Object Lesson: Making Process Visible with Mind Maps, by Sheryda Warrener

Can you read this and tell me what you think?

A question you’ve been asked many times over, either in the mad flurry at the end of class, during office hours, over email, sometimes even on your way to get lunch between workshops. What the aspiring writer wants from you is varied: validation, encouragement, acknowledgement, individual attention, line edits, or, quite simply, to be told what to do. An authentic, meaningful response is impossible under these conditions. And yet, here you are.

Here’s a process-oriented response to this question, borrowed from arts-based pedagogy, that aims to situate the work within a larger network of the writer’s questions, curiosities, influences, and resources.

Social Body Mind Map in Visual Arts

From Dean Kenning:

- Social Body Mind Mapping is a diagrammatic tool to enable critical reflection on one’s (previous, current or future) artwork with respect to unconscious process and social forces.”
- Through this creative thinking tool, art manifests a capacity to open up different ways in which we, as desiring individuals, connect to, and are caught up in, intricate social networks of influence and possibility.
- Key to this capacity is a necessary shift away from the idea of a ‘self’ as a pre-established identity from where artworks spring (whether from a brain, innate talent, personality, cultural background, etc.)

Adapting for a Creative Writing Context

This approach works well with individuals as well as small groups. For this example, let’s imagine a small group of keen students during office hour.

Begin by inviting students to brainstorm:

Where does a piece of writing come from?
What makes it possible?

Together, generate lists under the following headings. You can offer a couple of examples from each category to get them started:

At this point, you can move to the mapping process.

Ask students to draw a circle at the centre of a large piece of paper, and place the title of the piece of writing (or, if they’re inclined to draw or doodle, an image from the work). From the title, they begin to map the capacities, motivations, and influences that facilitated the work. Here’s an example from a map I made of a future poem:

Now I can see the connections between different elements / images I’ve been thinking about: memories of my mom’s garden, the catalogue of flower paintings from a show during the pandemic, the fresh flowers I buy at the market each week, quotes from other writers about flowers, and some formal considerations (off map).

What is illuminating is seeing everything all at once, and knowing now what influences I need to return to in order to make specific observations, perform more research, and otherwise attend more closely. Someone reading my map may be able to illuminate a connection I’m not seeing, or offer suggestions for further resources, such as paintings I might look at, or a pop culture reference I may not be aware of, in order to broaden the work.

REFLECTION

With the student’s map in front of you, you have access to context around the work, which allows you to make relevant observations, ask productive questions, and suggest informed craft moves. What will become immediately apparent, for example, is a total lack of capacity or motivation, other than “it’s an assignment for class,” so questions about what they would rather be writing, given the chance, may prove fruitful.

Working together with the map, what’s possible within the work will become apparent, as well as what parts of the process of making the writer might need to attend to, return to, engage with, or enhance. You can also ask students to share maps, so that they may respond to what they’re seeing and make suggestions to one another.

OBJECT LESSON

At its heart, this process-oriented approach invites students to see creativity as an integral and essential part of who they are and how they live in the world, and to view their work as part of a much broader ecosystem of creative forces.

In order to truly understand the potential impact of this mapping approach, I invite you to try it out for yourself, beginning with a past, present, or future piece of writing and seeing where the process of mapping takes you.

Sometimes the map becomes the art object…

Have fun!

Resources:

Learning to Teach Art and Design in the Secondary School, ed. Nicholas Addison and Lesley Burgess

Dean Kenning’s work: https://www.mattsgallery.org/artists/kenning/exhibition-1.php

February 28, 2022March 28, 2022

Teaching with Writing Process Awareness, by Erika Thorkelson

In the mini-series Inventing Anna that recently aired on Netflix, there’s a long sequence near the end when, after months of research, the very pregnant journalist Vivian Kent (played by Anna Chlumsky) pounds out a longform feature in a single writing sprint. She sits at her computer for hours straight, inspiring music playing in her earbuds. Her colleagues look on pensively as she types non-stop, desperate to complete the story before her water breaks.

It’s a thrilling sequence–the virtuosic writer in a state of literary ecstasy composing a text as if she were playing a Rachmaninoff piano concerto from beginning to end. But most of us who have actually written a feature–or a TV show or a concerto, for that matter–know that’s not how writing actually works. We know that good writing generally happens not in a single contiguous draft, but over countless drafts and through rigorous revision. It’s a process that would look pretty boring on TV.

But what does this mean in the context of teaching creative writing?

In creative writing classes, we talk a great deal about what makes a good piece of writing. We tease out aspects of craft and create assignments for students to test them out. What we don’t talk about nearly as much is the process of writing–that mysterious journey from idea to publishable draft that professional writers go on over and over again throughout our careers. Yet over my years as an instructor and as a writing consultant, I’ve learned that often the support students need is as much about process as it is about craft.

You may already be familiar with the idea that writing scholars break the writing process up into 4 or 5 rough categories:

Prewriting (planning, research, notes)
Drafting (writing the rough draft, often a process of discovery)
Revising (testing out different structures, focusing ideas etc.)
Editing (tidying up the details)

As I’m sure you know from your own practice, writers rarely move through these phases in a linear manner–you might get all the way to editing only to realize that you need to generate more material. I find this sequence useful nonetheless as it helps us understand what kind of work a student should be doing at different points in the process. It would, for example, be pointless to give advice on sentence-level revision if they are still in the rough drafting phase where they don’t yet entirely know what they’re writing about.

Novice writers often get stalled precisely because they’ve jumped ahead in the process, ruthlessly editing themselves when they should still be playing around in a draft. As a TA, you will often come up against these kinds of process challenges in office hours. Below are some issues that I’ve seen students encounter at different phases in the writing process and the kinds of process-based support that can help them break through those barriers.

1. I can’t get started.

This is the place where that image of the perfect first draft can really stall a new writer out. Novice writers who are accustomed to academic courses where they are given tight parameters for each assignment sometimes find the looseness of creative writing assignments daunting. They might also feel that nothing they start seems good enough, causing them to get trapped in the write-delete-write-delete cycle.
While specific prompts can be a useful way to break through this, what’s more important is encouraging them to stay with a topic long enough to get to the good stuff. I find Anne Lamott’s concept of the “Shitty First Draft” useful to break through the perfectionism that often stalls new writers out at the beginning of the process. As she writes in her classic text Bird by Bird, “I know some very great writers, writers you love who write beautifully and have made a great deal of money, and not one of them sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. Not one of them writes elegant first drafts. All right, one of them does, but we do not like her very much.”
New writers need to understand that writing is a muscle, and like any muscle, you must warm up before you start the heavy lifting. Turning off the computer and moving into a physical notebook can be a great way to remove the urge to delete. Timed writing sprints, such as the Pomodoro Technique can help to filter out distractions and keep them on the page even when it’s painful.

2. My first draft is as good as it’s going to get, and I can’t see any other way to approach this particular topic.

While it’s good to have confidence in one’s abilities, this belief is perhaps the biggest hurdle a writer can face in their development. In his book The Art of Revision, Peter Ho Davies argues that when we reify the first draft as THE pure expression of genius–as we so often do in our culture–it’s easy to get stuck on the idea that revision is somehow a dilution of that ideal, or worse, an admission of failure.
To get past this, we must learn to see our writing not as a single immovable block, but as a series of moveable parts. I think of this as something like trying to redecorate a room that you’ve lived in for a long time–it’s hard to see different configurations for furniture unless you’re willing to start moving things around. Try a few new positions for that couch before you get to the right one. At first it might feel like you’re making a mess, but if you stick with it, you might find a new configuration that works better than before.
A complete draft is something to celebrate, but we can learn a lot from pulling apart our work to see what else we can do with it. Visual artists do this kind of thing all the time, and so do writers–we just don’t talk about it as much.

3. The student is in the middle of the writing process and is feeling tired or frustrated with their current topic or story. They are thinking of starting from scratch with only a few days left before the assignment is due.

What I first tell students who come to me with this problem is to honour the work they have done so far. A rough draft is no small feat!
I then encourage them to stick with it. Maybe they feel like the work they’ve done so far is not as good as the work they’ve seen others doing in peer reviews. Maybe the writing of this piece has churned up some feelings they weren’t expecting. Maybe they’ve just fallen out of love with the topic. Whatever the reason they are considering changing topics, these are all normal feelings that many writers have in the middle of the process.
That moment of frustration where the writer can see there is something that’s not quite working about an essay, short story or poem but doesn’t yet know how to fix it? That’s actually a sign of growth. But you can only clear this hurdle if you stick with the topic and give your brain the time it needs to solve those problems.
Something I often suggest writers do when they are struggling with these feelings is to open a new document and ask themselves, “why is this so difficult for me to write about?” Having a conversation with yourself on the page can clear your mind and give you a bit of distance from the frustrating parts of the project. That writing might work its way into the piece or it might not, but it will be useful either way.

Above all, it’s useful to remember that the writing process doesn’t end with an assignment deadline or publication date. Each piece is part of a lifelong journey of discovery and growth. By teaching creative writing with an awareness of process, we can help new writers grow in ways that resonate beyond the classroom into whatever kinds of writing they choose to do in the future.

January 17, 2020January 17, 2020

TQE, QQC, and Other Tricks That Ensure Students Arrive Prepared and Stay Engaged

A scenario: You have a beautiful lecture prepared, as well as a structured discussion, but the whole thing relies on the students having read and actually engaged with the readings for the week, and to have generated some writing. Your worst fears come true when you discover in the first 10 minutes that not only are the students unprepared, but are totally disengaged.

Here are some pre-emptive strikes to avoid any or all scenarios like the above.

TQE // QQC

Providing structure to readings gives students a sense of what’s expected of them. These two strategies effectively engage students in an activity as they’re reading, which is then expanded on in the classroom.

See how these instructors use this strategy to have more meaningful discussions:

Deeper Class Discussions with the TQE Method

5 Ways College Teachers Can Improve Their Instruction

Entrance / Exit Slips

Having students reflect when arriving to class and at the end of class places an emphasis on preparedness and learning. This technique makes this check-in visible!

And for active learning that doesn’t require talking, Ideo Blog’s guide for brainstorming:

If they don’t arrive prepared, do the readings in class! Prompt the mastery of materials, especially core concepts, with the Jigsaw Method!

January 13, 2020January 13, 2020

Enhance Student Engagement: Facilitating the Seminar

Here’s my approach to planning one session of a flipped/blended seminar course.

First, I find it useful to narrow down the scope of the class to one big idea for the week. To do this, I use concept mapping as my process. Then, I begin to match learning activities to particular essential questions this big idea raises.

As the class begins to take shape, I use post-it notes to colour code the variations in the kinds of activities I’ve chosen: active, independent, small group vs. large, discussion, writing prompt, movement, sitting still, etc., so I have a visualization of the rhythm of the session.

CONTENT

Process: Concept Maps

Determine the big idea or main concept for the week, e.g. “dialogue” “scene vs. summary” “diction” “original detail”
Begin to generate questions around this concept
Gather materials and resources around those questions (often, this is pre-work the student has engaged in before class)
Begin to consider the learning activities that give students the opportunity to engage with the concept

FORM

Process: Post-it notes

Determining what learning activities are best for your subject/concept/genre depends on timing and comfort level
Learners focus for 15 – 20 minute intervals, so aim to move between active and passive / independent and group activities, and vary your approaches
Colour-code activities and map it out so you can see the learning experience (as in the second photo below, my colour-coded lecture for CRWR 201)

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

PROCESS: Experimentation!

Resources

Choosing Appropriate Strategies for Learning

Long But GOOD Resource Regarding Group Work

Active Learning Strategies

Bookmark CULT OF PEDAGOGY!

DISCUSSION STRATEGIES

TEMPLATES

VENN DIAGRAM

SEMINAR_TEMPLATE

I would be very happy to provide resources, discuss suitable learning activities, and speak generally about facilitation anytime!

Have fun,
Sheryda

December 4, 2019December 4, 2019

10-minute Learning Activity: Good For Mid-term

10-minute learning activities are effective strategies for creating connection, inviting meaningful disruption, and generating energy in any creative writing classroom.

Word Survey

Share via a presentation or create a handout of questions, and ask students to move around the room collecting answers to the following questions:

1. A boring word
2. A word that sounds good but has negative meaning
3. Without looking, what would you guess the next word is in the dictionary after ABACUS?
4. What is the stupidest flower?
5. What’s one thing you believe in?
6. What’s one trend you definitely did not avoid in high school?
7. What’s the most disgusting thing you would put in your mouth for $50?
8. What would you compare the size of your heart with?
9. A word that sounds bad but has a positive meaning
10. A word that’s embarrassing to say
11. A word he or she has heard but does not know the meaning
12. A word that’s not in the dictionary

It’s important to stress that they approach a different person for each question. Once they have gathered a selection of words, they can use them to create a poem, a story, a character, or some other piece of writing.

Please make sure you adapt this exercise to suit any accessibility needs of your group.

April 8, 2019August 7, 2019

Marking with the 5:1 Ratio with Jaz Papadopoulos

When I mark in Speedgrader, I like to use the highlighter / annotations tool to leave comments. One of the reasons for this is that it makes grading a lot easier for me – I highlight things that I liked and things that earn marks (Great imagery! or Inciting incident; rising stakes; resolution). I believe that these sideline comments offer students specificity, and thus are more helpful for students who want to recognize and hone in on their skills.

But more than this, the comments help me fulfill the 5:1 ratio for positive feedback.

A 2004 study by researchers Marcial Losada and Emily Heaphy explored team connectivity and business performance. The results showed that the highest performing business teams had a 5:1 ratio: five instances of praise for every one instance of critical feedback.

This is actually a rule I learned while working as wilderness therapist for “hard to reach” youth – we, as staff, were required to give a child 5 instances of positive feedback before trying to make a behaviour adjustment. (5:1 is actually a very low ratio in this context – other studies suggest that for folks with challenges around connectivity, the successful ratio is more like 16:1).

It can be enticing to focus on places of improvement, especially in a capitalist society that demands productivity, and even more so when it’s 2 a.m. and I’m looking at 300 pages of second year poetry that all seems to heavily rely on ABAB rhyme schemes and I just want to tell them all to STOP RHYMING. But, this research shows that criticism undermines self-confidence and initiative, meaning that though the recipient may change their behaviour, the motivation will be compliance rather than genuine effort.

“Only positive feedback can motivate people to continue doing what they’re doing well,” the Harvard Business Review writes, reflecting on this research, “and do it with more vigor, determination, and creativity.” And that’s what I want to build in the writers of tomorrow, right?! Vigour! Determination! Creativity!

As a TA, I want to encourage people to know and build on their strengths. The self-confidence and success that comes with being good at something also acts as fuel to improve the things that aren’t so good.

The 5:1 ratio is also noted in research about happy couples, FYI. In an analysis of married couples’ likelihood of getting divorced, the single biggest determinant was the ratio of positive to negative comments, 5:1 being ideal. (Divorced couples showed a ratio of 3 positive comments for every 4 negative comments.) Even though this study is from the ‘90s and done by a dude and is probably super heterosexual and otherwise generally inapplicable to my life, 5:1 still seems like a good ratio to me.

The last reason why filling up the comments with 5 positive for everyone 1 critical remarks works for me is…it helps me see the good in students’ work. At 2 a.m. when I’m shuffling through 300 pages of ABAB. If I have to highlight the use of imagery, enjambment, words choice, metaphor, and originality before I’m allowed to harp on the dang rhyme scheme, I’m way more likely to give helpful comments and a reasonable grade.

March 3, 2019August 12, 2019

The Big (Working) List of Literary Resources To Inspire Teachers and Learners

LITERARY ESSAYS: CRAFT & IDENTITY

Writers of Colour Discussing Craft, a reading list
A List of Questions To Ask Yourself About Audience As You Write, Naseem Hrab
12 Fundamentals Of Writing the Other, Buzzfeed
It’s Time To Get Real About Racial Diversity In Comics, Wired
Writing Black Futures: Chelene Knight via Open Book
Indigenous Issues 101, Chelsea Vowel
Notes on Craft, Souvankham Thammavongsa via Granta

Like Most Americans, I Was Raised to Be A White Man

LYRIC ESSAYS

On Whiteness and The Racial Imaginary

Girl

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2019/02/25/the-poetic-consequences-of-k-pop/

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/trans-101-stephanie-burt/

RESOURCE AS PRESCRIPTION

Poetry RX at Paris Review Daily
TED TALK round up by writers

What is the Right Poetry Collection for You?

CURATED LISTS & COLUMNS

New Poetry by Indigenous Women

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/10/23/toward-creating-a-trans-literary-canon/#more-130281

CURATED PROMPTS & LESSON PLANS

New York Times Lesson Plans:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/learning/100-plus-writing-prompts-to-explore-common-themes-in-literature-and-life.html

PODCASTS

……..

*BONUS! Literary Witches!

https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/02/07/literary-witches/

February 4, 2019February 5, 2019

Engagement, Understanding, Independence

Strategies for Engagement, Understanding,
and Independence in the CrWr Classroom, with current TA and educator Amy Higgins

Are you tired of the same-old same-old instructional activities? Wondering how to facilitate productive discussions in the classroom? Seeking suggestions for meaningful, engaging lessons?

Making Thinking Visible: How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Independence for All Learners by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison is the resource you need! This book offers offers user-friendly strategies that help guide your students’ thinking and structure the class conversations. You can also find many of these instructional activities detailed online:

A few years ago, while teaching in the K – 12 system, I was lucky enough to attend a professional development session facilitated by Ron Ritchhart, co-author of Making Thinking Visible and Senior Research Associate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero. In this session, I learned that “routine” is a key word when it comes to Visible Thinking. As a teacher, my impulse is to continually introduce new strategies, lesson formats, and learning activities. I want to keep my students interested, after all! However, when certain instructional activities become routine, teaching and learning improve. Once routines are established, I spend less time giving instructions and more time prompting students to go deeper in their thinking. Similarly, learners focus less on understanding the expectations of the activity, and more time grappling with the subject matter itself.

The Visible Thinking routines detailed below are incredibly simple, flexible, and adaptable to various contexts. I have used these routines in Kindergarten, asking students, “What do you know about our playground environment? What do you wonder?” And, later, “What have you learned?” I’ve used the routines in Grade 2, asking students what they observe, think, and wonder when viewing images of various Canadian landmarks. I’ve used them in Grade 5, guiding students through “think-pair-share” exercises as part of an inquiry into immigration. And they work in the post-secondary classroom too!

Here is an outline of some of the core Visible Thinking routines, along with suggestions for using them in the Creative Writing classroom:

Interpretation & Justification: What Makes You Say That?

This is a simple strategy for guiding students’ engagement with a piece of writing — whether they’re workshopping a piece written by a peer or studying an exemplar of a particular genre or form.Simply ask the students two questions: “What’s going on (or, What do you notice) in this piece of writing?” (Interpretation). Followed by, “What makes you say that?” (Justification).These simple prompts are a quick and easy way of encouraging students to expand upon their ideas and stretch their thinking to the next level. And it’s a great “back pocket” response for those moments when you’re not quite sure what to say!
KWL

K stands for “What do you KNOW about this topic?”; W stands for “What do you WONDER?”; and L stands for “What have you LEARNED?”
When you’re introducing a topic — poetic devices! elements of fiction! types of creative nonfiction! — ask students to record their responses to the first two questions; they can do this individually, in pairs, or in small groups. After exploring the topic, ask students to fill in the third column, sharing their learning. This is a low-prep exercise that encourages reflection, and it works for any topic.
Think-Pair-Share

When introducing a topic of discussion, allow students some time to silently think about their answer. This is particularly important for students who need a bit more time to formulate a response.Then, invite students to discuss their idea with a partner. This ensures that every student participates actively, even those who may hesitate to speak in front of the whole group. Also, it gives students a chance to test out their viewpoint and articulate their thoughts, while possibly revising or refining their ideas in response to their classmate’s questions and comments.Finally, offer students an opportunity to share with the whole group. This discussion format is very effective for encouraging more reticent members of the group to speak up!
I used to think … Now I think …

Another fast, simple, end-of-unit reflection: ask students to respond in writing to the prompts “I used to think …” and “Now I think …”. This encourages students to identify what they’ve learned and the ways in which their thinking has changed. After having students record their responses in writing, you may ask them to share aloud in small groups or with the class.One variation: have students record their ideas on sticky notes, then combine them to make a class chart, as pictured below:
Observe, Think, Wonder

This is another strategy to guide students’ encounters with literature, whether they’re reading a classmate’s work or looking at an example of a published piece. Simply ask them to reflect upon the following questions: “What do you observe?” “What do you think?” and “What do you wonder?” These prompts can help you guide students to look carefully at the work, develop thoughtful interpretations, and generate helpful and provocative questions.
Compass Points

Introducing students to a new idea, explaining an assignment, or helping the group work through a problem? Keep in mind the four compass points:

E – What EXCITES you about this idea / project / issue?
W – What WORRIES you?
N – What do you NEED to know?
S – What is your STANCE on this? And / or, what SUGGESTIONS do you have to offer?

Whether discussed aloud or offered as writing prompts, these questions will help to guide the conversation in a productive direction!

For more ideas, visit the Visible Thinking website:

http://www.visiblethinkingpz.org/VisibleThinking_html_files/03_ThinkingRoutines/03g_CreativityRoutines.html

Happy teaching!

January 21, 2019January 21, 2019

Bookmark It: Writing Prompts & Artistic Research

From Poets & Writers:

The Time Is Now

“The Time Is Now offers a weekly writing prompt (we’ll post a poetry prompt on Tuesdays, a fiction prompt on Wednesdays, and a creative nonfiction prompt on Thursdays) to help you stay committed to your writing practice throughout the year. We also offer a selection of books on writing—both the newly published and the classics—that we recommend you check out for inspiration, plus advice and insight on the writing process from the authors profiled in Poets & Writers Magazine. And don’t miss Writers Recommend, which includes books, art, music, writing prompts, films—anything and everything—that has inspired other authors in their writing.”

https://www.pw.org/writing-prompts-exercises

And, an example of Writers Recommend:

Sally Wen Mao Recommends…

January 4, 2019January 4, 2019

Advice From A Former TA: Selina Boan

“I would attribute much of my success as a TA to the professors I worked with. Having the opportunity to explore and engage with a variety of pedagogical approaches in the seminar classroom was invaluable. Communication with your professor is key. They are a wealth of information and in my experience, have been an amazing resource when I was struggling with time management or working on classroom material.

I would also recommend exploring a few online resources (and books) on teaching at the university level to give you some background and ideas of how you might want to approach your students and TA style. Memorizing students names (when possible) was an asset (especially in large lectures).

Before I began to TA, I was worried students would be disappointed hearing from me. What I quickly discovered was the opposite.They look up to you as a writing mentor. In my experience, students love to hear about your own experiences with writing: the struggles,

the joys, you name it. Share your passions and your own experiences. Have fun! My experience working as a TA invaluable and remains one of the most rewarding experiences I had during my time at UBC.”

TQE // QQC

Entrance / Exit Slips

Here’s my approach to planning one session of a flipped/blended seminar course.

But more than this, the comments help me fulfill the 5:1 ratio for positive feedback.

LITERARY ESSAYS: CRAFT & IDENTITY

LYRIC ESSAYS

RESOURCE AS PRESCRIPTION

CURATED LISTS & COLUMNS

CURATED PROMPTS & LESSON PLANS

PODCASTS

Strategies for Engagement, Understanding, and Independence in the CrWr Classroom, with current TA and educator Amy Higgins

Interpretation & Justification: What Makes You Say That?

KWL

Think-Pair-Share

I used to think … Now I think …

Observe, Think, Wonder

Compass Points

The Time Is Now

Sally Wen Mao Recommends…

Strategies for Engagement, Understanding,
and Independence in the CrWr Classroom, with current TA and educator Amy Higgins