Camille Allen - The Multigenre Research Paper: Voice, Passion, and Discovery in Grades 4-6
Mary Styslinger - "Multigenre-Multigendered Research Papers"
Sara Biltz = "Teaching Literature Through the Multigenre Paper: An Alternative to the Analytical Essay"
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Before I begin this I'd like to start off by saying that I had NO idea what a multi-genred paper was--I am glad that I have that background now. I can also still admit that I am and would still be nervous to do this in my classroom...I'm sure that will change once we do one in this class however. What I enjoyed about the readings is that we were able to get all the parts of this process--Romano begins by telling us a brief history of how this style of writing came to be. From what Romano talks about, what I like most about this type of writing is the fact that this genre is able to incorporate so many different types of writing in one. The student is able to be the focus of their own words. How? There is no specific genre that students can use! Styslinger talks about how comfortable students were with this process due to the fact that many of them were able to be lenient in the topics and genres that they chose to write about.
Multigenre writing projects respond to contemporary conceptions of genre, audience, voice, arrangement and style by enabling students to tap into their knowledge about new media literacies, rich rhetorical situations, and the multiple perspectives that are inherent in any writing activity.In short, multigenre projects entail a series of generic documents that are linked by a central premise, theme, or goal. They may forward an argument, trace a history, or offer multiple interpretations of a text or event. They are rigorous forms of writing, involving all of the elements of a traditional research paper: research and citation, coherence and organization, purpose and aim of discourse, audience awareness, and conventional appropriateness. Thus, while multigenre projects certainly teach students valuable, transferable strategies and expectations for writing, they go further.
Multigenre
writing is thus informed by a multitude of rhetorical considerations including
a complex understanding of genre theory. Teachers who engage in multigenre
assignments must be prepared to sequence assignments/project pieces carefully,
to engage in new kinds of response and evaluation strategies, and to learn to
trust their students’ abilities and creativity. The results of this
preparation, engagement, and trust are consistently surprising, heartening, and
rhetorically sophisticated.
For this project, I can admit that I had a hard time trying to find a Do mainly because I have never done this. I then began to think about how would a teacher even go about grading this, so I went on a find to look for fantastic rubrics that teachers could have to use as a guide for grading this. The link is below for a sample rubric.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XhfoH0xt6lMP6hVQ-vuPod2JeYQ2S3HcFI5vj0qVHXE/edit?usp=sharing
So you never had the experience to create a multi-media project in high school, thus have no firsthand experience with using multiple genre to create a culminating project--this makes me rather sad--I think multigenre papers (or projects) enable students to make choices to represent their thinking or knowing through genre they are most comfortable with. Imagine the possibilities not only in print but through multimedia--I also think they make for great culminating unit projects, tied easily to essential questions--so aren't they the epitome of transactional theory as they allow readers to transact with genre? And of course they link to argumentative or informational/explanatory text structures--and like you mentioned last week, they could be linked to close reading as we study a variety of genre.
ReplyDeleteI seem to be missing the DO--
Davontae,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your use of the word "leniency." I feel like in the face of the accountability movement, many schools are pushing highly structured, formal assignments such as worksheets that wind up taking the bulk of students' time and energy. "Leniency" to design their own projects--a higher cognitive skill even if they choose to play to their own strengths--is a great way to ensure that students get invested in the material, particularly when tackling difficult texts such as Shakespeare. The multi-genre paper seems like an ideal project to pair with these anachronistic texts to keep students feeling motivated and personally connected.
I like that you pointed out that multi-genre papers teach students transferable strategies and expectations for writing. I also like that you pointed out the rigor within a multi-genre paper. I can understand that you may never have come across a multi-genre paper before. I believe my first experience with a multi-genre paper was in college at a conference. I know that my English methods courses did not mention them. I also know that I do not see many teachers using multi-genre papers. I feel that they would easily pair with thematic based units. I was surprised by how many novels that I actually know and use that have multi-genre.
ReplyDeleteI see the rubric now--I gave you a sample on BB as well--
ReplyDelete