Final thoughts

Well, here I am penning my last post of this blog for the class. It’s been an intense and, I hope, educational year for all of us (we learn too, you know!).

Thanks to everyone who took the time to write a reflective essay on their experiences over the last year (not all were posted on the blog – some students handed them in).

You might remember earlier in the year I asked everyone to get up and talk for a minute on an unprepared topic. Once the last student had finished, Beata, quite rightly, set me the task of talking on buffaloes for a minute. We (tutors) should, I believe, be always prepared to do the tasks which we ask students to do. So, in that spirit, I aim, right here and right now, to write my own reflections and evaluation of the year.

For your essay I suggested the following structure:

- Introduction – motivation and expectations
- Positive experiences
- How course could be improved
- Evaluation of your own performance
- Conclusion – what you have learned

It seems fair that I should write my reflection using the same structure …

Jerry’s Reflective Essay

So, to start, what was my motivation and expectations at the beginning of the year? (Ah yes, the old, trusty question to get an essay kick-started) Well, beside my big, fat salary, my motivation was, as always, to create a supportive but challenging learning environment to allow students to develop. That all sounds a bit woolly but I suppose that’s what teaching is for me. Sometimes the word “teach” is too blunt an instrument for my liking.

My expectation was that I would be working with a group of able and interesting students who would be ready for a challenge. I wasn’t wrong. This was my first year teaching on this Access course at Stevenson, so I was, in a sense, new as well. I think we were all up for the challenge and, although, tough at times, I think we all learned a lot along the way.

It’s impossible to predict how a class will gel, but from very early on it was clear that you all worked and, importantly, learned very well together. This intra-class dynamic is crucial to the development of a positive learning environment - it was always a pleasure to walk into your class.

This brings me to my positive experiences. To be honest, and you may accuse me of being some class of Irish charmer, but the positive experiences are really too numerous to mention. One of the most fundamental factors in teaching, I think, is developing positive relationships with learners. I feel that I was lucky in developing such relationships with each and every one of the class. So, my primary positive experience is the sum of all these relationships.

But what about improvements? (By the way, I hope you are all paying attention to my paragraphing and signposting) We always need to be aware of how things could be improved. I would agree wholeheartedly that one of the weaknesses in terms of my class was the accommodation (which is always a safe weakness to admit as it’s out of my control). The rooms we were in on the fourth floor were not appropriate for what we needed to do a lot of the time and the technological delights of room 126 came much too late to be of any great use. It’s not much comfort to you folk, but I will try to get that sorted for next year - you may not believe me but I have been trying to resolve this all year.

So what about improvements in things that I have control of (and this segues into the evaluation of my own performance)? Well, that’s trickier as it requires a degree of self-criticism.

I suppose I’m asking myself "would I do anything different?" Well, I think I might time or pace assessments in a different way next year. I was very conscious of the amount of assessments that you needed to get through this year. A few students, in their reflective essays, mentioned that we (and I think they mean all tutors) could/should have been stricter on assessment deadlines.

That’s a tricky one. I set a deadline for essays in December. And yes, I was still getting some of these essays in the last week of teaching. Should I have failed every student who didn’t make the December deadline? Maybe, but, to be honest, there wouldn’t be many folk left at the end of the course if I did. However, I did go on (and on) about how universities will be stricter on deadlines. Maybe I need to go on about that even more next year (Already I can see the rolling-eyes of students I haven’t yet met).

So, what have I learned? Well, amongst other things I’ve learned how to make an origami flower. I’ve learned how to make a camera obscura out of a Pringles can. I’ve learned about the culture and history of places such as Bulgaria and Riga. I’ve learned about the cultural significance of Bruce Lee, Che Guevara and the Moors in Spain. I’ve learned about the achievements of Rafael Nadal. I’ve learned how to hit someone without getting hit back. I’ve learned about the significance of colours. I’ve learned about disability rights in Ecuador. I’ve learned how comics can help you learn a second language. I’ve learned about movements in modern architecture. I’ve learned about the addictive power of World of Warcraft. And most of that has just been in the last month!

I’ve also learned (or re-learned) that if we’re coasting along then we’re probably not learning a lot. But when we feel we are on the very edges of our comfort zone, then, possibly, we are learning. That’s what learning feels like. It’s not always a pleasant feeling at the time - but it seems worth the discomfort in retrospect. This is an important thing for us, as tutors, to remember. We force students out of their comfort zone a lot. How often do we move out of ours?

Another way of self-evaluating for me as a tutor is asking the simple question "what did my students learn?" One way of getting a measure of that is by asking you to write the reflective essay (which you did) and unless you're all lying, it seem that you all learned something along the way.

So, to finish (and I just love cyclical structures), let's go right back to a question we started with at the very beginning of our time together: what is the purpose of education? No need to reply, but I wonder has anyone changed their mind on that one …

Take care. Jerry.

Reflective essay

As we come to the end of the course I'd like everyone to write a short reflective essay which looks back and evaluates the experiences of the last year. It seems like a long time ago since we all met up outside the Scottish Parliament. We've covered a lot of ground since then, and, I hope learned something along the way.

You can use the following structure to help put your essay together:

- Introduction – motivation and expectations
- Positive experiences
- How course could be improved
- Evaluation of your own performance
- Conclusion – what you have learned

If you don't mind others reading what you have to say (and this would be useful), you can post it as a response to this blog entry. Otherwise you can type it and email it to me. Or, even hand write it.

Poetry and music evening

Thanks to everyone who was involved in the poetry and music performance in the Music Box. I thought that it was a beautiful synthesis of words and music.

Of course, no one needed to do this. It was not required for any assessments or courses. However, for me, this is what makes these events even more valuable and memorable.

If I get a copy of the video, I'll post it here. Watch this space ....

Running order for presentations

14 May

Hannah

21 May

Pawel (two presentations - analysis and informative talks on camera obscura)

Mend (informative/instructional ... something on the European elections)

Simon (Bruce Lee - informative presentation)

Vesela (A guide to Kazanlak)

Marietta (Colour Reading)


28 May

Nadine (analysis of historical figure - Che Guevera - ties in with Evan's unit)

Emily (A Guide to Warsaw)

Vesela (analysis of historical issue - ties in with Evan's unit)

4 June

Emily (The Warsaw Uprising: what was it and why did it fail?)

Change of classroom

From Thursday the 14th of May we will be in room 126 (first floor). I'd appreciate if you'd spread the word.

Dublin student exposes sloppy journalism

We've talked a bit about the uses and abuses of Wikipedia. Follow the link below and read about a Dublin student's attempt to subvert the authority of the world's press:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0506/1224245992919.html?via=mr

The Final Push

Today we looked ahead to the time we have left and considered what needs to be done. As everyone worked away on their reading assessment, I had a chat with folk individually to let them know what they need to complete and hand in.

We agreed in class that we’d be doing the 5-8 min informative or instructional talks on the weeks of the 14th and 21st of May (ie. two weeks today). I showed people the kind of talks that students have done in the past (see previous blog entry) and some folk seemed to have settled on a topic already – good stuff.

If anyone is unclear about what they still have to do, please get in contact. Otherwise, I’ll see you all next week.

More on reading assessment

Today we continued with the reading assessment. Most people finished off the first reading assessment and some people started on the second assessment (“How wiki-wiki can get sticky”)

Remember that the same type of questions keep coming up all the time:

What are the main ideas?
What is the purpose?
Who is the text aimed at?
What type of text is it?
How effective was the text in meeting its purpose?

We have been addressing these questions all year. The only thing that changes is the text and author. Sometimes the text has been a presentation; sometimes it has been a radio programme. Of course, sometimes you have been the authors or presenters.

A greater awareness of how texts are constructed (and how well) should, I hope, help develop your own skills as writers and presenters.

I also highlighted the fact that we need to start looking at the second (for some of you) presentation assessment. This can be informative or instructional. To give you some ideas, here are some topics that have been covered by students in previous years:

Mummification
Tying knots
The off-side rule in football
Aromatherapy
Volkswagen in Germany
Mending a puncture
Learning to play the piano
Interview skills
How to sky dive
Making an omelette
A guide to Tokyo – Vancouver – Barcelona – Amsterdam - Paris
How to make money on e-bay
First aid
How to string a guitar
The Manhattan Project
How to deal with anaphylactic shock
The West Highland Way
Meditation
How to mix cocktails
How to make a cheap vegetarian curry
The Five Pillars of Islam
The dangers of sun beds
Downhill biking
How to lose weight
A brief guide to the universe
How to book a holiday online
The VW Camper van


Remember that they only need to be 5-8 minutes in length. I’ll be asking people to decide on a topic over the next couple of weeks. Some people have already decided on their topics.

Developing analysis skills - SEC method

I know we've covered this before, but I think there's no harm making the point again as we are currently analysing texts for the reading assessment.

Everything sensible that you will say in your academic work (or your life) will, more or less, use the SEC (Statement – Evidence – Comment) method in some form or other.

- You make a statement
- Back it up with evidence
- Then, and this is the crucial part, link the two by commenting on both.

Taken together, these three steps represent analysis.

Let's look at an example ...

Make a statement

I think that Sparklehorse have re-invented country music for a new generation

Back it up with evidence

For example, they will often use slide guitars and sampling in the same song

Comment on how example helps to support your statement

The use of slide guitars shows that they are indebted to the country music heritage. Yet, they re-vitalise a very traditional genre of music by their incorporation of samples: a technique that is associated with cutting-edge music.

Now just put all the bits together:

I think that Sparklehorse have re-invented country music for a new generation. For example, they will often use slide guitars and sampling in the same song. The use of slide guitars shows that they are indebted to the country music heritage. Yet, they re-vitalise a very traditional genre of music by their incorporation of samples: technique that is associated with cutting-edge music.

The paragraph above looks like the type of thing that would (I hope) pop up in your reading and listening responses; presentations; and essays.

As I have said, the statement-evidence-comment method is not just something that you should learn and then quickly forget for college work this term. All academic essays will require you to use this method in some form or other. As you progress in your education you will find that what changes (or should) is the level of sophistication and subtlety of your statements, evidence and comments.

Indeed, SEC is something that we do at every level of “argument”:

Take the scenario of a mother reading her favourite story from her childhood to her child, again:

Young child: This is boring! (Statement)
Mother Why do you say that?
Young child Because we’ve read it lots of time before. (Evidence)
Mother And?
Young child And I’m bored of doing the reading the same thing over and over again. You like it, but I don’t. (Comment – neatly linking statement and evidence)

Once you look, you start to see SEC everywhere.

Poetry to Music Event - May

Laurie, lecturer in music, came in today to talk about his ideas and hopes for the poetry-into-music event in May.

I think it sounds great.

The dates are not finalised yet, but it will be some time during International Week (commencing 11 May). Hopefully the event will take place in the Music Box auditorium.

The details of the format need to worked out, but Laurie's idea was for you guys to give a reading of your poem, possibly followed by a discussion, and then followed by Laurie's students' musical interpretation of the poem.

Some people suggested leaving the discussion bit until the end. As I say, these details can be worked out as we go. The main thing was that everyone agreed to the idea of the event.

If you have any ideas or comments, please post them here ...

Reading assessment - 1

I gave out the first reading assessment today and everyone worked their way through the questions. Not everyone finished - we can take it up from there next week.

Again, the questions will seem very familiar from the listening assessment. Remember the purpose of these tasks is to help develop your summary, analysis and evaluation skills - the development of these skills are important, indeed crucial, for further and higher education students.

The text continues the theme from the Enemies of Reason programme and focuses on the philosopher David Hume and the Scottish Enlightenment. If you want to view the BBC programme on Hume which the writer refers to, go to ClickView, then Documentaries and look out for a programme entitled "Age of Genius." You don't need to watch the programme, but you do need to do the reading assessment.

Preparation for reading assessments

Today we took up from last week and looked at reading skills in more depth. We discussed, in more depth, the differences between tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in terms of content and style.

We also looked at the notion of readership and looked at The Metro as a case study (see link to BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7942017.stm).

We looked at two articles on school shootings in the US in 2006 as reported by a tabloid (The Daily Record) and a broadsheet (The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2006/oct/03/amishschoolshootingamericas) – sorry that Record article doesn’t seem to exist online anymore, but I have printed copies.

I stripped away the formatting from these articles and we focussed on the language only. We discussed how the language reflected the complexity of ideas and supported the two purposes.

We also had a look at an example reading assessment – both the text and the student’s responses. The questions are very similar to the questions you’ve been answering on the Word of Mouth and Enemies of Reason documentaries. Please bring these handouts next week.

The student’s answers will give you an idea of the depth and approach of your own responses to this assessment.

We will be spending the next two weeks working through the two reading assessments. On the bright side, there will be a well-earned two-week holiday at the end ….

Worst Irish accents on film

Last we we got into a discussion at some stage about bad accents in film. Here's a link which lists the top 10 worst Irish accents in film (Sean Connery and Julia Roberts appear twice):

http://entertainment.ie.msn.com/Worst%20Irish%20Accents.aspx

If you'd like to share any other examples of bad accents, please add a comment ...

Active listening and discussion on "Enemies of Reason"

Today we focussed a bit more on listening skills. We’ve listening to radio and TV programmes over the last few weeks. In many ways, these are as much exercises in note-taking and analysis and evaluation as they are listening.

However, we looked at listening today in of terms inter-personal communication. I introduced the notion of “active listening” and we did an exercise at the start of the class which focussed our attention on how we listen.

Dom observed the various one-to-one discussions and came up with three types of listeners: the note-takers; the eye-contacters; and the interactive listener. Very perceptive observations by Dom.

We discussed what talkers looked for in a listener (and what they got in the exercise).

Some of the positive listening skills which were identified were:

- Listener giving feedback
- Listener using comments to clarify
- Listener obviously engaged
- Positive body language
- Giving advice

Some people identified “giving advice” as a positive listening skill, but there was some debate whether this is always desirable.

Some of the less positive elements which were identified were:

- Lack of eye contact (although this, in fairness, was when the listener was taking notes)
- Listener inaccurate when summarising information
- Giving advice (again)
- Taking notes (is this always negative)

Part of the reason for this focus on active listening was to draw your attention to on another aspect of the course which is assessed: discussions.

These discussions assess your ability to speak clearly and accurately on a subject. It is also important that we see that you are actively listening and that you can handle questions. We've had plenty of these throughout the year and, as a class, you are very capable of having engaging and thought-provoking discussions.

Today, we had a discussion based around the Enemies of Reason programme. Everyone contributed very positively to that (although, of course, many agreed to disagree on a number of points). Thanks to all of you for engaging positively in that discussion. If you’d like to continue the discussion, feel free to do so here by using the comment function.

Nadine said that she was going to a spiritualist tonight and I’ve asked her to share her thoughts on the experience here.

Finally, I previewed what we’d be moving on to next. We will be using the same analysis skills which we used to study the various documentaries to start analysing written texts (in particular we’ll be focusing on some newspaper articles).

We discussed the difference between tabloid and broadsheet/quality newspapers. We’ll take it up from there next week.

Enemies of reason - second listening task

We moved on to look at the second listening task. Again, we are looking at the same elements when we come to analyse and evaluate the programme: summarising the content; and identifying purpose, point of view and intended audience.

The Enemies of Reason programme adopts a different style to the Word of Mouth series. When we come to evaluate the programme (or any text or piece of communication) we should do so in terms of its purpose. So, we can't dismiss something for not being objective if it's purpose was to persuade us to agree with a particular point of view. What we should evaluate, in this case, is how successful that piece was in persuading us.

There will be no class next week. When we come back we'll finish off the work on the various listening assignments.

Have a good break.

Word of mouth - first listening task

Building on the example we worked through last week, today we went down to the Learning Centre to start the first of two listening assessment tasks.

You had the choice of listening to one of two radio programmes from the BBC Radio 4 "Word of Mouth" series.

Word of Mouth 1 was about issues associated with the speech and language problems or disorders.

Word of Mouth was about bilingualism and the process of learning a new language.

Your job today was to listen to one of these and take notes (using the Cornell Method we talked about last week if you find it helpful).

I also gave out a series of general questions which can be used with either problems. The questions focus on: summarising the main ideas; the purpose and intended audience of the programme; point of view of programme; and, finally, your evaluation of the programme in terms of its intended purpose.

You'll remember, I hope, that I gave out a sample response to these questions based on the programme we listened to last week. You should look at the example as a guide when producing your own responses to the questions.

Remember that as well as summarising the content of the programme, this task requires us to analyse and evaluate the programme.

Presentations on ClickView

As I think you know by now, the presentations seem to be up on the College ClickView system.

They should be password-protected. Dieca has the password.

It would be interesting to read what you had to say about the presentations.

Top judge says young can't listen

According to the BBC, a top English judge recently claimed that young people may not be reliable jurors as they don't have the same level of listening skills as older generations.

Here's a link to a quick test based on that BBC story (although, I agree with one of the comments at the end that the test's a bit flawed): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7715868.stm

I find it a bit ironic that a top judge accuses young people of poor listening skills. Top judges are just the kind of folk who end up in the House of Lords - a place full of, amongst others, retired judges popping off to sleep during other people's speeches.

Thinking about listening skills

Today we moved away from presentations and started to look at another aspect of communication: listening.

Although we are looking at something different, the same features of communication analysis arise. We've talked a lot about structure, purpose, audience, point-of-view in relation to essays and presentations. Then, you were the producers of communication "texts" (remember our broad definition of "text" way back in August?). Now, you are not producing texts - you are "receiving" information. In this case you are receiving information aurally (ie. via your ears) in the form of radio and television programmes.

We are now interested in how other people structure a piece of communication. We're interested in working out their purpose, intended audience and point of view. When we analyse these aspects we are in a position to judge the quality of the piece.

And hopefully we learn from what is good (and not so good) about the way they've put the piece together. We should be able to apply the principles that make a good piece of oral communication (like a presentation or programme) to a piece of written communication (like an essay or report).

Students in university and college spend a lot of time listening (or should). It is one of the main, and most traditional, ways of communicating information and ideas to students. That's not to say that it's always a good way to learn. We talked today about the future of the traditional lecture. One lecturer transmitting information to a lecture theatre of 150 students may be cost-effective for a university, but does it make sense educationally? Maybe pod-casts are the way ahead (even more cost-effective for the university: the lecturer does it once, then he/she can be fired!).

The point is that students will do a lot of listening and we need to spend a bit of time practising that skill.

Today we went down to the Learning Centre and listened to a documentary on BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth series (see link below) on borrowing in language. Everyone seemed to find it very interesting and we had a thought-provoking chat about the issues that came up in it afterwards.

Before we went down, I showed students a method for note-taking called the Cornell Method. This method aims to help students produce more organised and meaningful notes by suggesting a two stage process in note-taking:

Stage one: on an A4 page with a very wide margin the student takes abbreviated notes.

Stage two: after the programme or lecture the student remains behind for a few minutes to review and summarise the notes in the space of the wide margin on the left-hand side.

This is probably better seen in practice. I took notes using this method when I listened to the documentary. I photocopied them and gave them out today. See the link below for more information on the Cornell Method.

Of course, we also need to assess your listening skills. We do this by getting you to listen to a couple of programmes and then answering a series of questions about the programme's: main ideas; purpose; point of view; intended audience. We also ask you to evaluate the programme.

I showed students the questions that we use. I also produced an example response for the programme we listened to today. This should give you some guidance in terms of what (and how much) you should write.

Next week we'll have a go at another Word of Mouth programme and you will have a go at the questions.

Here's the link to the Word of Mouth site. It's a very interesting series for anyone interested in language: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/wordofmouth.shtml


Here's a link to a video on the Cornell Method: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/videos/video_nt.html

Please post any comments or questions on anything relating to listening and note-taking.

Written assignments

Today I started giving students feedback on the writing pieces that were submitted before Christmas.

You need to think of your work for me as a process of building a portfolio of your communication skills. So, don't think of your essays or reports as things that need to be done as quickly as possible to pass an assessment. Rather we should see them as intellectual artefacts that you work on perfecting. It may take time and everyone will work at different rates. The main thing is that, over the next couple of months, you develop your writing skills to produce work to add to your portfolio.

One of the ways of developing skills is to pause and reflect on your current strengths and weaknesses. This awareness of your strengths and weaknesses should help you develop your formal writing skills.

Thoughts on first presentations

We started the presentations today. Hannah, very bravely, offered to do hers. It was a very interesting presentation on how the relationship between Ireland and Britain is represented through the works of three writers (Spenser; Heaney; Friel).

I'd like students to post some comments on these presentations as we go.

You should comment on your own (How did you feel beforehand? How did you think it went? What, if anything, would you do different if you did it again?). But please make any comments on the presentations in general.

Nollaig shona daoibh

Today was our last session of 2008. It was a drop-in session for those wanting to chat about their essays or presentations (remember that we will be starting the presentations in the week that we come back).

I've been reading and marking essays and reports over the last week. No teacher or tutor enjoys marking (if they say they do they're probably lying). However I have, genuinely, enjoyed reading them.

I gave some feedback to some students on their essays today. As I said to those who came in, we want you to look upon these pieces of writing as a kind of learning resource. Even better look upon them as a work of art like a painting, a sculpture or a musical composition. We want you to take your time in moulding these pieces into examples of writing that you, as much as us, are happy with. Don't focus so much on merely "getting them finished". Remember that this year is all about the development of your writing, research, reading, talking and listening skills - this development is not something that can, nor should, be rushed.

After Christmas I will give feedback to everyone on their writing pieces. However, I may have to stagger this as I don't want to rush these individual chats either. These individual consultations are important.

The aim is that at the end of the academic year is that each student should end up with a portfolio for Communication which, among other things, will include the final, polished and ready-for-exhibition pieces of writing.

Anyway, enough of that for now.

You have all worked hard this term and deserve a break. Have a good one and see you all in the new year.

Nollaig shona daoibh.

And here's a festive greeting to you all from my son ...

Thu 11 Dec

Today was deadline day for writing pieces. Thanks to everyone who handed in work.

I asked everyone to get up in front of the class, use the PowerPoint and deliver the introduction to their talk. Everyone talked through their topic, the purpose of their presentation and a preview of the main points. Everyone did very well at this.

Again, I was impressed with clarity and voice projection of the short presentations. I purposely stood at the back and I was able to hear everyone clearly.

Some points that came out of this exercise:

• do not get into the details of your presentation in your introduction (save that for later)
• PowerPoint can help guide and structure a talk (but use it wisely)
• it's good to practise (don't do your presentation for the first time in front of the class)
• it's okay to be nervous (you'll have a sympathetic audience)

Next week, I'll be running a drop-in session for people to give feedback on essays. Of course, come and see me then if you'd like to have a chat regarding any aspect of the course.

After Christmas (be warned) we will be doing the presentations. Be prepared to do your presentation on the 8th of January. Remember that I need to see plans for these presentations.

Thu 04 Dec

Not a great turnout today, but thanks to those who made it in.

Today we continued to work on essays, reports and presentations in 208 and in 419.

I asked people to hand in presentation plans today - thanks again to those who did.

Remember that next week is the deadline for the two writing pieces. The fact-based piece can be formatted as a report if you like (I was chatting to Pawel about this). If you have any worries or concerns about meeting the deadline, please get in touch by email: jerryoneill@stevenson.ac.uk

Thu 27 Nov

Today we spent the first hour in the Learning Resource Centre on the second floor (208). People were working on various pieces of work (essays, reports, presentations and general research).

After the break we went back to 419.

I reminded everyone about the deadline for the written pieces (11 Dec). We will get a chance next week to work on those as I have booked spaced in 208 for the whole class.

I also asked students to spend some time putting together a plan for their presentation. You need to produce a plan as part of your portfolio of work for Communication. I gave out a sheet which gave some guidance on what the plan should cover. As I said, this should not take long, but it is a worthwhile, indeed vital, process. A presentation needs to be planned. Again, purpose and structure are very important when thinking about how a presentation comes together. I've asked people to bring in a plan for their presentation next week.

Just another point on presentations. You may know that you need to do two for Communication. At the moment I'm only interested in you doing one. We'll probably start doing these right after Christmas. I'd like to hold off on the second one for a while to give you a chance to reflect on your first presentations.

We finished off the class today with some corrections on the analysis of presentation assessments (Franco Moretti and Susan Greenfield). Some may question the point of these assessments. But remember the purpose of looking at any presentation (good or bad) critically is to identify, and learn from, the strengths and weaknesses of others.

As Franco Moretti says "that's all folks" ...

Second assessment for Oral Presentation Skills

Today we had a go at the second assessment for Oral Presentation Skills. Again we were analysing a presentation. This week's presentation by Susan Greenfield on the brain was a bit more engaging than last week's.

I'll give you some feedback on how you got on next week.

Next week we will be in the learning resource centre in Room 208 from 0900 - 1000. This is to give people a chance to work on essays and/or presentations. I'll leave a note on the door to remind people where we are. Just go directly there.

I also asked people to be prepared to tell me the topic and purpose of their essays and presentation.

If you have any queries, get in touch.

First assessment for Oral Presentation Skills

Today we did the first assessment for the unit Oral Presentation Skills (OPS). We watched and analysed a presentation by a marketing and advertising executive. Everyone appeared to complete the questions. I will give you feedback on these next week.

Next week we will attempt a very similar, assessment for OPS. Using the same questions we will analyse and evaluate another presentation.

As we look at these presentations we should reflect on their strengths and weaknesses - doing so should help us improve our own presentation techniques.

Again, if anyone has any questions or concerns about the essays or presentations, please get in contact with me.

Thursday 6th November - Presentations

Today we stopped talking about presentations for a bit and, instead, just had a go at doing one. Everyone had to do a two-minute talk on a topic picked out of a hat (without the hat).

Well done to everyone who took part in this activity. As I said, if people can get up and talk for (at least) a couple of minutes about a topic without any preparation, then the thought of getting up to talk for just a few minutes more with preparation shouldn't be so bad.

Some people commented about being very nervous. Two points on this: First, you will not have come across as nervous as you felt. Honestly, I didn't get that impression with anyone. Secondly, being nervous is natural and, to a certain degree, can even be useful when giving a presentation - think about the opposite: being too relaxed. Of course, we need to find a balance. Anyway, I'd like you to share your thoughts about getting up today and giving a presentation. How did people feel about doing this? Any lessons learned?

We also looked at some examples of presentations from the DVD. Many of the points that we identified previously about producing writing pieces come up with presentations: the importance of a sense of purpose; beginnings and endings; overall structure and flow of ideas/points; linking points; language style; and knowledge of content.

We also considered issues to do with body language and body positioning; visual aids (see previous post) and the use of voice.

As well as these specific issues, the two general points to consider for your own presentations are: planning and practice.

Next week we'll start to analyse the first of two presentations that you are required to look at as part of the Oral Presentation Skills unit.

As I said at the end, if anyone has any questions about essays and/or presentations, please get in touch.

PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a very useful tool for helping to structure a presentation. However, some people can get a bit carried away with it - the purpose of their talk can become obscured by a badly-designed PowerPoint slide-show. Does anyone have any experience of this? I know Dieca is covering PowerPoint with you. We'll discuss it as well.

In the meantime here's a funny, but instructive link to youtube entitled "How NOT to use PowerPoint" (It's not great quality video and I think that you'll only be able to access it from outside the college):

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cagxPlVqrtM

Initial thoughts on presentations

First and foremost, sorry about not making it in today: my son is ill, so I need to stay home and look after him. As he's tucked up in bed at this very moment, I'll take the time to explain what I intended to cover in class.

My plan today was to first have a chat about how people are getting on with the resources that Alma showed us before the holiday. Some students have commented positively on them already. Nearly all of these resources are only available to students who set up an ATHENS account. If you missed that class, read the blog entry on "Research and sources" (16 October). You'll need to get an application form for an ATHENS account from the library as well. If you have any problems with that let me know. It's important to get your head around ATHENS now as it is an invaluable resource for research in university.

The main focus for today's class was going to be an introduction to presentations. I was going to show you a DVD on presentations and get you to discuss and write about the DVD and your feelings on presentations in general. I think my colleague Madeleine will cover part of the class and she may show the DVD. I'll take it up from there next week.

However, what I would like you to do now, is to share your initial thoughts about presentations. For example, how do you feel about having to give presentations? Have you given presentations before? You may have, but not in English. What concerns (if any) do you have about presentations? Have you learned anything from presentations you have given in the past?

Please post your comments and thoughts on presentations as a response to this blog entry.

I need to go now, I hear a frail voice whimpering "daddy" from the bedroom ...

The power of language

I've just listened to a very interesting programme on BBC Radio 4 about the social and political power of language. The programme ("PC RIP?") considered the impact of political correctness (PC) in language and, as suggested by the title, pondered on whether the PC "movement" was over.

This programme could be seen as a kind of radio "essay": it has a strong introduction and conclusion. The central voice of the author (Clive Anderson) uses evidence from experts to develop the "essay". Notice the way this evidence is weaved into his exploration of the issue. How does he set it up and/or reflect on it? Also, the title "PC RIP?" is short and snappy and gives a very clear indication of what the documentary is going to be about. The use of the question mark is very important. Can you see why?

Anyway, if you get a chance, listen to the programme again. You can use the "Listen again" function on the BBC Radio 4 website to find the programme (it's on the left-hand-side menu on the page of the following link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/pcrip/). I think that they take the programmes down after a while, so listen while you can.

As always, if you do listen to it and have any comments, please post them. I'm always intrigued by the power that lies behind words.

Research and sources

Today we looked at some of the resources and sources of information that are useful for research purposes.

I started the class by giving some more feedback on how to incorporate evidence and quotes into your writing (this was just a re-stressing of the last comment on the 9th October blog entry "Comments on education essay").

I also made some suggestions for the writing assignments (see previous blog entry).

I then handed out lots of yellow post-its and asked everyone to answer the very broad question (I love broad questions): "What sources do you use to broaden your knowledge of the world?"

This is what we came up with:

As is clear, the internet takes up a significant space on the page. However, as was also noted, there is a merging of media now: newspapers, televison and radio prorammes are available online.

This, I hope, got us all thinking about sources and resources - something to think about for what came next ...

We then went to the Student Learning Centre where Alma gave showed us some very interesting online resoources.

Most of these resources require you to sign up to a research gateway called Athens. You won't be able to access most of these resources without first signing up to Athens. Everyone who was in today filled out an application form for that. If you weren't in today, you'll need to sort your application out as quickly as you can.

Here are some of the sites that Alma covered:

Library catalogue http://www.stevenson.ac.uk/heritage

GALE: Journal database http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/stevensc
Gale offers translation tools and can translate the articles into Spanish and a few other languages. Gale covers all subjects, and has world wide coverage. The majority of the articles are in full-text.

Encyclopaedias http://www.credoreference.com/ and
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/GLOBAL.html
2 online encyclopaedias, Credo and Oxford Reference. Credo has a concept map tool which organises material like mind maps. There is also a translation function on the Credo site.

Statistical sources http://www.carelpress.co.uk/
The college subscribes to Carel Press Fact file.

Yearbooks http://www.independence.co.uk/
We subscribe to the Issues Online series by Independence.

Information gateway http://www.intute.ac.uk/
Alama didn't get to this but the Intute gateway is another good resource. It is free but comes from reliable academic sources.

Darwin's struggle with academic writing

I just came across this quote from Charles Darwin which I think is pertinent:

"I am just now beginning to discover the difficulty of expressing one's ideas on paper. As long as it consists solely of description it is pretty easy: but where reasoning comes into play, to make proper connections, a clearness and a moderate fluency, is to me a difficulty of which I had no idea."

So, if you find academic writing a struggle, remember you are not alone!

(quote from http://www.wmin.ac.uk/sshl/page-981

image courtesy of Colin Purrington)

Some suggestions for writing assignments

I’d like you to use the writing assessments as an opportunity to push yourselves a bit. You should all have received some feedback from me directly and through the blog. Try to bear this feedback in mind as you work on your next written assignments.

Some students said that they’d like some suggestions of topics. Here are some ideas:
_____________________________

Argument-based essay:

Carol Ann Duffy’s poem "Education for Leisure" was recently removed from the GCSE curriculum over fears that it glamorises knife-crime.

Discuss the point of view that censorship is sometimes a necessary evil.
_____________________________

The film “Die Welle” confronts the notion that we should never become complacent about the mistakes of the past.

Discuss to what extent you believe that modern European society is capable of re-embracing the fascist ideals of the early-part of the twentieth century.

Your essay may look at arguments for and against the notion that European society is capable of a return to fascism. You might want it to be a “balanced” essay: ie. looking at the views of others, while largely keeping your own ideas to the background.

However, you may feel strongly about this and use evidence and other peoples’ views to persuade us that it is (or isn’t) possible.
_____________________________

Fact and analysis: report

Choose a popular tourist destination in Europe. Investigate the effect that tourism has had on this location. Write a short report which examines the impact of tourism (positive and negative) on this location/region.
_____________________________

The beauty and the meanings of a literary work are distorted by translation. Discuss.

_____________________________

Here are some links to sites which may give you some ideas for essays:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/ (look at the issues in the drop-down menu entitled “ethical issues”)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree (this part of The Guardian is a very good site for opinion-based articles. There is an A-Z index based on subjects and issues in the top right)
Some “green” issues: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/green_room/default.stm
http://www.spiked-online.com/ (some demanding but thought-provoking opinion articles on topical issues)
http://www.idebate.org/index.php (a site which promotes debating by considering topical issues)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/ (general learning site of BBC – explore!)

Thursday 09 October

Today I met with everyone individually to give some feedback on the education essays. While I was doing that, everyone else started their research for the writing assessments (which may have just been a case of thinking through various ideas). I also asked students to read my comments on the blog (posted earlier today) on the education essays. In particular, look at the comment on SEC (you'll need to read the post to work out what this is).

Initial ideas for writing assignment

Last week I gave out some details about the writing assignments. Please share your thoughts about possible ideas or queries for the assignments here.

Comments on education essays - 09 Oct

Please read the following comments on your education essays. Each of these comments are in response to the essays written by the class.

Over the next week, everyone should reflect on both the comments below and the individual feedback that I give. I then want everyone to write a comment which reflects on what they did and what they could improve upon.

First and foremost, I honestly enjoyed reading these essays. It was interesting to see everyone’s voice emerging in their interpretation of the purposely broad question: “what is the purpose of education?” One of the hardest things to do is to set your own limits on what you are going to discuss or focus on. I asked students to keep it to 800 – 1000 words to put boundaries on the discussion.

I’d like to make some general points, but will feedback to everyone individually as well.

----------

Sometimes when we are asked to write essays we react as if we were being dragged along to a wealthy relation’s house for dinner. We dress up and project a more formal style than we are used to. The result is that we feel uncomfortable; we don’t feel like ourselves. Sometimes I get this kind of impression when I read students’ essays: the individuality of the student’s voice gets lost in an overly self-conscious writing style. This often manifests as inappropriate use of complex words (possibly suggested by a thesaurus) or very long sentences (and lots of them). Such forced complexity often spoils some wonderful, insightful thoughts. Sometimes complex sentences and words are needed; but don’t overdo it.

----------


Purpose, purpose, purpose. Okay, I know I keep going on about purpose, but I do so for a reason. If the reader can’t work out the purpose of the essay quickly, then they will be left in a state of frustrated confusion (and as your readers will often be your markers, you want to avoid leaving them like that). The purpose of an essay is often designed by a set question (eg. "Discuss the value of running educational institutions like businesses"). Alternatively, you may be asked to define your own question or purpose (as I asked you). Two weeks ago I got everyone to write down what they considered to be the purpose of their essay: do you think this statement of purpose that you came up with was relevant to the finished essay? A sense of clear purpose will also be served well by a focussed title. Did you tailor your title to suit the specific subject of your essay?

----------

Your introduction is crucial in creating a sense of your essay’s purpose as well. Once you get your essay back, re-read your introduction. Is there a clear sense of the essay’s purpose in the introduction? Then read the rest of the essay: does your essay stay focussed on that purpose? The introduction should provide the reader with a comforting sense of the journey ahead: where is this essay taking us?

----------

I wonder how many people read their essays aloud before they handed them in? Sometimes an essay looks fine. It may even smell, feel and taste fine. However, if you read it aloud it may not sound quite right. Reading your draft aloud is a very good way of catching problems to do with grammar, syntax and general clarity in meaning. Read it slowly, with a pencil to hand to make comments or changes as you go. Only take a breath or pause when the punctuation lets you (this is crucial). As I’ve said before, this is something I always did when I returned to education as a mature student. In fact, if I have an important document to produce, I still do it.

----------

Try to use gender neutral language. Avoid saying things like: “The life of a student is often difficult. Exams can be a major source of stress. However, he will need to deal with this stress if he wants to progress to a higher academic level.”

----------

Avoid colloquial language.

----------

Avoid using the second person “you”. Again, it sounds a bit too informal. “We” is more acceptable.

----------

Avoid contractions: ie. "don’t" is a contraction of "do not".


----------

There is a general rule about how to incorporate longer quotations in your writing. If a quotation runs to more than four lines, then indent it from the rest of your writing and do not use quotation marks. These indented, longer quotations are usually introduced by a colon.

For example:

O’Neill concludes that tourist texts reveal as much about their writers as their subjects:

A study of tourist texts reveals the fault-lines in the cultural imagination of the imperial and metropolitan subject. In the signification and aestheticization of the west, we can sense the anxieties of the writer, and even detect a certain fragility inherent in a privileged social and cultural origin where the authority to signify resides. [1]

----------

Don’t forget to reference throughout your text. Furthermore anything that appears as a footnote reference should also appear in your references at the end of your essay.

----------


Some students have problems with articles (“an”, “a”, “the”). Follow this link to a site which is quite good on articles: http://www.elanguages.ac.uk/activities/2EAP/02/when_do_you_need_to_use_an_article.htm
However, you may want to use the services of the Second Language Support Staff as well. They’re just beside the library.

----------

How to use evidence or quotes.

If you use a quote or some evidence you need to sandwich this between a statement and a comment of your own. Think SEC (Statement – Evidence – Comment)

Indeed, everything sensible that you will say in an essay (or, come to think of it, life) will, more or less, use the SEC (Statement – Evidence – Comment) method in some form or other.

Make a statement (this will set up the evidence to follow)
Back it up with evidence (sometimes a quote but not always)
Then, and this is the crucial part, link the two by commenting on both.

For example;

Take the quote from Thomas Carruthers: "A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary." Say we were writing an essay on the purpose of education and we thought that this might fit in nicely with our thoughts on the empowering nature of education. We might sandwich the quote using the SEC method.

1. The statement often makes a general point and sets up the evidence which follows: Thomas Carruthers supports the notion of education as an empowering process

2. Next we have the evidence: “A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary”

3. Now the important part: a comment on the evidence. We need to justify the inclusion of this quote into the general point we are making, by comment on the evidence: how do we interpret this evidence? How does it support the general point we are trying to make? This third and final part is crucial. So in this case we may argue that Carruthers’ idea of education puts the student at the centre of the process. The teacher is, in his view, more a facilitator than the traditional authoritative figure at the front of the class. As he suggests, a teacher should aim to move from an instructive to a supportive role as the student gains confidence though learning. Notice that this comment has, by far, the most words. It should have because this is where you prove that you are capable of independent and insightful thought based on research.

Put the three bits together and you get a nice little paragraph:

Thomas Carruthers supports the notion of education as an empowering process: “"A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary."[1] Carruthers’ idea of education puts the student at the centre of the process. The teacher is, in his view, more a facilitator than the traditional authoritative figure at the front of the class. As he suggests, a teacher should aim to move from an instructive to a supportive role as the student gains confidence though learning.

Thoughts on "Die Welle"

Thanks to everyone for making it to The Cameo last night for "Die Welle". As it finished quite late we didn't get much of a chance to discuss it.

Please use this post to share your thoughts on the film. It would be very interesting to read your reactions (you don't have to worry about structuring here - just write what pops into your head).
Just to get it started ...

... What engaged me most were the issues about politics, history and education that the film raised. I'm not convinced that it was a great film in terms of the art of film-making, however it's the kind of film that raises issues that your mind keeps wandering back to.

I liked the moment of ethical dilemma faced by the two anti-Wave girls who ran the student newspaper: should they lie about the activities of The Wave because they felt that it was the right thing to do in the context of what was happening?


I had a few brief words with Mend afterwards and he mentioned that it touched on some topical points to do with attitudes to nationalism or, maybe more accurately, national pride in modern Germany. Maybe Mend could expand on that for us.

Also I liked the very last sequence where the once confident and vocal teacher is reduced to a state of wordless shock. The final shot was interesting as well. The shot froze on his face a moment after he seemed to have a profound thought: I wonder what that thought was? Any suggestions?

Wed 02 Oct - Some reflection

Everyone handed in their essays on education - thanks for those.

Today we took a breath and thought about the ground we've covered so far.

I asked everyone to scroll down to the start of this blog and read over the entries so far.

We've been focusing on writing but much of the same principles apply to presentations which we will be looking at soon.

I've also asked people to start thinking about their two pieces of writing for the course. You can post possible suggestions here - it may help other students work out what they can do.

I gave out a handout which gave some more detailed guidelines for the writing assessments. If you missed the class today email me at jerryoneill@stevenson.ac.uk and I'll send you the handout as an attachment.

"Die Welle" (The Wave)

Just to let you know that I've booked tickets for "Die Welle" at The Cameo on Thursday (2nd October) for 9.10. I hope to have the tickets with me on Thursday morning in class. Again, the tickets will cost you £2 - well worth it.

Remember, nobody needs to go to see this film, but it I think it would be interesting (this in itself is an interesting educational issue: the value of the "stuff" that you, as a student, are not required to do).

Link to The Cameo: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema_home_date.aspx?venueId=edbg

More information on "Die Welle": http://www.welle.info/

25 Sep 08 - More on writing

We covered quite a lot of ground today.

We looked at plagiarism and referencing and discussed these at some length (see links in the last post entitled "some useful online resources").

I asked everyone to write one sentence that outlined the purpose of their education essay (due in next week). It is crucial to have a sense of purpose in any form of communication that you produce. Without a sound sense of purpose your essay, report or presentation will appear to be confused and poorly prepared. It'll be interesting to compare these "purpose sentences" to the final essays.

I asked students to come up with some useful tips from the essay booklet. Students referred to the importance of planning and the use of cards in planning. David brought up a very good point: it is helpful to devise our own questions that we hope to answer when we start our research. This will help us read and research with a sense of purpose (again note importance of purpose).

We looked in an almost forensic way at the features of essays: topic sentences; transition words and phrases; introductions; and endings. Students were set the task of re-assembling an essay that was cut up into pieces. It helped us focus on structure. The introduction to that essay gave significant clues as to how the essay should be re-assembled.

Finally, I plan to book tickets for the film "Die Welle" (The Wave). I'm hoping to get tickets for next Thursday at 9.10 for the Cameo Cinema (see link: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema_home_date.aspx?venueId=edbg) About 11 students say that they'd be interested. Keep an eye on the Blog for confirmation of that.

Remember essays on education for next week. 800 -1000 words. Preferably typed (Times New Roman/Arial 12 point)

Some useful online resources

Here are some links to resources on academic writing and reading:

http://vsac.cele.nottingham.ac.uk/writing/

http://www.ssdd.bcu.ac.uk/learner/writingguides/1.20.htm

Useful phrases for academic writing: http://www.wmin.ac.uk/sshl/page-2224

The passive voice in writing: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/passivevoice.html

Academic vocabulary: http://www.wmin.ac.uk/sshl/page-1572

http://vsac.cele.nottingham.ac.uk/reading/

http://www.uefap.com/writing/writfram.htm

http://www.gcal.ac.uk/student/coursework/writing/index.html

http://www.uefap.com/reading/

Thinking about what to write: http://www.mdx.ac.uk/WWW/STUDY/Spider.htm

Here's a useful link about academic language vocabulary (it's aimed at second language speakers, but everyone should have a look): http://vsac.cele.nottingham.ac.uk/vocabulary/

Here are some links for advice on referencing in essays.

http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm (this provides information on the Harvard system of referencing)

http://www.jiscpas.ac.uk/writingreferencelist.php

Edinburgh University notes on plagiarism: http://www.aaps.ed.ac.uk/regulations/Plagiarism/Guidance/StudentGuidance.doc

Thursday 18th September - Thinking about essays

We started the class with by reading George Orwell's "Why I write" (see link: http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/wiw/english/e_wiw).

There were a couple of reasons for this: it is an example of some very good essay writing; it also touches upon education in general and, in particular, the importance of writing.

I asked students to come today with some kind of plan for their education essay. I highlighted the importance of knowing what the purpose or point of your essay is. So, I asked students to explain the purpose of their essays to the person sitting next to them. Then that person told the whole class what their partner's essay is going to try to achieve (ie. the purpose).

The aim of this exercise was to get students really thinking about the overall aim and structure of their essays. Sometimes we feel we have a secure sense of our essays but then seem to struggle when we try to communicate those thoughts to others. Of course, you will have to communicate those thoughts eventually in a piece of writing.

Obviously, you will not go through this activity with every essay you write but you will (or should) discuss assignments with your fellow students: it is one of the best ways to start making sense of your seemingly random thoughts on a subject. You’ll often find that other students have anxieties about their chaotic thoughts on an assignment or topic. This process of dialogue should put some shape and structure to your ideas.

We also looked at a representation of my (seemingly) chaotic thoughts on essay writing on the board. It was a messy diagram of everything that you need to think about when writing an essay. This, if you like, is what a plan for a book on essay writing might look like. The point is that a plan does not have to be a neat list of topics.

I then gave everyone their very own copy of a booklet on essay writing. I asked everyone to read it and think about three useful points that they encountered in their reading of the booklet (we'll take it up there from next week). If you weren't in today, I'll be in on Friday this week and Wednesday next week - you can swing by my office (115) and I'll give you a copy.

I set Thursday 02 October as the deadline for the education essay. My original question was "What is the purpose of education?" However, as I hoped, most people have adopted their own approach to that question. As such every essay will be different. You should re-title your essay to reflect the specific focus of your essay.

Expanding on the subject of education, we talked about a new German film that is being released on Friday ("Die Welle"). I'm hoping to bring some Higher English students to it at some stage. If anyone is interested, let me know by next week or post a comment here. See below for a link to an article in The Guardian about the film:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/sep/16/schoolsworldwide.film

Education for ...

Today we introduced the notion of the essay.

In groups we tried to define the essay. A jumble of words and phrases came back from the groups which all approached as good a definition as you can get:

Original meaning : ‘to try, to attempt’
Focused on a certain subject
Formal/informal. Will conform to a certain length and depth
An exhibition of knowledge
Has a purpose of analysing and describing a certain topic.
Opinion based.
An interpretation of subject. Wide variety of essays.
Written account of ideas and facts. Structured: intro, body, conclusion. Evidence-based.
Will include references. Can be emotional/informative. Investigation.
Written response to chosen subject. Develops ideas points – informs analyses and evaluates.


We’ve been writing essays since secondary school and you will continue to write them in your university careers and beyond.

Some people expressed concern about writing essays. Some people expressed a reluctance to plan and instead jump right in to writing it.

When asked to produce a focused, structured piece of complex writing which naturally flows from one point to the next and eventually leads to a conclusion of some sorts (another way of seeing an essay), it is crucial that we do some planning. This can’t be stressed too much. Without some sort of a plan, the essay-writing process can be tortuous and the final product will almost always be poor.

We started our first attempt at an essay. We took the very general question of “what is the purpose of education?” and discussed it in groups. Discussion (whether in groups or with yourself) is a vital part of the planning process. You need to get the abstract ideas and thoughts down on paper in some format. Then, and only then, can we start putting some shape to these concepts. I don’t care what your plan looks like – but there should be some evidence that you’ve thought through what you’re going to write before you write.

Our first goal is to write an essay in the region of 800 to 1000 words. However, this week I DO NOT WANT anyone to start writing the essay. I am trying to slow right down the process that many students rush: planning the essay. I know a lot of students just like to get started. This works for some students, but for many the resultant essay can be a bit of a mess in terms of coherent thought and argument.

I’ve talked to most people today about the approach they are taking to the essay and there are a range of different interpretations of the original, broad question – just let the overall idea of your essay and in particular your purpose float around your head for a week.

------ On a related point ...

You may know now about the controversy about Carol Ann Duffy's poem "Education for Leisure" being axed from the GCSE English curriculum in England. As an act of solidarity with Duffy, I intend to use the poem with my Higher English class.

Duffy's poem is, amongst other things, about education which fits in neatly with what we've been discussing today.

You can look at some of the links below to broaden your discussion.

Some links to do with the Duffy poem:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7594566.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/04/english.knifecrime

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/sep/06/gcses.poetry.carol.ann.duffy


Some links about education in general ....

What do the main political parties think? (A number of students raised the issue of the government's role in education)

http://consult.libdems.org.uk/post16/index.php/consultation-paper/values-and-purpose-of-education-and-skills/

http://www.labour.org.uk/education

http://www.snp.org/node/9547

http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=people.opportunity.page

Thursday 04 September

We met in class today for the first time.

Everyone did their first oral presentation task by interviewing and introducing another student. We scratched beneath the surface of everyone's lives - interesting stuff!

I asked four small groups to come up with a visual representation of "communication." These were thought-provoking and helped our subsequent attempts to come up with a written definition ....

As can be seen, there seemed to be a consensus that communication involved a process where some form of information or meaning is passed between two or more entities.

These general thoughts about communication focused our attention on the communication processes that we will be encountering on the course. I highlighted that at times students will be the producers/senders of information and meaning through writing and presentations. At other times students will be receivers of information and meaning in their encounters as readers and viewers. Of course, generally we will be both producing and receiving information in a single activity (eg. discussions).

The course attempts to develop students communication skills in reading, writing, talking and listening. There are quite a few assessments, but all of them come back to these basic, but important, skills. Furthermore, given the nature of the course, and the high calibre of the student, we like to stretch you a bit!

I also mentioned that students are encouraged to use research and themes from other courses as the basis for the writing and presentation activities. I've talked to Joe McCusker and it seems that there are opportunities for students to use the personal projects from his course as the basis for writing tasks for Communication 4 and Oral Presentation Skills.

Freshers' Week

I hope to use this Blog as a place to reflect on what we cover in our classes. If you miss a class you can access the Blog to see what we did that week. You can also comment or reply to anything I write on the Blog. Most lecturers and teachers keep some kind of written record of what they cover with each class. I've decided to write my lesson records as a Blog this term.


This is a new thing for me, so let's just see how it goes ...


Anyway, to get things started ... it was great to meet everyone today. We started the day's activities at the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Parliament was a controversial project - it went over budget and not everyone was pleased with the design. However, I must say that I like the space (inside and out). I was talking to some of you about it. The general feeling was that the exterior was ugly but that the interior was better. Any thoughts on that?

If you're interested in finding out more about the Scottish Parliament, here's the link to their website: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/

Moving on up the Royal Mile, the metaphors intended by the Spanish architect of the parliament provided a nice link to a subsequent conversation that some of us had in the Scottish Poetry Library regarding the endeavours of a translator to re-work Spanish metaphors into English. I think Scott will pick up on this at some stage in his Literature class, but the whole issue of translating literature is certainly a very interesting subject for discussion.

Here's a link to the Scottish Poetry Library: http://www.spl.org.uk/

If you weren't there, you should go down and have a look around. It is a little oasis of serenity in the midst of the city.

I hope everyone enjoyed today and I look forward to meeting the whole class next week at the College.