Imagine you are a research assistant to a high profile professor at a university: he is a journalism professor. He needs you to compose an email to the entire communication department asking them to read the Russell and Yanez's article, so that they can include it as part of their curriculum. He believes that this article could drastically improve both the retention rate of journalism students as well as help them in their careers to be better writers. In this email, your job is to clearly portray why the Russell and Yanez piece should even be considered--so you are not summarizing the piece--in other words, you want to *sell them on the piece. Please include specific details, even quotes, from the piece as you attempt to persuade the department.
You need to write the post in the genre of an email following all the conventions of an email. So, your audience for the email will be the communication department.
You are, in many ways, attempting to put into practice what you read in this piece.
Response to peers: Respond to whether or not you believe they effective "sold" their position to the department and say why or why not. Be specific.
Due by class time on Tuesday, January 20, 2015.
To: Department of Communications
ReplyDeleteRe: Russell and Yanez, education overhaul
Date: 1/19/15
Dear esteemed colleagues of the Communications Department,
It has recently come to my attention after reading a compelling article by scholars Russell and Yanez that our department needs to consider these author’s educational approach to improve the retention rate amongst our students of communication. This article “explores the problem of specialized discourses” for students who are not necessarily specialized in a field that they are required to take classes in. This article also emphasizes the importance of differences in writing, and highlights how certain types of writing across different genres are not necessarily the same, and often drastically different. It is my take-away from reading this article that we, as a department, should seriously consider implementing some of the points mentioned. For instance, Russell and Yanez, through significant research, found that “specialist knowledge mediated through specialist discourse can be alienating for non-specialists”. As educators, we need to keep in mind that we are all very well versed in our knowledge of journalism, but others are not as much. We need to encourage students to learn our vocabulary and teaching methods, and not expect them to know it without any prior education in the field of journalism. This means practicing patience and encouragement, rather than frustration and setting lofty expectations. Furthermore, I believe that it would be in our best interest to implement Activity Theory (AT), as a way of encouraging our students to become critical readers and writers. AT “is a way of analyzing human activity over time, especially change. AT offers tentative explanations for outcomes, and gives people a perspective from which to develop new approaches”. AT sounds like a good way to keep our students interested in the fluid discipline of journalism, rather than expecting them to be interested and succeed in rote memorization and repetition. Additionally, “AT views communication/learning as social in origin and human activity as collective”. What academic discipline is more collective than journalism? It takes several people to write a well written, factual and interesting piece: subjects, an educator author, a detail oriented editor…journalism is social at its core. Our students can always improve their writing skills, and AT views writing as “an essential tool of learning to become a well-rounded citizen”. We as mentors, professors, and teachers need to gain perspective on genre-based writing and understand that not all students are taught the same. I believe that improving our retention rate starts with us, and I implore you to read this eye-opening article in order to see how our “courses can be linked to other activity systems” within this university.
Best,
Prof. Smith
Department of Communications at the University of Denver
Dear Professor Smith,
DeleteI thought you did a really great job with this email, I liked how you included a variety of quotes that supported your opinions and belief as to why the Communications Department should read and consider this article for their curriculum! I liked your professionalism throughout your email, as well, even in your introduction and sign off. I am sure that your audience will appreciate being treated with that much respect.
To: Department of Communications
ReplyDeleteRe: Russell and Yanez, education overhaul
Date: 1/19/15
To whom this email may concern,
After performing proper research and reading the article by Russell and Yanez, it has come to my attention that the Department of Communications should truly take into consideration the perspective that these two authors take on when it comes to improving the retention rate of our students who are specifically majoring in journalism--communications. As it is now, most journalism students are learning in a constricted way, which strays them away from the overall goal of how to properly "journal" when in the journaling environment; thus, this causes many journalism students to lose interest in the actual topic, forcing them to change paths. If and when this article is taken into consideration, it is important to note that "These courses are designed to give students a broader view of knowledge and, often, to teach what faculty hope will be generalizable information or skills useful in their chosen fields or, more broadly still, in their personal or civic lives." Not only would this enlighten the students on a new way of learning about journalism, but it would also educate them in different learning ways of how to be the most effective journalist. With the students taking on this new curriculum, the style of the course can "serve both specialist and non-specialist," meaning that this course isn't only for journalist, but for all majors that are taking writing courses. With this course being incorporated into many majors, many students will learn the effectiveness of what it truly means to be a writer and what it truly means to write in concise specificity.
I look forward to hearing from you all soon,
Best,
Dimitrius Wells
Hey Demetrius,
DeleteI think that bringing your point back to journalism often was very effective since it makes it more tangible to the communications department. I also like the fact that you touched on the specialization aspect of the article. I think it is a strong angle to come from, since many people who will take classes in the department aren't going to actually be journalists. Talking about how the article will benefit non journalism majors and journalism majors alike makes your argument have more intrinsic value. I think that you did a pretty good job of convincing the department to incorporate the Russel and Yanez article.
What's up Prof. Dimitri.....us. Nice job on convincing the Department of Communications. I like how you noted that it can serve both specialist and non specialist. All majors could use these writing classes in some way or another and I like how you noted that.
Delete^Tresdon you kind of spelled his name wrong
DeleteOoops, He obviously has the hardest name in all of existence. At least I got the "ussssss" part. Haha, Sorry Dimitrius.
DeleteTo: Communication Department
ReplyDeleteRe: Russell and Yanez article
1/19/15
Dear Communication Department,
I’m writing this email on behalf of why I think “Genre Theory and Activity Systems” by Russell and Yanez should be read and included in your curriculum. Many students taking communication general education classes are there to meet requirements in order to graduate. Some may be interested in learning about the topic, but some may not even “want” to be there. Of course every student is there to get an A in the class, but some may not care whether or not they gain anything from the class. I’m positive that each and every one of you are passionate about teaching and want your students to fully benefit from what you teach them so they can apply it for the rest of their lives. The only way that you can make this happen is if you push students to help them learn in a different perspective – a way that is related to the course goals, but also related to how the student thinks. I guarantee that this article by Russell and Yanez will help you grasp ideas and theories about teaching, but most importantly, it will help students gain more out of your classes even though they showed up just for credits and a grade. For example, Russell and Yanez talk about how students come into the class with “individual goals” (getting a good grade and credit so they can move on with their journalism career). However, there is also “course goals” (what students should learn from the class and how they are going to apply it). Russell and Yanez stated “At some point students will struggle with making a connection with their individual goals and the course goals. This causes “alienation” or a changing point where students start to see things in a different perspective. The only way to make this change happen is to push students towards the course goals side and away from their individual goals. This is just one of many interesting examples in this article. The theories introduced in this article makes perfect sense and can help you get a better understanding of learning from the students’ perspective. I encourage you all to read it as it can help you become an even better teacher about the topics that you all love to teach.
Best,
Jason Komoda
University of Denver Research Assistant
Hey Prof Jason! I think you did a good job selling the article to 'your department.' You did a great job boosting your colleagues with positive statements such as "I'm positive that each and every one of you are passionate about teaching and want your students to fully benefit from what you teach them." By beginning with the sugar, then they might feel more obligated to take your advice and use the article. If not, at least you put a smile on their face :).
DeleteDear colleagues,
ReplyDeleteI have recently stumbled upon an article that has the potential to help your students become more engaged and successful in your classes – especially for undergraduates who are taking your class outside of their major. Written by Russell and Yanes, the article is titled ‘Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians’ : Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education. This is an extremely accessible piece (anyone catch the Calvin and Hobbes reference?) that will help wary students embrace your expectations.
One of the hardest aspects of teaching students a new way of writing is having them wrap their minds around the idea that not all writing is the same. Think about the various students you’ve had in your journalism classes. The technical verbatim common from science majors might not be what you’re looking for. Russell and Yanez make a brilliant comparison to help students clarify the distinction as well: “knowing how to shoot a basketball (or write in one way, one genre) doesn't mean you know how throw a baseball (or write in a different activity or genre). If you are having trouble getting those students who are out of their major to buy into your methods, this article just might turn them around.
The article progresses to discuss Activity Theory and Activity Systems, which break down complex activities (such as learning the material in your class) into aspects that are relevant and interesting. You could ask your students to provide an Activity System for your class, which will provide part of the “why” that invades many students minds when navigating seemingly unrelated courses. It can also help students draw connections and grow as learners, which is a common goal amongst us. So do yourself and the rest of the faculty at our school a favor–consider asking your young undergraduates (and even graduates) to peruse this article, helping them develop a sense of purpose and improved writing abilities in all classes.
Thank you for considering, and have a great day,
Julia Farrell
Cool
footnote
with all my
awesome
qualifications
Hey Julia!
DeleteI loved your footnote, it was so funny! I think you sold the article quite well. I really liked how you included the basketball quote, it fits in perfectly with the rest of the letter and was a great example. Your writing is very engaging and persuasive enough that I almost want to read the article again! Nice job!
Hi Julia,
DeleteI find your interpretation of the article to be a wonderfully easy way to understand the article, offering our metaphorical communications department a way to quickly pick up what is discussed in the readings. You cite the numerous examples provided in the reading such as the Calvin and Hobbes piece and the basketball analogy, which demonstrates not only the key points of the reading, but also the ease at which it can be explained. I also really enjoy your rhetoric addressed to your department, as to how they can take advantage of these teachings, and what it will achieve for them. You really sold the reading!
To: Department of Communications
ReplyDeleteRE: Russel and Yanez
Date: 1/20/15
Dear members of the highly esteemed Communication Department,
I am writing to you on behalf of Dr. T, whom I am sure you are all familiar with. Given your already cerebral repertoire in your curriculum, we wish to urge you to expound upon it by adding Russel and Yanez’ perceptive aritcle— “‘Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians': Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education.” Because of this piece’s ability to address common issues found amongst college students, particularly those majoring in Journalism and Communications majors, it would be a highly effective article to consider introducing to your students. While the current issues pertaining to the majority of Journalism and Communications majors include their paths becoming blurred, as they are forced to learn a certain constricted manner which may lose its appeal over time, this article brings a new light to the study of journalism. Rather than question how students will “make sense of the knowledge and writing in the discipline they are being introduced to, in terms of the writing they do other courses and life activities” (Russel and Yanez), they will be urged to be mindful of the “intrinsic value to the discipline itself,” rather than simply arrive in class to fulfill a requirement with as much ease and as high of a grade point average as possible. By reading this piece, I am sure you will find that, through the study of journalism with this article as an introduction, students will be more aptly able to connect their major, even if it is not Journalism or Communications, to the rhetoric taught in journalism classes, as “knowledge and skills are not things to be transferred between individuals through a conduit but social accomplishments developed through joint activity with meditational tools. It is much easier to understand various writing perspectives, both for students and professors, once one is familiarized with “journalistic conventions,” and that is what this article will neatly put into your students’ adept hands.
Thank you for your time,
Katie Priest
Research Assistant under Dr. T
Hey Katie-
DeleteI think your inclusion of quotes provides good backup from the article, and I think the quotes you chose were very applicable and relevant to the point youre trying to make. I think you make a really good point when you talk about connecting to their major, and the rhetoric taught in the Communications department.
Overall, I think you sell the article quite well.
To: Department of Communications
ReplyDeleteRe: Russel and Yanez Article
Dear Communications Department,
The article " 'Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians': Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education" by Russel and Yanez is a piece that would have tremendous benefits in the whole communication departments curriculum. This article speaks to the idea of general education and the way in which specialists teach their courses to non specialists. In our department we often have students who take our classes only to fill requirements and therefore find the type of writing that we have them preform pointless and not transferable to other areas of study. This article shows ways in which we can use the AT and show students that writing in a specific manor even if it not associated with their interests can be applied in other areas of their lives. This article is not only important for us professors to read and understand in order to improve our teaching of writing, but also important to the students. This can show them the importance of writing across fields and how to apply the writing styles we show them in other areas of their curriculum. It is also important to show them how and why writing is different in different areas and this article does a great job in doing so. I believe this article will benefit both you and your students if you bring it into your curriculum.
Thank you for your time.
Professor's Assistant
Emma Spencer
Emma-
DeleteI think the structure of your email is very effective in getting your point across. You are concise and you include pertinent details from the article to back up your argument.
I think you effectively sold me on it!
To: Department of Communications
ReplyDeleteRe: Russell and Yanez, education overhaul
Date: 1/20/15
Dear respected colleagues of the Department of Communications,
I am writing to recommend the Russell and Yanez article “Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians” as an informative and educational reading for all professors. This article was most educational, and I believe it holds the answer to improving retention rates among our students, and not just the journalism majors, but also all majors. The article addressed the problem that students have with “general education” requirements. With most “general education” requirements, the students are required to take classes outside of their major, often not understanding why they need to take it, which helps in creating the problem of alienation. The article extensively explains why the alienation occurs. It comes down to a simple point: “the participants themselves have great difficulties in constructing a connection between the goals of their individual actions and the object and motive of their collective activity.” Thus students focused on a goal, such as being a journalist, would sometimes have difficulty in non-major classes, even if they see the course as potentially useful. The alienation and frustration that comes from this can be tiresome. I would encourage all of you to read this article and hopefully it will help you understand the different perspectives that major and non-major students have towards different writing techniques.
Thank you,
Jenna Janssen
Department of Communications, University of Denver
I believe that you were able to sell your argument very well! Pulling one "simple point" out of the entire article is very helpful to explain to the department what exactly the article is saying. I also agree with what you said about different perspectives, because as a teacher that would be something very important to focus on.
DeleteI think you do a really good job, you make it seem like the article is not only important to you and other individuals but to the department as a whole for multiple reasons and I think that is something that would resonate with people. You also talk about the students and how it will benefit them which definitely helps the argument. Over all I think your argument is really solid.
ReplyDeleteTo: Communication Department
ReplyDeleteSubject: Russell & Yanez
1/20/15
Dear Department of Communications,
I am writing to you today about an article I recently discovered that I believe will be able to improve every journalism student’s writing, no matter the course or professor, solely based on slightly altering writing style. The article, titled “Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians” is by David Russell and Arturo Yanez. The article highlights how different kinds of writings can be critical for learning and comprehending certain subjects and genres. What our curriculums need to include in order to assist students in being successful is something called Activity Theory. Essentially, it says that a subject uses certain tools to achieve a goal of some sort. However, we need to teach students that the tools given to them can be used in many different ways, such as to create different types of writing. Without using different writing strategies for different genres, students’ works will all be similar in style and technique when in reality they should not be alike. There are different points to touch on in different types of writings, as well as different goals to be achieved. Students will need to begin to focus on “when to ignore what they have learned about writing elsewhere” because different genres have a wide variety of different writing styles. Please take a moment to read the article and consider how you can use these strategies in your every day classes as well as with assignments.
Thank you for your time.
Sara Estill
Sara,
DeleteI found your email to be quite effective in selling your position to the communications department at the university. Your email was to the point and candid. You did not try to beat around the bush. Instead you states what the article was about, the problem, and what the department needed to do make progress and improvement. At the same time, your email was professional and polite as well. I particularly liked how you structured the email, starting with your objective, your proposal, what the article was about, then your argument. Your emphasis on the variety of tools and the multiple uses of those tools within writing to achieve various genres was clear and concise. I am very sure that you will get a positive response from the communications department.
Dear Mr. Nensey
ReplyDeleteI think you were very concise with your information, while still getting your point across, trying to persuade the Department of Communications. I really like how you went outside of the box, reaching out to others and not just "journalism" students.
To: Department of Communications
ReplyDeleteSubject: Curriculum Modification
Date: Jan 20th, 2015
Dear colleagues of the Communication Department,
I am writing you today on behalf of the Journalism Professor, Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith believes that the content of an article titled "Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians" by Russel and Yanez could prove to be very helpful in helping develop our communication students here at the university. Dr. Smith urges reading the article to be able to incorporate the content successfully and thoroughly as well as to understand for yourself what the article is saying. This article displays brilliant understanding of models of learning and how activity theory, genre, writing, and general education all relate, and understanding all of these elements will really help our students in the communication department succeed since learning about writing and the context of different genres of writing will help students successfully have their medium match their content. The article also includes some very interesting insight into the distinction between how students write withing their gen ed courses and their major-relevant courses in a section about context. Through the article it's easy to see how one's context is shaped based on the network that includes all things about their life, which is useful for us to teach, because effective communication is all about context. I hope you'll consider including the content of this piece in your curricula as it can have many positive effects on our department's students.
Regards,
Tresdon Jones
Research Assistant, Department of Communication
To: Communications Department
ReplyDeleteRe: Russell and Yanez Article
Date: 1/19/15
Dear Colleagues,
I have recently finished reading the Russell and Yanez piece on genre theory and activity systems, and I believe that by incorporating this piece into your curriculums you could greatly increase the retention rate of your students. As it is now many journalism students view writing as a strict system that is little deviated from, thus leaving them under the impression that writing is a “transmission model” and that “writing is a container for knowledge.” However, we as communications professors should strive to teach them more than that. Students should leave our classrooms believing that their rhetoric “can change something in our world.”
The Russell and Yanez piece will help your students break away from those tired writing molds, instead teaching them that writing will vary based on the subject at hand. The Russell and Yanez piece uses “Activity Theory” to demonstrate writing, not as a simple transmission model between Point A and Point B, but rather as complex “networks of human interactions.” This is invaluable to the developing writer as it demonstrates that you are not writing within a context, but rather that you are writing as part of the context. Thus, it allows your students to loosen up in their writing, encouraging them to write in accordance to what they are writing about, instead of the simple regurgitation of knowledge.
Your students may also benefit from the use of the “Activity System” which can identify “what makes us different, and sometimes produces conflicts, contradictions, and change.” Activity systems are able to effectively identify the aspects which makes each one of us different, our personal context so to speak. Through the linking of these activity systems you will be able to visually demonstrate to your students the links between, each other, their subjects, their writing, and themselves, and how this all plays into their own writing and their perception of the topic.
I hope that you all read the Russell and Yanez and incorporate these readings into your curriculums, for I believe that they’ll be of great benefit to your students, and to this department.
Thank you for your consideration,
Alex Hashimoto