Research Writing: A Creative Approach

1. Research Writing: A Creative Approach Prof. Séphora Cruz-Candelario MWWP Project Summer 2012

2. All About ME • 33 years of teaching experience • M. Ed. in Curriculum and Teaching, B.A. English • SESO-32 years DE- 1 year • College prep school with English Immersion Program • English/History Teacher in grades 7-12 • Senior class moderation • Faculty Representative on the SESO Board • English Department Coordinator

3. My Classroom • Room 118 (formerly a preschool classroom) • Air-Conditioned • Rectangular tables with 24 chairs • Conductive to group work, writing groups and open discussion • Used for American Literature-Grade 10 • AP English Literature and Composition- Grade 12 • Film Literature- grades 11 and 12

4. Educational Philosophy • A school is committed to developing well-rounded students in an environment that nurtures individual intellectual achievements and opportunities where students, teachers, and parents can function as a community of learners. • Teachers stimulate, develop, guide and facilitate the learning process recognizing that the student is the most important element in the educational environment.

5. Educational Philosophy • Teachers become the school’s greatest resource and role models that contribute to the success and well being of the students. • A well-balanced educational system promotes flexible instructional approaches for students to develop their individual capabilities to the fullest; this educational system then empowers students to become lifelong learners. -SESO School Mission and Philosophy

6. Personal Mission • Effective learning occurs when one understands the school's mission and philosophy and has established goals and objectives that enhance this philosophy and mission. • A teacher, to be effective must listen and understand the needs of his/her students. He or she must be perceptive and assertive when solving their needs. • A teacher reconciles the differences among his / her students and together work toward a common goal: learning.

7. Educational Theories • Albert Bandura- Social Cognitive Theory • Peter Salovey and John Mayer, Daniel Goldman-Emotional Intelligence • Howard Gardner- Multiple Intelligence

8. Performance Standards and Objectives PS #5: Students systematically employ elements of the writing process to communicate effectively with diverse audiences for different purposes. They engage in peer editing and they collect, select, and organize their work in portfolios, reflect on their own production, and set goals for their future work. • 5.1. Students can employ a variety of strategies for developing and organizing ideas, resulting in knowledge, opinions, or insights that are worth communicating to an intended audience.

9. Performance Standards and Objectives • 5.2. When asked to read and respond to the writing of others, students can provide helpful critiques, suggestions, and informed appreciation at various stages of the writing process. • 5.3. Students can write stories or narratives with a coherent plot, distinct characters, and conflict resolved through the actions of characters. • 5.4. Students can construct a coherent and knowledgeable argument, citing persuasive evidence, that advances an opinion, accurately conveys an opposing opinion, or refutes an opposing opinion.

10. Performance Standards and Objectives • 5.5. Students can develop a controlling idea that conveys a perspective on a subject by summarizing verbal and numerical information, including appropriate facts and details. • 5.6. Students write reflective essays about their own work in which they evaluate their strong and weak points, discuss their particular writing process from concept to final draft, and set goals for future writing improvement. • 5.7. Students can use a computer for writing and revising drafts and preparing final finished copies.

11. Research-The Monologue • Joint activity between the English and History classes. • History teacher shows students how and what type of facts to research (timeline, character traits, quotes, and anecdotes). • English teacher introduces MLA format, and the how write the monologue.

12. Learning Theory Lev Vygotsky-Social Development Theory • Vygotsky's theories stress the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition (1978). • He believed strongly that community plays a central role in the process of making meaning. 

13. Materials • Guidelines for the paper; rubric • Guidelines are distributed and explained by both teachers. • Character List • Students select character from a list. • Working research folder

14. Fast Write and Slow Write-Creative Process in Research • Once the students have researched and written the character’s timeline, character traits, representative quotes and anecdotes, they will respond, react to situations in writing like their character would. • Fast write: quick writing determined by time • Slow write: elaborates on details in the narrative • The idea is to put the character in a difficult situation and imagine what the character would do. The situation does not have to match the time period of the character.

15. Writing Scenarios • You are driving late at night, all alone in the car. There is not much traffic so you lose track of speed. Suddenly you notice a police car behind and when you glance at the speedometer you are 20 miles above the speed limit. You takes your foot of the accelerator but it is too late. The policeman has turned his siren on and is indicating that you should pull over. You do. Write what happens next.

16. Writing scenarios • You are in high school. It is the week when you have tons of work and tests. You don’t have the time to study adequately for all of them. Fortunately in the biology test you are sitting next to a very good student who is always prepared for tests. You have very good eyes and you can see this student’s answers. The teacher does not seem to be looking your way. Write what happens next.

17. References • Cohen, Bryan. 1000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories, and More. New York: Create Space,2011. Print. • Rozakis, Laurie. Writing Great Research Papers. New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2007. Print.