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Week 5: Expressivist and Process Pedagogies (Expressivism could be seen as…

- - - - Breuch's piece painted the picture of a classroom where the teacher sits with their students, conferences with them, and is seen as equal to them. The idea of "dialogism" was new to me, but she explained that it is a chance for students to collaborate and interact with one another. This works as a way for them to bounce ideas around and learn from each other rather than just the teacher.
        
        Anson pointed out that we think of the writing process as one that we should follow in order; however, he pushes us to think that it can be recursive. If a student gets into their writing and realizes they need more research they can do that and they need to know they can do that. I find that when I am in the rewriting stage I tend to do more research because I find gaps in my writing. Overall, I think the process pedagogy pushes teachers to simply keep the writing process in mind and put more emphasis on certain parts of it. Students know the steps, but can we dig deeper, help them to truly understand and think for themselves about each element of each step?
        
        I think if we allow students to be in charge of their writing more rather than telling them exactly what to do, they will take more ownership and pride in their work. There is a difference in mindsets of "this is what I'm supposed to do" and "I did this by myself so I want it to be good!"
        
        Reid talks about this idea in his piece in FYC, too. Ideally, students will "find their own motivation for writing and for making writing part of their lives and identities" (p. 188).
        This ties into what the writing classroom looks like because if students have more choice in writing, they might see more of a value in it.
      - Last week, a teacher asked my opinion on grading the rough draft of her students' narratives and I feel like this came up in a discussion last week, too. As we talked through it, I found myself saying you have to go through a student's work thoroughly before the final draft (whether that be one-on-one or written feedback) because they will learn more then rather than after the fact when you are already in a new unit.
- - - - "Expressivist practices help us give our students space to reflect, make meaning, communicate, and take action" (Burnham and Powell p. 124).
      - Reid cautions us about how we use self-efficacy and I have seen it first hand with my own students. Sometimes they write what they think the teachers want them to say or they give their work the highest grade without putting much thought into it. Reid says we should ask students to look at what strategies they used in their writing and focus there when they are reflecting.
    - - I think free writing can also create a love for writing. Just like anything, the more you practice the better you get and usually, you like to do the things you're good at. For students, being comfortable and almost enjoying writing is a huge bonus for the classroom and beyond.
  - - - Personal writing vs. non-personal writing
        I can see why there could be debate on using expressivism because there is a potential for a lot of bias and subjectivity. Yes, students will be engaged in the writing if it's about them, but will a teacher be able to keep their personal reactions out of the grade? Pender cautions this but then notes that Elbow bounces back and forth on using personal opinion or not and I found myself in the same boat.
        
        But should writers hide their feelings on certain topics and objectively tell us the facts? We have been taught all through high school that you should keep yourself out of the writing, but what if your personal story is what sticks with and persuades the reader?
        
        Goldblatt brought up a strong point in this debate that by including personal opinon and personal writing, we are able to address people of all backgrounds. Is there a better way to relate to and draw your audience in?
      - Personal opinion adds value to a piece of writing because we are able to step into someone else's shoes and understand the topic from their point of view (we are reading To Kill a Mockingbird right now and Atticus Finch comes to mind).
      - "Students need a reason to write that comes from more intimate and compelling sources....They must learn how to find the motive spark, the intention to speak within whichever subject they take up (Goldblatt p. 461).