Group Work and Revision
It has become common knowledge in the discipline of English (if, unfortunately not all disciplines) that the lecture model, if not exactly a "bad" model, is one of the least effective approaches to teaching. Another common truth in our profession is that different students have different learning styles. And finally, we all (at least, now, in this mass-mediated age, but probably since forever) crave at least some variety in our experience, and in the classroom is no different. Instructors cannot simply lecture for an hour and forty minutes (or for three and a half hours in once-a-week classes) and expect their students to stay with them. In addition, they probably cannot expect their students to engage in a full-class discussion for that length of time either.
Group Work:
Since EN-101 and EN-102 are writing and reading classes, there are plenty of opportunities for students to engage singly in both activities during class. However, group work is a way of getting students to collaborate. Also, students who tend to drift into the background in full class discussions and activities have to (or get to) participate when they're only one of four or five. But perhaps most important, group work asks students to meet and know each other, to form a community.
Revision:
As any writing teacher who has been teaching for more than a couple of years will know, revision is one of the most difficult skills to teach. And, as any writer who has been writing for any length of time will attest, it's also one of the most difficult skills to learn (and to learn to enjoy). We sweat blood to create, spend hours staring at a blank screen or piece of paper (or perhaps worse, one full of gibberish) and feel immense relief when we finally have something-anything. We don't want to return to it, we just want to send it on its way-to a teacher, an editor, the wastebasket. Just as the word "revision" suggests, though, for this activity to work, we have tore-see our writing.
These two terms are together in this chapter because our classes at Queensborough are historically large--a 30 cap for 101, a 32 for 102. In classes this big, it is impractical to approach critiques--which can then lead to revision--as full-class workshops. Small groups-anywhere from two to five--are much more wieldy.
Following are some approaches to group work, revision, and critiques used by some
Queensborough English department faculty:
Group Critiques
Peer Editing Eval ! Form
Revision: Hot-spotting
Small Group Work and Inductive Reasoning