Kress, Gunther. (1997). Before writing: Rethinking the paths to literacy. London: Routledge.
socially and culturally situated activities that change over time.
Based on this perspective, Kress outlines four characteristics for the “necessary theory of meaning making for the new literacy curriculum”(pp. 152–153). The first is that individuals have an understanding of and control over the numerous meaning-making resources used for communication (writing, drawing, speaking, coloring). The second is that people always communicate in a number of modes of representation, each with its strengths and weaknesses. He argues that present literacy curricula pay no attention to this multiplicity, as the visual modes of representation are not developed in children. The third characteristic relates to the first two: multimodality. Children must learn which modes best communicate information, and why. Design is the fourth and final characteristic. Kress is effusive on this characteristic, positing that an emphasis on design “changes the valuation
of the maker of a message or a text, no matter in what mode” (p. 154). Design
embraces the transformative, innovative capabilities in people. In particular, design looks ahead to the future, toward producing change. Design asks: “what do we need in order to act productively?” (p. 156).
Perhaps out of necessity, Kress paints in broad strokes. He offers few particulars when he looks ahead. It should also be noted that he is not arguing for the backgrounding of reading and writing; rather, he argues for an expanded notion of these actions, one that addresses the modalities in a changing world. Moreover, he recognizes the limits to what he discusses here—namely the absence of gender and cultural influences—and so Before Writing might be seen as a first step, and a bold one at that. Ultimately, Kress’ provocative book argues that we need to pay more attention to the multimodal paths that children take in their journey toward literacy, especially as it becomes increasingly clear that future societies and technologies will employ many other modes of communication besides written language.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Henry Jenkins and good ol' Kress
Kress (2003) stresses that modern literacy requires the ability to express ideas across a broad
range of different systems of representation and signification (including “words, spoken or written;
image, still and moving;musical...3D models...”). Each medium has its own affordances, its
own systems of representation, its own strategies for producing and organizing knowledge.
Participants in the new media landscape learn to navigate these different and sometimes conflicting
modes of representation and to make meaningful choices about the best ways to express
their ideas in each context.All of this sounds more complicated than it is.As the New Media
Consortium’s 2005 report on twenty-first century literacy suggests,“Young people adept at
interpreting meaning in sound,music, still and moving images, and interactive components not
only seem quite able to cope with messages that engage several of these pathways at once, but
in many cases prefer them” (online source).
Kress argues that this tendency toward multimodality changes how we teach composition,
because students must learn to sort through a range of different possible modes of expression,
determine which is most effective in reaching their audience and communicating their message,
and to grasp which techniques work best in conveying information through this channel.
Kress advocates moving beyond teaching written composition to teaching design literacy as the
basic expressive competency of the modern era.This shift does not displace printed texts with
48
images, as some advocates of visual literacy have suggested.Rather, it develops a more complex
vocabulary for communicating ideas that requires students to be equally adept at reading and
writing through images, texts, sounds, and simulations.The filmmaker George Lucas (Daly,
2004, online source/no page number) offers an equally expansive understanding of what literacy
might mean today:
We must teach communication comprehensively in all its forms.Today we work with the
written or spoken word as the primary form of communication. But we also need to
understand the importance of graphics,music, and cinema, which are just as powerful and
in some ways more deeply intertwined with young people’s culture.We live and work in a
visually sophisticated world, so we must be sophisticated in using all the forms of communication,
not just the written word.
In short, new media literacies involve the ability to think across media, whether understood at
the level of simple recognition (identifying the same content as it is translated across different
modes of representation), or at the level of narrative logic (understanding the connections
between story communicated through different media), or at the level of rhetoric (learning to
express an idea within a single medium or across the media spectrum).Transmedia navigation
involves both processing new types of stories and arguments that are emerging within a convergence
culture and expressing ideas in ways that exploit the opportunities and affordances
represented by the new media landscape. In other words, it involves the ability to both read and
write across all available modes of expression.
range of different systems of representation and signification (including “words, spoken or written;
image, still and moving;musical...3D models...”). Each medium has its own affordances, its
own systems of representation, its own strategies for producing and organizing knowledge.
Participants in the new media landscape learn to navigate these different and sometimes conflicting
modes of representation and to make meaningful choices about the best ways to express
their ideas in each context.All of this sounds more complicated than it is.As the New Media
Consortium’s 2005 report on twenty-first century literacy suggests,“Young people adept at
interpreting meaning in sound,music, still and moving images, and interactive components not
only seem quite able to cope with messages that engage several of these pathways at once, but
in many cases prefer them” (online source).
Kress argues that this tendency toward multimodality changes how we teach composition,
because students must learn to sort through a range of different possible modes of expression,
determine which is most effective in reaching their audience and communicating their message,
and to grasp which techniques work best in conveying information through this channel.
Kress advocates moving beyond teaching written composition to teaching design literacy as the
basic expressive competency of the modern era.This shift does not displace printed texts with
48
images, as some advocates of visual literacy have suggested.Rather, it develops a more complex
vocabulary for communicating ideas that requires students to be equally adept at reading and
writing through images, texts, sounds, and simulations.The filmmaker George Lucas (Daly,
2004, online source/no page number) offers an equally expansive understanding of what literacy
might mean today:
We must teach communication comprehensively in all its forms.Today we work with the
written or spoken word as the primary form of communication. But we also need to
understand the importance of graphics,music, and cinema, which are just as powerful and
in some ways more deeply intertwined with young people’s culture.We live and work in a
visually sophisticated world, so we must be sophisticated in using all the forms of communication,
not just the written word.
In short, new media literacies involve the ability to think across media, whether understood at
the level of simple recognition (identifying the same content as it is translated across different
modes of representation), or at the level of narrative logic (understanding the connections
between story communicated through different media), or at the level of rhetoric (learning to
express an idea within a single medium or across the media spectrum).Transmedia navigation
involves both processing new types of stories and arguments that are emerging within a convergence
culture and expressing ideas in ways that exploit the opportunities and affordances
represented by the new media landscape. In other words, it involves the ability to both read and
write across all available modes of expression.
One of the major findings of my interviews is that digital story-making is an embodied learning experience. When I listened to the words they used, and to their comparisons between “traditional” assignments and digital story assignments, it appears that more of themselves is involved, physically and emotionally in addition to intellectually.
If life is like a box of chocolates, then
CLICK
Digital Storytelling is a lot like three dimensional tic-tac-toe
CLICK
As opposed to written assignments, which usually only involve effective use of text, successful stories challenge student to make connections (AND meaning AND effective arguments AND provocative statements) across dimensions of time, sound, and image.
Embodied: Combines visual, aural, and kinesthetic processes
Iterative: Production process encourages revisiting, reflecting on meaning
Multimodal: Enhances fluency across a range of media
Integrative: Connects prior experience, course, and other co-curricular learning
Authentic: Keep/share with others
Gail Matthews-DeNatale, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Academic Technology
“[Students] cannot learn in a deep way if they have no opportunities to practice what they are learning … they cannot learn deeply only by being told things outside the context of embodied action.”
JAMES PAUL GEE – What Video Games have to teach us about learning and literacy
Gee came to this conclusion by considering the experience of video gaming.
Yet digital authorship is also a complex, physical experience – one that includes most, if not all, of the “36 design principles” that Gee identified in his work on the relationship between games and learning. Yet we often gloss over this dimension of the experience.
Henry Jenkins – McArthur-funded New Media Literacies initiative
Play (experiment and problem-solve)
Performance (improvisation & discovery)
Collective Intelligence (pool & compare)
Simulate (model real-world processes)
Network (search, synthesize, disseminate
If life is like a box of chocolates, then
CLICK
Digital Storytelling is a lot like three dimensional tic-tac-toe
CLICK
As opposed to written assignments, which usually only involve effective use of text, successful stories challenge student to make connections (AND meaning AND effective arguments AND provocative statements) across dimensions of time, sound, and image.
Embodied: Combines visual, aural, and kinesthetic processes
Iterative: Production process encourages revisiting, reflecting on meaning
Multimodal: Enhances fluency across a range of media
Integrative: Connects prior experience, course, and other co-curricular learning
Authentic: Keep/share with others
Gail Matthews-DeNatale, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Academic Technology
“[Students] cannot learn in a deep way if they have no opportunities to practice what they are learning … they cannot learn deeply only by being told things outside the context of embodied action.”
JAMES PAUL GEE – What Video Games have to teach us about learning and literacy
Gee came to this conclusion by considering the experience of video gaming.
Yet digital authorship is also a complex, physical experience – one that includes most, if not all, of the “36 design principles” that Gee identified in his work on the relationship between games and learning. Yet we often gloss over this dimension of the experience.
Henry Jenkins – McArthur-funded New Media Literacies initiative
Play (experiment and problem-solve)
Performance (improvisation & discovery)
Collective Intelligence (pool & compare)
Simulate (model real-world processes)
Network (search, synthesize, disseminate
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Children's Stories.
In allowing this particularly violent story in our curriculum,
we followed the lead of writers such as Cooper
(1993) and Engel (1999; 2005), who argue that stories
create a much-needed space where children can play with
ideas that concern or frighten them. Cooper believes that
stories empower children. Rather than encouraging further
violence, they simply give children opportunities to play
out, and thus diffuse, scary material. Similarly, Engel
argues that children understand stories are different from
real life. Because stories don’t represent the real world,
they give children a clearly defined, safe place to explore
scary, taboo, or otherwise worrisome ideas.
we followed the lead of writers such as Cooper
(1993) and Engel (1999; 2005), who argue that stories
create a much-needed space where children can play with
ideas that concern or frighten them. Cooper believes that
stories empower children. Rather than encouraging further
violence, they simply give children opportunities to play
out, and thus diffuse, scary material. Similarly, Engel
argues that children understand stories are different from
real life. Because stories don’t represent the real world,
they give children a clearly defined, safe place to explore
scary, taboo, or otherwise worrisome ideas.
Parent Questionairre: age, School Writing and child's strength
Skylar is 7.
Her parents report that she is an excellent reader and loves to read; her comprehension is weak, but they are working on that.
At school Skylar has written about holidays and seasons.
Michael is 7.
His parents circled reading well, writes well and enjoys reading on the form.
Parent does not now what kinds of stories Michael writes at school.
Deseree is 7.
Her parents think she writes and speaks well.
Reports one story written at school called "Her Lost Kitten."
She is good with communication.
Trace is 6.
Parent reports that he has a very strong vocabulary and strong language skills, and that he explains thought processes very clearly.
Reports he has written about pets, family and vacation at school.
Very advanced in usage of large words, and very descriptive.
Chosen is 6.
Parent reports his language strength is that he enjoys being read to.
Left the writing at schools space blank.
His parent thinks he needs more practice reading.
Arianna is 6.
Arianna speaks and writes well. She enjoys being read to at this point more than she likes to read to her parents.
Her parents are not sure they are writing actual stories right now in school. She has seen paragraphs here and there with her describing a picture.
Arianna has a great accent in Spanish when she speaks the words she knows. (Her dad is a fluent Spanish speaker.)
Bryce is 7.
He loves to read. He reads very well and has a great vocabulary.
He has only brainstormed ideas for stories.
He often surprises his mom with some of the things he says.
Jaidyn is 6.
Jaidyn has great language skills. She loves to talk, read and write.
At school, she has written stories about times with her family.
Her parents report that she is an excellent reader and loves to read; her comprehension is weak, but they are working on that.
At school Skylar has written about holidays and seasons.
Michael is 7.
His parents circled reading well, writes well and enjoys reading on the form.
Parent does not now what kinds of stories Michael writes at school.
Deseree is 7.
Her parents think she writes and speaks well.
Reports one story written at school called "Her Lost Kitten."
She is good with communication.
Trace is 6.
Parent reports that he has a very strong vocabulary and strong language skills, and that he explains thought processes very clearly.
Reports he has written about pets, family and vacation at school.
Very advanced in usage of large words, and very descriptive.
Chosen is 6.
Parent reports his language strength is that he enjoys being read to.
Left the writing at schools space blank.
His parent thinks he needs more practice reading.
Arianna is 6.
Arianna speaks and writes well. She enjoys being read to at this point more than she likes to read to her parents.
Her parents are not sure they are writing actual stories right now in school. She has seen paragraphs here and there with her describing a picture.
Arianna has a great accent in Spanish when she speaks the words she knows. (Her dad is a fluent Spanish speaker.)
Bryce is 7.
He loves to read. He reads very well and has a great vocabulary.
He has only brainstormed ideas for stories.
He often surprises his mom with some of the things he says.
Jaidyn is 6.
Jaidyn has great language skills. She loves to talk, read and write.
At school, she has written stories about times with her family.
Computers and Computer Use at home (cross case)
Reported by parents:
Skylar -
Computer at home? Yes
Home computer activities: learning activities, games
Michael -
Computer at home? Yes
Home computer activities: playing games
Deseree -
Computer at home? No. Family plans to get one soon.
Trace -
Computer at home? Yes
Home computer activities: ToonTown, Academic games.
Chosen
Computer at home? Yes
Home computer activities: playing games, cartoon network, nick, etc.
Arianna
Computer at home? Yes, but she doesn't use it often.
Home computer activities: starfall, educational cds
Bryce
Computer at home? Yes
Home computer activities: games
Jaidyn
Computer at home? Yes
Nick games, there's a math website she enjoys.
Skylar -
Computer at home? Yes
Home computer activities: learning activities, games
Michael -
Computer at home? Yes
Home computer activities: playing games
Deseree -
Computer at home? No. Family plans to get one soon.
Trace -
Computer at home? Yes
Home computer activities: ToonTown, Academic games.
Chosen
Computer at home? Yes
Home computer activities: playing games, cartoon network, nick, etc.
Arianna
Computer at home? Yes, but she doesn't use it often.
Home computer activities: starfall, educational cds
Bryce
Computer at home? Yes
Home computer activities: games
Jaidyn
Computer at home? Yes
Nick games, there's a math website she enjoys.
Teacher Descriptions of LA (writing/speaking)
Mz. MP:
Shared Writing 2 times a week, journal writing 2-3 times a week.
Children have daily classrooms discussions after calendar and story time
Ms. AG.
Every Monday begins with journal writing about the weekend. Start off with two sentences at the beginning of the year and end up with seven towards the end. Throughout the week there is usually one big piece, but there is daily journaling in other subjects.
(Informal interview about other writing: For instance, if they are studying penguins, students may be assigned to write "5 facts about penguins" on cute pattern, Or to write a "creative" story about a Penguin in a new home.)
Shared Writing (informal interview) - One student's story is written on a chart. The other students write it in their journals what the other child has written only the focus is on correcting spelling of common words. Ms. G said she really wanted the kids to know how to spell those common words.
Opportunities to talk: partner sharing, opinions about stories, Lessons begin with teacher initiated questions, and end with "our" thoughts about what is learned.
Ms. GP
Journal writing 2x a week. (teachers do slight variations of basically the same routines - (confirmed by teachers themselves in informal interviews and from journal samples, observed classroom and hall displays.)
Student talk opportunities are at calendar time, and discussions of stories in the basal.
Shared Writing 2 times a week, journal writing 2-3 times a week.
Children have daily classrooms discussions after calendar and story time
Ms. AG.
Every Monday begins with journal writing about the weekend. Start off with two sentences at the beginning of the year and end up with seven towards the end. Throughout the week there is usually one big piece, but there is daily journaling in other subjects.
(Informal interview about other writing: For instance, if they are studying penguins, students may be assigned to write "5 facts about penguins" on cute pattern, Or to write a "creative" story about a Penguin in a new home.)
Shared Writing (informal interview) - One student's story is written on a chart. The other students write it in their journals what the other child has written only the focus is on correcting spelling of common words. Ms. G said she really wanted the kids to know how to spell those common words.
Opportunities to talk: partner sharing, opinions about stories, Lessons begin with teacher initiated questions, and end with "our" thoughts about what is learned.
Ms. GP
Journal writing 2x a week. (teachers do slight variations of basically the same routines - (confirmed by teachers themselves in informal interviews and from journal samples, observed classroom and hall displays.)
Student talk opportunities are at calendar time, and discussions of stories in the basal.
Pre- Interviews Across Cases
Trace
His pre-interview is short compared to his post interview where he took a leadership, guide role with Skylar who is very reticent.
On the computer he says he likes to go to game goo. (this is a game in the computer lab) He did not mention until later his avid use at home (his parent mention it.)
He was confident in his abilities as a story writer and story teller, but gave the reason as "I just am." When pressed he said he "thinks first and then writes." He answered the same for story telling: "I think first." This is a theme his teacher hits upon in her questionnaire about him.
Choesn's pre-interview:
Chosen said he liked Dr. Suess (just heard in the library that day) He also said he liked the "monkey movie." Says he likes to write about magic school bus (an assignment in class after watching a video.)
Talked about going to centers and taking his journal to write there.
What makes him good at writing stories?
Well he writes at home (a list?) and staples them to the wall. He has to buy more staples to staple them. When pressed he said Every single day he gets better and better at writing. When he talked about telling stories he mentioned reading at home makes you get better with your voice, and that one had to read loud so the listener can really hear it.
Bryce's pre interview
In his pre-interview, Bryce was asked what kinds of stories he likes. He said liked science stories and he likes to tell make believe stories. He answered quickly without much hesitation. In fact the only hesitation in his entire interview was when he was asked about the writing he did at school. He did mention he writes about math... explaining his strategies. He said there was no show and tell and he didn't really raise his hand much to speak in class.
Bryce considers imself good at writing stories. When asked what makes a good story he said "pictures and words."
He also considered himself good at telling stories. When asked what makes that kind of story good, he said when "they figure it out. This means when the listener follows and understand events. I think this would be an issue with Bryce speaking with other children because his stories are long and often complicated and he uses interesting language.
Arianna pre-interview
Arianna, in her pre-interview says she likes all types of books when asked about her favorite book. WHen pressed, she said she liked fiction books. Asked to name a favorite, and she paused and said she doesn't remember the names of favorites. She said she likes to tell scary stories- tell scary stories to her little cousin who reacts "scary."
At school she says she likes to write about her "weekend."
Asked about opportunities to share and talk at school, she had not answer. She did say that in kindergarten she would bring her stuffed Animals for show and tell. When asked what she would say about those animals, she said that she usually gets them from sea world.
She said she is a good story writer because she "writes neatly."
She said that what makes a good story to tell "words come out of your mouth." I thought she might have meant expression, but when pressed that doesn't seem to be where she was headed.
Michael's Pre-interview
In his pre-interview he said he liked funny stories like Captain Underpants. He said he liked to tell stories like Charlotte's Web.
He said he liked to go home and tell about things he did at school. (Parents mention this as well.) He says that at school he also likes to write about what he did and where he went. I think this is the standard journal entry for his class: What'd you do this weekened?"
Like all the other students, the parents seemed unaware of any writing students did at school.
He said he was a good writer and that he was good because his sister taught him. He could not verbalize what made a good story. When pressed about what he could do to make telling a story interesting to a younger child, he could not verbalize what he might do with his voice, etc.
In the pre-interview he said he liked "reading stories" on the computer. (There is a website we used in the computer lab.) His parents said he had a computer at home and liked playing games.
Jaidyn's pre-interview
Jaidyn most talkative here! Talks about what she likes to do in the computer lab. (Gamegoo) At home she plays Nic and Sponge Bob games.
Says that she likes Arthur stories... that they are her favorites.
Says she likes to tell what happened at school at home.
Says we don't usually write much, but that they write what they did for spring break. Said she wrote about the zoo.
Says yes she is good at writing stories. The reason is because she write "the beginning and I write the ending and I write the middle." Agreed that teachers her that.. and mom.
His pre-interview is short compared to his post interview where he took a leadership, guide role with Skylar who is very reticent.
On the computer he says he likes to go to game goo. (this is a game in the computer lab) He did not mention until later his avid use at home (his parent mention it.)
He was confident in his abilities as a story writer and story teller, but gave the reason as "I just am." When pressed he said he "thinks first and then writes." He answered the same for story telling: "I think first." This is a theme his teacher hits upon in her questionnaire about him.
Choesn's pre-interview:
Chosen said he liked Dr. Suess (just heard in the library that day) He also said he liked the "monkey movie." Says he likes to write about magic school bus (an assignment in class after watching a video.)
Talked about going to centers and taking his journal to write there.
What makes him good at writing stories?
Well he writes at home (a list?) and staples them to the wall. He has to buy more staples to staple them. When pressed he said Every single day he gets better and better at writing. When he talked about telling stories he mentioned reading at home makes you get better with your voice, and that one had to read loud so the listener can really hear it.
Bryce's pre interview
In his pre-interview, Bryce was asked what kinds of stories he likes. He said liked science stories and he likes to tell make believe stories. He answered quickly without much hesitation. In fact the only hesitation in his entire interview was when he was asked about the writing he did at school. He did mention he writes about math... explaining his strategies. He said there was no show and tell and he didn't really raise his hand much to speak in class.
Bryce considers imself good at writing stories. When asked what makes a good story he said "pictures and words."
He also considered himself good at telling stories. When asked what makes that kind of story good, he said when "they figure it out. This means when the listener follows and understand events. I think this would be an issue with Bryce speaking with other children because his stories are long and often complicated and he uses interesting language.
Arianna pre-interview
Arianna, in her pre-interview says she likes all types of books when asked about her favorite book. WHen pressed, she said she liked fiction books. Asked to name a favorite, and she paused and said she doesn't remember the names of favorites. She said she likes to tell scary stories- tell scary stories to her little cousin who reacts "scary."
At school she says she likes to write about her "weekend."
Asked about opportunities to share and talk at school, she had not answer. She did say that in kindergarten she would bring her stuffed Animals for show and tell. When asked what she would say about those animals, she said that she usually gets them from sea world.
She said she is a good story writer because she "writes neatly."
She said that what makes a good story to tell "words come out of your mouth." I thought she might have meant expression, but when pressed that doesn't seem to be where she was headed.
Michael's Pre-interview
In his pre-interview he said he liked funny stories like Captain Underpants. He said he liked to tell stories like Charlotte's Web.
He said he liked to go home and tell about things he did at school. (Parents mention this as well.) He says that at school he also likes to write about what he did and where he went. I think this is the standard journal entry for his class: What'd you do this weekened?"
Like all the other students, the parents seemed unaware of any writing students did at school.
He said he was a good writer and that he was good because his sister taught him. He could not verbalize what made a good story. When pressed about what he could do to make telling a story interesting to a younger child, he could not verbalize what he might do with his voice, etc.
In the pre-interview he said he liked "reading stories" on the computer. (There is a website we used in the computer lab.) His parents said he had a computer at home and liked playing games.
Jaidyn's pre-interview
Jaidyn most talkative here! Talks about what she likes to do in the computer lab. (Gamegoo) At home she plays Nic and Sponge Bob games.
Says that she likes Arthur stories... that they are her favorites.
Says she likes to tell what happened at school at home.
Says we don't usually write much, but that they write what they did for spring break. Said she wrote about the zoo.
Says yes she is good at writing stories. The reason is because she write "the beginning and I write the ending and I write the middle." Agreed that teachers her that.. and mom.
Research Process (in case anyone cares)
My process:
First, I transcribed data and made a few notes directly after transcribing. Read and re-read data in the context of the work of
Labbo
Smitherman
Dyson
Ball
Boykin
Vygotsky
I was looking for connections/extensions of previous research.
I came up with questions. For example? Why didn’t my students’ work look more like Dyson’s (or even my own work with students making web pages?) This is much of the early blog writing about the digital stories. I also sought answers to my research questions.
For the children themselves, I pulled all the data together and organized it per child. For instance, I made a profile of Bryce by pulling together all the data sources about him into a single summary. This has been much of the later blog writing.
I then began to compile the data across the profiles (cases). I called myself doing cross case analysis ala Stark. Starting with the pre-interviews, the “teacher talk” that the kids were doing when describing why they were “good story writers” was clear as a bell to me. And since I knew that there was other data that fit (their journals, the teacher questionnaires, the parent questionnaires) I could put that together to support my hypothesis that the students were high influenced by their interactions with teachers.
Is that last too much of a leap? From what I’ve read of cross-case analysis (very little… it’s new to me) you look at the data by type (such as pre-interviews)across the cases, and look for patterns that can be confirmed by other data. This is what I did. I don’t see where there was another step in there between examining the pre-interviews across the cases, and seeing an obvious pattern that can be confirmed by other sources.
Let me know if I’m missing something.
Marva S.
First, I transcribed data and made a few notes directly after transcribing. Read and re-read data in the context of the work of
Labbo
Smitherman
Dyson
Ball
Boykin
Vygotsky
I was looking for connections/extensions of previous research.
I came up with questions. For example? Why didn’t my students’ work look more like Dyson’s (or even my own work with students making web pages?) This is much of the early blog writing about the digital stories. I also sought answers to my research questions.
For the children themselves, I pulled all the data together and organized it per child. For instance, I made a profile of Bryce by pulling together all the data sources about him into a single summary. This has been much of the later blog writing.
I then began to compile the data across the profiles (cases). I called myself doing cross case analysis ala Stark. Starting with the pre-interviews, the “teacher talk” that the kids were doing when describing why they were “good story writers” was clear as a bell to me. And since I knew that there was other data that fit (their journals, the teacher questionnaires, the parent questionnaires) I could put that together to support my hypothesis that the students were high influenced by their interactions with teachers.
Is that last too much of a leap? From what I’ve read of cross-case analysis (very little… it’s new to me) you look at the data by type (such as pre-interviews)across the cases, and look for patterns that can be confirmed by other data. This is what I did. I don’t see where there was another step in there between examining the pre-interviews across the cases, and seeing an obvious pattern that can be confirmed by other sources.
Let me know if I’m missing something.
Marva S.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Commonalities Across the Cases
Pre interviews -
What makes you a good story writer?
Journals - Teacher questionnaires, Classroom observations
teacher directed/assigned. Highly teacher centered classrooms. "structure."
descriptions with emphasis on detail, spelling, not style, number of sentences
'sharing events' - spelling based (modified -bastardize? - shared writing) Complete thoughts, complete sentences.
post interviews - audience based. "funny." Content.
What makes you a good story writer?
Journals - Teacher questionnaires, Classroom observations
teacher directed/assigned. Highly teacher centered classrooms. "structure."
descriptions with emphasis on detail, spelling, not style, number of sentences
'sharing events' - spelling based (modified -bastardize? - shared writing) Complete thoughts, complete sentences.
post interviews - audience based. "funny." Content.
What is a story?
Despite the fact that the main emphasis of my research was on “story,” I neglected to ask these children in pre-interviews what a “story” was to them.
I did ask them if they were “good” at writing and telling stories. All of them said they were. When asked what made a good story, most of their answers, if they could verbalize an answer to this question, reflected their classroom interactions with their teachers.
They were good story tellers because:
I write neatly - Arianna
I plan and then write – Trace (reflected later in his teacher’s description of him that he often goes off on tangents when writing instead of sticking to a plan.
I write every day which made you get “better and better.” - Chosen
The pictures and words – Bryce,
I just am – Trace
I have a beginning, and end and a middle – Jaidyn
Only Chosen, who likely has few positive writing interactions with his teacher in school, answered this question by sharing a home writing incident: where lists and stories he makes at home are stapled to the wall. Otherwise, their description of writing and storytelling stayed in the school realm as much as possible, even though I was able to lead Arianna into talking about telling her little cousins stories.
These students’ answers were highly contextualized. I was a “teacher” in their environment. When I interviewed them, we were sitting in the hallway outside the first grade classroom hub. So their thinking about stories and the answers to my questions were filtered through a school context as well.
Supporting this theory about their school context filter were there answers to what they liked to write about. Most of them reported that they liked to write about what they did that weekend, or what happened at recess. These of course were the assigned writing experiences that dominated the first grade curriculum at the school. Bryce was a negative case in this instance, because he talked about enjoying writing about aliens. However, I was soon to learn that Bryce was a boy with a head full of stories that he generated on his own and were just bursting to get out. He was also the one student who, without my severe attempts at leading, expressed a good story as having an audience element.
When asked in is pre-interview what made a good story, besides the previously mentioned statement, he also said, “when they get it.”
Since he has a bend toward alien stories and other fantastical realms, I can see where he may have had trouble in the past with parents and friends and his brand of storytelling.
I did ask them if they were “good” at writing and telling stories. All of them said they were. When asked what made a good story, most of their answers, if they could verbalize an answer to this question, reflected their classroom interactions with their teachers.
They were good story tellers because:
I write neatly - Arianna
I plan and then write – Trace (reflected later in his teacher’s description of him that he often goes off on tangents when writing instead of sticking to a plan.
I write every day which made you get “better and better.” - Chosen
The pictures and words – Bryce,
I just am – Trace
I have a beginning, and end and a middle – Jaidyn
Only Chosen, who likely has few positive writing interactions with his teacher in school, answered this question by sharing a home writing incident: where lists and stories he makes at home are stapled to the wall. Otherwise, their description of writing and storytelling stayed in the school realm as much as possible, even though I was able to lead Arianna into talking about telling her little cousins stories.
These students’ answers were highly contextualized. I was a “teacher” in their environment. When I interviewed them, we were sitting in the hallway outside the first grade classroom hub. So their thinking about stories and the answers to my questions were filtered through a school context as well.
Supporting this theory about their school context filter were there answers to what they liked to write about. Most of them reported that they liked to write about what they did that weekend, or what happened at recess. These of course were the assigned writing experiences that dominated the first grade curriculum at the school. Bryce was a negative case in this instance, because he talked about enjoying writing about aliens. However, I was soon to learn that Bryce was a boy with a head full of stories that he generated on his own and were just bursting to get out. He was also the one student who, without my severe attempts at leading, expressed a good story as having an audience element.
When asked in is pre-interview what made a good story, besides the previously mentioned statement, he also said, “when they get it.”
Since he has a bend toward alien stories and other fantastical realms, I can see where he may have had trouble in the past with parents and friends and his brand of storytelling.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
