Purposeful Writing Teaching
Philosophy
My teaching philosophy is based around the belief that
learning occurs continuously throughout our lives and that we build knowledge
at the intersection of cognitivism and constructivism. This philosophy has
developed from my personal experience as a student of writing, as well as a
professional involved in the development of documentation products. I feel that
students learn best when they invoke critical thinking, employ both long-term
and short-term memory, and are encouraged to develop purposeful writing.
Kellogg (1994) states that “Thinking is so closely linked to
writing, at least in mature adults, that the two are practically twins” (p. 2).
Therefore, a key to creating expressive writers is to nurture the process of
transferring what students are thinking into their written products. This
identifies with the concept that writing is both a process and a product. The
scholar in me promotes Murray’s (1972) suggestion that we teach “the process of
using language to learn about our world, to evaluate what we learn about our
world, [and] to communicate what we learn about our world” (4). The
practitioner in me also recognizes the importance of keeping the audience and
users of documentation products constantly in mind, for as in any professional
writing situation written products serve a purpose of communication.
Many courses consider the product of student writing as a
method of measurement for comprehension of material provided on a particular
subject matter. Instructors scan assignments for key words and phrases to see
if they align with proper description, definition or explanation in order to
determine how well the student presents information and shows a certain level
of comprehension. But viewing writing in this quantitative manner does a huge
disservice to the student and misconstrues the potential that writing truly possesses.
Instead of viewing writing solely as a means of expression and communication,
the act of writing should also be carefully considered for the unique
opportunity it provides throughout the learning process.
My journey through secondary education spanned a total of 21
years and culminated with me walking across the stage to receive my MA in
Technical Communication from Texas Tech University at the age of 47. Yet,
amazingly, I can still recall my first-year composition instructor at the
community college where I began taking evening courses so many years ago. As I
presume many beginning writers experience during the early stages of writing
development, I struggled searching for the “right” way to express my personal
feelings of what I thought about any particular subject. I can now look back
and recognize that I lacked the confidence, self-esteem, and personal value
held by my inner voice.
That English professor shared with me the idea that what I
thought was really all that mattered. She explained that while my thoughts
might align with the same ideas that others had previously expressed, it was my
individual experience in life that gave me a unique perspective that I could
present through my writing. She shared with me the concept that as long as I
could explain and justify why I felt the way I did or how I had arrived at
certain conclusions, I could never be “wrong” when writing. This teacher showed
extreme patience with the development of my writing and gave me those few extra
moments of time before and after class, not only explaining the elements of my
writing that needed improvement, but also pointing out areas that showed
potential. Her mentorship guided me through those first fundamental courses and
I can point back to those moments in my learning that would later solidify the
career that I would later choose as a writer.
Emig (1997) wrote an article simply titled, Writing as a Mode of Learning and opens
the article with her thesis simply stated in the first sentence, “Writing
represents a unique mode of learning – not merely valuable, not merely special,
but unique” (7). This statement reiterates the individualism that was instilled
early in my own studies and in turn what I would like to plant in the growing
minds of students of writing. Each student is a receptor of information and
based on their own experience will process and interpret that information in
their own personal manner. They will use their memory and understanding to
interpret information and present writing content with their own unique
perspective. I will work with students to design courses that enable them to
grow individually, while accomplishing broader goals of the course. From the
planning of writing projects, to the methods of deconstructing information, to
the building of knowledge through their perspective, I look forward to sharing
the body of knowledge that writing has developed as a discipline.
Kellogg (1994) also notes that “Individuals who write well
are seen as substantive thinkers” (2). I would like to be that instructor that
someone looks back upon with fond memories of how they began their writing
career. I would like to be remembered as that English professor that encouraged
their individual voice and made them substantive thinkers as well.
REFERENCES
Emig, J. (1977). Writing as a Mode of Learning. In V. Villanueva & K. Arola (Eds.), Cross-Talk in Comp Theory – A Reader. (2011) (7-15). Urbana, Illinois: NCTE.Kellogg, R.T. (2008). Training writing skills: A cognitive developmental perspective. Journal of writing research , 1(1), 1-26.
Murray, D.M. (1972).
Teach Writing as a Process Not Product. In V. Villanueva & K. Arola (Eds.),
Cross-Talk in Comp Theory – A Reader. (2011) (3-6). Urbana, Illinois: NCTE.
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