiple times, allowing for a growth of confidence in delivery and the ability to revise for better content on the spot.  The first semester I implemented the gallery walk it was well-received; the only real complaint was that the presenters didn't get to visit the presentations of the other students in their group - a surprising problem!

Still, I was having problems with students practicing and reading straight off their poster and plagiarism was rampant because I was still requiring an essay.  This summer I made drastic changes including the following:

• no essay, but a formal outline,
• a clear no research (not even Google) mandate,
• 20 word maximum on the poster (just enough for the main points - thanks Erika!),
• pre-presentation conferences in which students deliver the outline, poster, and presentation to me one-on-one, and I give them feedback to incorporate into their final in-class delivery.

And the results were outstanding!  The requirement of the outline and poster ahead of time meant everyone was prepared on the final presentation day and encouraged the drafting and prewriting that most students neglect.  Every one delivered original work, and not one student even read off of his/her poster, outline, or notecards when delivering his/her presentation.  Also, as an added workload benefit, since I had already heard their presentations during conferences, I merely observed students as they interacted with each other and graded on the spot - done! 

The more I teach the more I am enjoying this hands-off, activities based approach.  In this day and age, I think students need to learn by doing.  I am only too happy to answer questions and assist.  I will provide all the tools, but it is up to the student to learn how to use them. 

Any good activity suggestions out there I haven't considered?

Review: How They Met and Other Stories by David Levithan

I am not usually a fan of short story series.  A well-crafted stand-alone short story is one thing, but I tend to find short story collections to be obscure, unrelated, and uninteresting.  However, David Levithan's collection How They Met and Other Stories was entertaining and engrossing.  This collection of stories, some penned by Levithan in high school, about lovers from all walks of life and in all stages of their respective relationships was touching and most importantly honest.  Although the protagonists are not related nor do the stories overlap, I couldn't help but imagine the characters as all members of the same high school class or community - not friends, but acquaintances - and the reader gets to glimpse their private flirtations and frustrations reminding us of the common need we all have to be desired and cherished.

Although most of the stories are told from a teenager's point of view, my favorite of the bunch, "The Number of People Who Meet on Airplanes," follows a couple from their first meeting (on an airplane) to their celebration of ten years together.  That kind of longevity is merely wished for nowadays, but Levithan demonstrates in simple prose how the unlikeliest of meeting places and people can come together to create a lifetime of shared memories.  This theme is apparent in another of my favorite pieces in the series, the title story "How They Met," that details the blossoming of relationships between the narrator's grandparents and parents that ultimately led to the existence of the narrator.  Levithan's interest in family dynamics is precluded by "What a Song Can Do," which begins with a struggle to balance a love of music with a lover's differing interests but ends as a meditation on the accepting love between mother and son.  Each story demonstrates in one way or another that true love is about the courage to be yourself in every relationship - faults and all - and that's a lesson worth learning.

Best matched with anyone who has ever fallen in (or out) of love...and hopes to do it again.