Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
groups opinions about art were valued more. As before, when the discussions
started to wane a bit, Clayton directed their attention to the whiteboard and
invited the groups to offer the highlights of their conversations. The students
talked in detail about the tension between the values of these two Discourse
Communities as they offered comments about what art, especially good art,
was for each Community and what was at stake with each Communitys
definition.
With the class period drawing to a close, Clayton asked the students to think
about the Discourse Communities that they had chosen to examine for the major
writing task they were working on and to consider how their analysis and
discussion of the documentary could help them interrogate the issues of power
that arise within them. Although only a few minutes remained of the class
meeting, the students started talking within their groups about the issues of
power they saw circulating in the Communities they had chosen.
With three minutes remaining in the class period, Clayton reminded students
about what they needed to do for the remaining two classes of Week 6, asked
them to turn in the Friday memo & discussion documents they had written over
the weekend based on last Fridays class, and then dismissed them.
I had wanted to talk with Clayton immediately after the class ended, but my pen
had leaked all over my hand and I had inadvertently gotten ink all over my face,
so I went in search of a water fountain to wash up. When I returned to the
classroom, Clayton had already departed. As I walked back to my office in
Colbourn and reflected on Claytons class, it struck me how difficult it would be to
say enough good things about the teaching I saw. Claytons decision to use the
documentary to get students engaged with the Swales reading was a very good
one, and I thought that the students analyses of the documentary were very
productive. My sense was that the documentary activity was very well designed
and well planned, and that the students were definitely energized and engaged
with it over an extended period of time. Clearly, Clayton has a keen sense for
creating and planning activities that enhance student learning.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kevin Roozen