[English] suggestions needed for context teaching

[Reynolds, Gail G]

HI Jenny,



I think it helps to think of those descriptions as an opening out of what can be done rather than a prescription for what must be done. I challenge you to nominate any piece of writing that cannot be fitted to one of the modes or a hybrid of these.  I did this exercise with my staff and we couldn't find anything which could not be seen as fitting; because of this, we have somewhat ( but not completely) de-emphasised the categories and have increased focus on ways of producing "good" writing.



Note that in the exam the students are not allowed to nominate any style and in fact last time I marked this section, we were told  to disregard any Explanations which might accompany the Context.  This in effect means that the only place the students need to be able to identify how their piece fits into the nominated formats is in their SACs in their "explanation of authorial choices". Our Y12 teachers agreed that we were doing holistic marking and as we marked the SACs we would place the emphasis of our marking on the actual piece of writing more than the Explanation (although we still took this into account).  I personally would not overly-penalise students who mix up the various categories, especially in view of the contradictory information which the students may be accessing.  It is interesting that my best students can all provide an excellent Explanation and those who mix up the information sit in the mid to lower range in any case... ( I may be bad, but I do not lose too much sleep over this)



One of our major difficulties with this section is that the Design itself is unclear as to the task and our approach is always going to be like juggling jelly... you have to find your own way to succeed and some of it will end up on the floor. I do understand the feelings of the teacher who wants something to cling to -- in its first year everyone was playing safe and Assessors had SOOOOO many boring formulaic expository pieces to mark. I also know that variety and freshness and engagement with the writing are things the Assessors look for. I am afraid we have to lead our staff and our students into more open fields when it comes to this section... and it 'aint easy!'



The awful how much text question -- answer: between one word and all of it. I have seen excellent pieces which have used a text as a springboard to dive into new ideas -- for example a student who used the film Witness as the basis, writing about the Amish practice of Rumspinga.  There is a clear relationship to the film, a sound platform for discussing Identity and Belonging and scope to incorporate the prompt, but it did not draw directly upon the text. On the other hand there is an occasionally successful strategy which views the plot of a text through the eyes of another character (so this one is nearly all text).  The thing to remember is that this is not a text response (50% text is likely to be way over the top in an expository for example). We don't need mention of the text every paragraph or use a formulaic  paragraph about the student's experience followed by a paragraph about the text (few writers are able to make this interesting and engaging) I try to get my students to think about the big ideas, how do we explore these, what  will capture the young writers' imaginations/ interest the potential audience?



As for your staff member, I wish you luck (she says, her mind crowded with bitter memories).  One of the text books has an excellent section on hybrid writing (It is on my desk at school and I can't remember which one off hand, but I'll let you know if I remember) you could try giving that to the teacher  concerned. For the students at her mercy, how about offering the whole 12 Eng cohort an afternoon of Context-focused writing workshop with the English teachers in attendance (Is there a local writer you could get to facilitate the workshop? Mildura is a relatively big place, there has to be someone who would do it ... or someone prepared to come in  from elsewhere. VATE may have some ideas for people to approach???) This one has the value of acting as PD for your staff without singling out or confronting ... and it could bring new ideas for everyone.



I don't have many more suggestions and believe me, I can empathise with your predicament. I am not sure that I ever completely succeeded with my guy, but I tried to give oblique gentle shoves and increased exposure to a range of sample responses/sample lessons (Could you do this in an English faculty meeting?)  I have just had a meeting with my staff where I asked everyone to bring a sample writing lesson. It was actually a lot of fun and some of that will translate into teaching our Context...



(Hope I haven't done that grandma and egg sucking thing..)



Gail Reynolds

English and Literacy Co-ordinator

Box Hill High School

9877 1177

________________________________

From: english-bounces at edulists.com.au [english-bounces at edulists.com.au] on behalf of Jenny Gilbert [nenifoofer at gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, 12 June 2011 11:23 AM
To: 'VCE English Teachers' Mailing List'
Subject: [English] suggestions needed for context teaching


Hi Everyone

I have a need for some help in leadership :) I have an English teacher that is being quite prescriptive ( she is quite presecriptive with most things) with the writing forms ‘expository, persuasive and imaginative’. She is not dealing well with the combination of possible forms and voices in written texts. She see them as three completely separate entities. Our teaching of this area of study has evolved over time – and we now see the students as having to ‘create’ as writers using what they know about the Context, text and their understanding of the concepts in a given prompt. This means we have moved away from strict structural controls for a 5 paragraph essay, although we do teach it for those students who need something to hang their work on as they cling to something of a model.  In yr 11 we do focus on the three modes – in Unit one we focus on expository and persuasive, in Unit two creative. (We used to try and do all 3 in semester 1 but it became a workload nightmare) . In Units 3-4 students choose freely.

When we first started with context there evolved an understanding of the expository essay form and that wretched formula of third person formal style with 50% use of the text, 25% world and 25% self as a guide for students to structure their writing as informed by the ideas and issues of the set Context and text. While I have not said do not do this I have encouraged the flexibility and creativity of both students and teachers to see that the limits here are on the boundaries of the text and context not the ‘rules’ of a specific writing genre. I wonder if there are ‘rules’. The way I see it there are typical features of writing depending on purpose, audience and form and we need to teach those over the years so that in Yr 12 students are able to use this knowledge and their skills to write a response they feel comfortable with. In expository writing students can explore ideas, look at them from a number of angles, and draw conclusions. We are still experiencing confusion with this – students explaining their work as expository when it clearly argues a view, or vice versa, claiming they have done a persuasive piece that in fact has not clear line of argument and is even lacking a clear contention. The pick ‘persuasive’ simply because in the end they express an opinion.

Then there is that awful question – how much from outside the text has to be included? It seems the struggle with the grey continues with that 50/25/25 formula. I have – after PD recognised this is not the way to encouraged good creation of texts. Last years examiners report confirms this
On the other hand, it should be noted that:
• there still seems to be a dependence on formulaic responses, which suggests that some students believe that
rote-learning is sufficient. The study of English is concerned with developing students’ understanding and
confidence in responding to the specific topics and prompts that are offered in the examination. Active
engagement with texts enables students to develop language awareness, articulate ideas and develop
communication skills
• some students did not fully engage with the actual elements of the topics and prompts. Greater care needs to be
taken in analysing and recognising the specific expectations of each topic or prompt – often this comes down

to a precise understanding of the words which comprise the task

In section B the commentary is quite clear
The most successful responses drew thoughtfully from the text; however, the least successful only used a scene or a
feature of character in a superficial way or retold the plot of the text. This approach was not always relevant to the
prompt. There can be no definitive advice on the success of relying on a single text or employing both (or more). Some
students used the two texts expertly to demonstrate exceptions and qualifications, while others did little more than use
the second text to add yet more of the same examples. While students writing using an expository approach tended to
employ both texts, a number of students explored only one text. Students who used more than one source to illustrate
their ideas often produced pieces with a strong sense of unity and purpose. This cohesiveness was contrasted by pieces
where one idea followed the next as students went through their list of examples. The product was more a plan for an
essay than a thoughtful, finished piece.
The transference of ideas from the texts is critical. Students who understood and could convey sophisticated ideas from

their texts were the most successful, regardless of the approach to writing selected.



http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vcaa/vce/studies/english/englishassess/2010/english_assessrep_10.pdf



Our focus has been much more on the concepts and ideas in the prompt and text than in writing to a specific formula.  Our returning prescriptive teacher is more focussed on the required form and wanting rigorous specific supplementary texts included in the study. I will refer her to this examiners report and others have provided her with documentation from inservices– but can anyone offer useful definitions of the ‘three explicit’ forms because I can’t. I prefer to paint the grey lines and encourage students to create with the focus much more on the connection of the concepts and texts. In this instance the labelling of expository, persuasive or imaginative is squishing the potential to write from the heart and mind if it is done as this teacher is suggesting. SO…..

What suggestions do you have about what I should say to her other than to send her on PD to meet the examiners –I have not yet marked this section so I am at a bit of a loss and relying very much on my experience teaching it, PD and examiners reports.

Thanks

PS….to add to confusion some publications are now using the word exposition for persuasive writing – how do we deal with that?

Jenny Gilbert

English Coordinator, St Joseph's College Mildura
Linked IN
Blog<http://nenifoofer.edublogs.org/>
Wiki<http://msgsresources.wikispaces.com/>
Diigo<http://www.diigo.com/user/nenifoofer>
Jens PLN at Live Binders<http://livebinders.com/edit?id=6500>
Twitter - @nenifoofer




Important - This email and any attachments may be confidential. If received in error, please contact us and delete all copies. Before opening or using attachments check them for viruses and defects. Regardless of any loss, damage or consequence, whether caused by the negligence of the sender or not, resulting directly or indirectly from the use of any attached files our liability is limited to resupplying any affected attachments. Any representations or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender, and not necessarily those of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.edulists.com.au/pipermail/english/attachments/20110612/eedb8cc9/attachment-0001.html