While I received elements of Acquisition/Process Writing, my experience was primarily based on the Learning/Traditional school of thought. Even though the goal of both methods is to garner high quality writing from students, the predominantly Learning/Traditional environment I had in school did seem more punitive, and as a result, I didn’t develop very effective skills as a creative writer.
Most of my literacy teachers from elementary through high school subscribed pretty exclusively to the Learning/Traditional philosophy. Teachers would break down writing tasks into its component parts, and we would practice those skills in order to build up to lengthier, more sophisticated writing. I remember learning “hamburger” and “accordion” paragraphs in elementary school. Sometimes we would physically write sentence strips, and organize them into the proper sequence before copying them down as a draft. I think a lot of my own student experiences have influenced the way I have approached teaching my students to format their historical essays. I have provided students with pretty rigid frames for body paragraphs and a lot of general suggestions for introduction and conclusion writing.
Some of the goals reflected in the Acquisition/Process model were incorporated into my education. I recall choosing topics to research, and writing multiple drafts of a single assignment, peer editing, and sharing the final outcome of my assignment with my classmates. I never participated in a writer’s workshop as a student, and journaling was rare. Instruction was much more explicit and teacher-directed than student-centered. I think as a result, I have tried to incorporate more opportunities for creative writing in my classroom where students write from different historical periods and perspectives, responses to images and music, etc.
As for the approach to correctness, my school teachers relied mostly on the Learning/Traditional approach to writing. My elementary school teachers stressed the importance of good handwriting, organization, correct spelling, proper punctuation and conventions. Aside from writing assignments, we used worksheets to drill these skills. I think oftentimes, the importance of “correctness” became more important than the quality of ideas we expressed. I remember teachers correcting spelling and grammar in every assignment, in every content area, not just on extended writing pieces. By third grade, it was required that we write exclusively in cursive, and it wasn’t until middle school that we could deviate from the traditional cursive approach, creating our own unique handwriting styles. Even then, our writing was very much a personal interaction between the student and teacher. We didn’t often share our writing with other students along the way except to peer edit. Occasionally, we’d have to read our papers aloud or report the findings of our research to our classmates in a formal rubric-based speech.
It is so interesting reading about our experiences in learning to write. Some of your points were very similar to mine. My teachers were also very interested in good handwriting, spelling, and proper punctuation. The content of the writing was not the focus when my papers were graded. All of our writing tasks were broken down into component parts, taking away the authentic craft of the author.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that our experiences have made us better writing teachers today. I want my students to feel proud of their writing and feel free to develop their own craft. I want them to know that I am paying attention to what they are saying in their writing and not marking it with the dreaded red pen. Although conventions and mechanics are important, I never want that to be the highest priority.
Gayle-
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like we must be close to the same age because our experiences in the classroom were very similar. Most of my experiences with writing were in a traditional classroom as well. I always knew that the correctness surrounding the mechanics and spelling was more important than creativity which sucked the enjoyment out of writing. Most of the time I was so focused on spelling and mechanics that I wasn't willing to take many risks as a writer.
I know that my personal experiences shaped the type of teacher I am today. I hope that my students don't ever feel that mechanics are more important that the thoughts and feeling they choose to share on paper.
Gayle-
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like we had many of the same experiences. I remember learning to write through structured frames of paragraphs and essays. Mechanics and spelling were very important and often a focus in our work.
I love that you brought up cursive because it was such a big part of my writing in elementary and middle school as well. Teaching third grade, we still teach cursive, but with very little importance. Over the years, my team has had several conversations about the need for cursive instruction and the meaning behind it.
I agree that my experiences have shaped my teaching, but I also think that I have seen so many different styles of teaching writing now, that I am able to incorporate more than one view.
Gayle -
ReplyDeleteThe majority of my writing experiences were also in a Learning/Traditional view classroom.
I like how you comment on bringing more creative opportunities into your current classroom. I agree that bringing more authentic writing into a classroom environment allows students to express their thoughts, questions, and ideas in a variety of ways.
Do you notice that your students open up more with these assignments or do they crave the structure of a more formal writing piece? I have found with my students that because the majority of their writing instruction has been with the Learning/Traditional approach that they are hesitant to experience an acquisition approach. I wonder if this has to do with their age or if you see similar responses at the secondary level.