1) I love the WPA Outcomes and Goals! I think they are pretty fantastic, though there is some room to grow; while they do a good job integrating technology into each of the outcomes, they could be even more explicit about the importance of digital technologies. My question is pretty straight forward--which of the areas do you think is most important to teach students? To add to that, which of the areas do you think you need to better understand to prepare you to teach the class? Personally, I feel pretty good about knowledge of conventions, processes, and rhetorical thinking. However, critical thinking, reading, and composing seems like A LOT to cover in one class, and it is quite vague.
2) This question is a bit self-serving, perhaps. I'm really interested in social media in the classroom. Can anyone think of an assignment they could use that would bring social media into the classroom in order to help teach one of these key concepts? (rhetorical thinking, critical thinking/reading/composing, processes, knowledge of conventions)
if anyone is interested, I made this site that you can click on that gives teachers a variety of ways to implement social media(s) into FYC in ways that satisfy the WPA Outcomes and Goals statement:
https://jmbergholtz.wixsite.com/4cs2017
To answer your question about social media: I heard of teachers using public Facebook posts to help students identify rhetorical appeals and logical fallacies. I've heard that Twitter is a great tool for teaching students compression with regard to their composing processes and helping students to narrow down to a clear and concise thesis statement. I don't typically use social media to teach any facet of composition, but I admire the teachers that structure their entire courses around it.
ReplyDeleteEven though social media plays a huge role in our lives, I have witnessed that it can be difficult for some students to convincingly direct these messages for a classroom environment as can come off as constrained when catered to a deliberate and scholarly purpose. Even those more academically inclined are used to treating social media in a very specific way: posting on Facebook based on whims, liking Instagram posts, and taking a more informal approach overall. There are certainly less conventions on social media than when writing a more traditional essay. That said, this can be a strength as well since it forces students to critically think about audience and methods of dissemination. I think someone mentioned in class (Amy?) that they had their students make a social media campaign (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) based on the student's research paper topic. Students could also make a YouTube video or podcast version of a research paper. I wonder if there is a method of breaking down a concept into a series of memes? Remixing and presenting similar material through different formats can be an enriching exercise that delves into purpose, audience, and tone.
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