FW: CHAT,DIS,TNG: What would you do with a non-homogeneous class of 60?

C isa Kocher cik at ttnet.net.tr
Mon Nov 6 01:42:20 PST 2006


The situation came up on CETEFL-L and I have made some suggestions. The
email dialogue, and the questions and my answers, is pasted BELOW :-> but a
little mixed up and out of context from the discussion. :->

This is the situation:

A writing teacher (somewhere: I don't know where ~ who: I don't know who)
came into class and found he has five different 90 minute a week sections of
writing: each section has 60+ students from grammar school age to business
people, from beginner to advanced and they all have to write an essay each
week. :-( Who invented this class should be shot. $-[ I have no idea where
or how or whom.

This is how I answered it:

I immediately thought of Open Space as a way to deal with this. I have used
task based learning where the class is divided into self chosen groups of
five and each group has to come up with its own solution to a problem. It
has worked for me in science writing classes where students had to write a
research paper and it has worked in freshmen English where each student has
to pass a university writing challenge exam, and it has worked in
pre-university ESL writing classes where each student has to pass a state
wide challenge essay exam in order to go on as a student in the state wide
university system. It has worked in Saudi Arabia and in Middle Eastern
countries teaching business and technical as well as creative and academic
writing.

The organization and focus for classes 30 or more is so far more difficult
than anything I successfully faced <:-[. 

I was wondering if anyone could feedback and could suggest and critique and
give practical actionable advice on this problem. It is an intellectual
challenge to me, but also there might be a live living breathing end user
somewhere (I dunno who). 

<:-] Both as a teacher and as a scientist/researcher I have worked on and
with self organizing networks and organizations all my professional life and
have only come across Open Space very recently. I have been involved one way
or another with task based teaching for a couple of decades. <:-}

<:-! <:-) Any feedback would be deeply appreciated since I know very
different perspectives will come from this group which is so perceptive and
creative 
love and peace


isa in istanbul<%-}

We do not inherit it; we borrow the Earth from our children: Native American
wisdom. The only immorality is not to do what one has to do when one has to
do it: Jean Anouilh 

> 
> -----
> 
> -----
> 
> First draft of first answer off the top of my head with out any URLs or
> documentaions but if interested can do that too
> 
> -----
> 
> 
> 
> 1.   Get into earnest discussion with the authorities arguing that this is
> an impossible situation and has to be changed, immediately.
> 
> At best, though, that will mean next term.
> 
> 
> 
> That depends seriously on the politics and the leverage that the teacher
> can bring to bear: no power, no leverage means don't be a trouble maker,
> and accept it as an opportunity to shine'
> 
> 
> Number 2 below all good, and I make some specific recommendations below
> them: read on.
> 
> 2.  I'd make all the use of the Internet that I could:
> 
> 2.1   'Essays' accepted online only. Those without access to the Internet
> -
> tough luck. Move into this century.
> 
> depends on the politics of the place and the power and leverage of the
> teache, may not be possiblke to enforce.
> 
> 2.2   Corrections (I'm against them, but learners never are) to be
> selective:  This week prepositions/articles etc.
> 
> Correction done as a group activity wiki style using wiki style discussion
> boards
> 
> 2.3   Encourage peer student feedback, evaluation, not of language, but of
> content.
> 
> wiki style discussions
> 
> 2.4   My suggestions  imply setting up a class wiki or list or blogs or
> all
> three.
> 
> Wiki can be done OBN PAPER : see Open Space and get their guidelines.
> 
> No teacher correction: waste of time and impossible to do: groups of mixed
> learners correcting each other. It is a writing class and the more they
> write to each other in English the better their writing will get.
> 
> 
> VERY WELL FOCUSED TASK based learning in groups where the teacher is a
> resource and a referree and not the authority.
> 
> 
> for example: every group chooses a poem they want to write about. They
> choose it(language of the poem does not matter=if it is in kwakiutl they
> can translate it first.)
> 
> Then write about who is in the poem and where are they and what is
> happening: turn the poem into a story: group activity.
> 
> That story can then be used to write a story board and script for a 5-10
> minute movie.
> 
> No more than 5 in a group max.
> 
> On line GRADING can be democratic: that is easy on line (really!!!!) (see
> on Internet Open Space): every votes and the best story board and the best
> script gets thge highest grade and so on down the line, with the deciding
> votes in the hands of the referree (teacher): the ONLY posible way to
> grade objectively is democratically in a network of scholars= [that is
> scientifically proven], using criteria developed by the network as peer
> reviewers. Develop the course aims and criteria as a first project but
> well before midterm; Look up Open Space on the Internet and apply Open
> Space principles to the whole wikipedia project.
> 
> MUST have well defined well ariculated well focused TASK. such as 5 minute
> movie (script and story board) (filming is a another kettel of fish)
> 
> Each group should have its own subsection wikipedia and the whole class
> has a class wide wikipeia discussion group to edit each groups's work but
> leaving the FINAL corrections to the group itself ending in a publication
> of ewach groupos works on-line(even it is an intranet and not an Internet
> wikipedia) Final publication drafts are publiched on the internet aftre
> the end of the semester
> 
> The Internet comes into its own in impossible situations, like this one.
> 
> I will be interested in your responses, not just as an academic exercise,
> but so I can pass on any good and helpful ideas to a suffering colleague
> who, as always in such cases feels personally lacking and responsible for
> a
> couple of unsatisfactory sessions.
> 
> 
> Dennis
> 
> 
> 
> Dennis Newson (retired)
> University Osnabrück
> CETEFL-L, Germany-English,
> EFLTU etc.
> 
> XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
> 
>                  Got  JOB information to share?
>                    (Or do you want a new JOB?)
> 
>         Why not  post something on the JOB:channel  ?????
>           Let your CETEFL-colleagues in on the action !!
> 
> XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
> 
> 
> 
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> 

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