This classroom has been one of the most interesting experiences I’ve had at this University so far. The professor, the students, the readings, the classroom, it all just worked. When I first had to sign up for this developmental english course, I was apprehensive because the thought of two whole periods of english seemed like it would drag on and on. I mean how much can we learn about english? I never expected to learn so much and be actually intrigued and genuinely interested in the subject.
Throughout my high school english classes I never had interest in learning to write or read. I never found it my thing, although I always tried to pass and did. Coming to this class I brought what my high school teachers had prepared me with to start college english. I was taught to read articles, break them apart and build them up with my own meaning. Annotating was always a huge help in taking long articles and fully understanding them. I never enjoyed reading for fun, but I had build up a vocabulary from high school course work that helped me get through most readings. I also brought the knowledge of structure writing to this class, although it was only one(five paragraph format: in which goes with intro, three main points as the body and the final paragraph with the conclusion). One of the most important aspects of my knowledge that i brought to this class was the idea of academic writing, which is writing in a form or style that is serious which consists of arguments, ideas, theories, or investigations. These gatherings of my knowledge really helped me all throughout this class, from the SQRs to the Projects.
In the beginning of the semester we started started with reading the articles and writing SQRs, which was a little hard to read all articles while still keeping up with all of my other assignments put on my all my professors. It was getting used to the readings which was the most difficult part for me. Once we begun Haas& Flower to Gillam it flowed much smoother. I thought SQRs were a great way for me to actually begin to have conversations with the arthur without realizing i was doing it. I believe this helped me and even pushed me to complete readings all the articles. Having to write a summary was so helpful to myself, because I then I wouldn’t just read to finish instead I would read to learn. This is were I began to realize that the content of the articles were not boring anymore, they all made sense(maybe not completely but all in someway did). I really grasped what the authors were trying to say, and it was so interesting how all the articles connected and flowed so well. It just all made sense to read about reading and writing.
The technology in the classroom was a huge change from what other classes were doing, they made the discussions, blogging and feedback work in another level. Again it did take time to get used to having all the work online, maybe having set more time to develop us as students to the technology would have been a better entrance to the studio. All the discussions we had in class using the boards and desks were entertaining yet very thoughtful. It kept me on my feet when trying to discuss ideas. Working in groups was a huge advantage for me this semester in the classroom, it made me see and realize what other people thought about certain ideas. I think working in groups was a contribution to all the discussions we had, it made it more dynamic and easier for everyone to participate. Using the blog to learn was interesting, I struggled a bit to get used to the idea of such informal writing but I liked that ideas was what the blog was about. This just made sense once again, I mean now I know that writing is about ideas. So it can not be right or wrong.
I think the projects in the classroom was were we were put to the test and to try to incorporate the knowledge we learned from the readings. These were our tests. Starting from project one, I had the idea but didn’t know how to get started to create this “thing”. I think I was left in the clouds because I honestly didn’t exactly know what was wanted from us. Once we started generating ideas and having discussions on our ideas, it made it all much more clear. I could have made a much better effort to project one, but I think being the first project and not knowing what would be graded and how, and not being able to yet express my ideas clearly was what made it hard. As we moved on to project two, I had a much better idea what was wanted out of us, which was thoughtful and insightful ideas and theories. This is when I started to realize what writing entailed, which was the thought behind all the writing. I had a better sense of what I was doing, and more importantly I knew the way I thought which for me is a very important part of learning to write. For me I must realize what I want to say and think before I write. The research that we had to do in project two was a new thing for me, I had never done actual surveys or interviews, so it was intimidating. Finishing up with project three I had a strong and clear idea what my interest was, and a better understanding of what kind of writer I am. I focused my last two project in peer response. I think we could have used more time on project three, to be honest it seemed rushed. I think I could of developed a better theory to represent the project, and even improve the project.
Revision weeks were a blur to me, they all seemed to move extremely fast. I think that because we revised all projects at the same time rather than doing revision right after each project (which would of worked better for me) it all made it tough to keep up with what was what. At this time I realized that even though I do appreciate the time we are given to write in class, I much rather write and revise in a more isolated place. It is because I like to keep a quiet place to think, and the classroom was not always quiet. It was overwhelming to revise two projects with the amount of feedback given to me. This is were I had the most difficulty to narrow down all the feedback and revise what I thought was necessary. Revision takes time, so maybe it would have been better for me personally to revise each project individually instead of waiting till the end and revising all three the last weeks of class. Revising project two was the hardest, specially because it was such an extensive work. It consisted of so many parts from reading readings again to going over data. All that took time.
Throughout this semester in the studio I’ve learned what it is writing consists of, which for me are the ideas and theories. I’ve learned to analyze the way I write and think, which is extremely helpful to write for me. I’ve learned to understand what others have to say and learn to appreciate everyones opinions and ideas. This class not only helped me as a writer, but also as a person. I now look forward to taking 1302 which I know the content will all be interesting to me, I just hope the professor is equally or if not better.
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