In addition to finding quotes, developing writers need practice paraphrasing those ideas, rewording those quotes to illustrate how those sources fit into their own arguments.
To practice finding and paraphrasing quotes, I’ve been experimenting with the bulletin board application Padlet to record and share the intellectual labor students accomplish. My goal was to make the process less solitary and to help the entire class profit from each others’ work.
After we read and initially discussed chapter two of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, I divided the class into groups. Each group tackled one of five topics we’d noted during those discussions: banking mode, problem posing, oppression/conformity, freedom/liberation, relevance/real life. I asked students to locate where Freire defined, clarified, or elaborated on those themes, urging them to look for quotes that they thought were especially meaningful or relevant.
Using Padlet, a representative from the group typed each quote the team found into its own entry. Then teams crafted paraphrases of those quotes, beginning each paraphrase with the stem, “This means . . . " This way, other students working on other themes could rely on each other's "translation" to make sense of each others' selections.
Using Padlet, a representative from the group typed each quote the team found into its own entry. Then teams crafted paraphrases of those quotes, beginning each paraphrase with the stem, “This means . . . " This way, other students working on other themes could rely on each other's "translation" to make sense of each others' selections.
I used the classroom’s SMART system to project an example on the screen, a template to follow. As teams began working, I traveled around the room, observing and helping out where I could. Once I saw that teams were clear on the process and engaged, I went to my computer to eyeball the entire class' progress, occasionally calling students' attention to a quote a team had posted.
I added my own comments and questions to their entries, hoping to compel students to dig deeper. I also added images that we had used earlier that week - slides, illustrations, and quotes - to complement the students' findings. I wanted to get as much mileage out of that work as I could!
In less than an hour, scholars came up with twenty meaty quotes they could use for the essays and paraphrases that explained the quotes’ meanings. And they had access to my comments and suggestions for each quote. Students got to work in teams, which made the activity less solitary. They were able to stand on the labor of each others’ work, building our learning community’s cohesion and shared focus. And by making their progress visibly public as they were worked (I kept the projector on all period), teams were motivated to by a sense of friendly competition. However, that competition meant to support the collective goal of developing a shared bank of resources for a writing project.
Later that evening, I embedded the Padlet on our class’ Learning Management System so folks could refer to it during their writing process. As for assessing what we did, that is, did students learn what I had hoped they’d learn, we’ll see how the ideas the constructed in class make it into their written project.
Next time I try this activity, I need to include quick exit card or reflection. I need to know what students took away from the activity and what else they need. As well, to continue to engage dual processing of information (visual and textual), I can ask students to find images or quotes of their own to complement their written entries. And I need to think of a follow up activity that compels students to review the Padlet, perhaps asking them to respond to one of the questions I posted on various entries.
To magnify on of the entries, float your cursor of the upper right-hand corner of that entry and click on "expand".
Anyone else use Padlet? I'd love to hear how others use this tool in class.
I added my own comments and questions to their entries, hoping to compel students to dig deeper. I also added images that we had used earlier that week - slides, illustrations, and quotes - to complement the students' findings. I wanted to get as much mileage out of that work as I could!
In less than an hour, scholars came up with twenty meaty quotes they could use for the essays and paraphrases that explained the quotes’ meanings. And they had access to my comments and suggestions for each quote. Students got to work in teams, which made the activity less solitary. They were able to stand on the labor of each others’ work, building our learning community’s cohesion and shared focus. And by making their progress visibly public as they were worked (I kept the projector on all period), teams were motivated to by a sense of friendly competition. However, that competition meant to support the collective goal of developing a shared bank of resources for a writing project.
Later that evening, I embedded the Padlet on our class’ Learning Management System so folks could refer to it during their writing process. As for assessing what we did, that is, did students learn what I had hoped they’d learn, we’ll see how the ideas the constructed in class make it into their written project.
Next time I try this activity, I need to include quick exit card or reflection. I need to know what students took away from the activity and what else they need. As well, to continue to engage dual processing of information (visual and textual), I can ask students to find images or quotes of their own to complement their written entries. And I need to think of a follow up activity that compels students to review the Padlet, perhaps asking them to respond to one of the questions I posted on various entries.
To magnify on of the entries, float your cursor of the upper right-hand corner of that entry and click on "expand".
Anyone else use Padlet? I'd love to hear how others use this tool in class.
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