In about 300-500 words response to the following prompt:
Imagine you are a research assistant to a high profile professor at a R1 institute--he is a journalism professor. He has asked you to compose an email that addresses the entire communication department asking them to read 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. Your job, in this email, is to accurately portray why the Russell and Yanez piece should even be considered--so you are not summarizing the piece--you are including in the email the reasoning behind the professor's thinking. You'll need to include specific details about the article because essentially you attempting to persuade the department's thinking.
The post should be done using the genre conventions of an email.
You are, in many ways, attempting to put into practice what you read in this piece. So even though I'm not asking you to summarize the piece, I should still be able to clearly be able to see that you read the piece.
Due: Tuesday, April 2, 2012 by class time.
I would like to send out a formal request for all the professors of MWU to read an article called “'Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians': Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education” by David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez. I have recently found from my students that the journalism students would benefit greatly from understanding how to address different genres and learning how to write in new disciplinary studies. This technique is addressed through the Cultural Historical Activity Theory which focuses on the psychological thought of cultural psychology. It has been found that students benefit greatly when using a set of tools when regarding their writing techniques and also their careers. Learning how to write in different genres besides that of a journalistic setting should reduce the issue of a psychological double bind that many journalism students find themselves in in other classes. A blinded perception of how writing should occur is found because many students only apply certain skills that were learned in their past. Linked Activity Systems explain a student’s thought process when apply their knowledge to certain classes and writing. Unfortunately two different perceptions can occur because a new system is created and requires different skills that do not tend to the student’s own goals in their careers/mind. Journalism students do have a good grasp on how to write for their own genres and how to create a solid written piece, but unfortunately the application of this to other classes and genres is creating the psychological double bind; which leads to a failure to succeed using these methods. I would encourage your students to read this article and consider the different genres and goals that are applied in other subject areas.
ReplyDeleteTo whom it may concern:
ReplyDeleteAs a research assistant, I am encouraging the entire communication department to read the article “Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education” by David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez. It is my hope that after reading this article it will be included in your curriculum because the article can improve the retention rate of journalism students and help them in their careers to be better writers as well. On the surface, I think the article does an exemplary job exploring the contradiction of specialized discourses in activities that include non-specialists. This applies directly to ‘general’ education and is a concern, as educators, you should all be aware of. Often times, specialized discourse and genres in undergraduate education alienate the student because they are trying to meet their ‘general’ education requirements; therefore, the student’s goal is not to become specialized in all the discourses they are taking. This contradiction hinders students from further developing their writing skills from what they have learned in the past, and does not allow for growth in the genre or discourse they actually want to specialize in. The article also presents several genre theories which are pertinent to journalism and communication students. For instance, the Activity Theory (AT) perceives learning and communication as a social activity in which people work together and combine ideas in order to alter the object of the activity. Writing is the tool that can be used to mediate this change. As a result, writing can be used to facilitate critical thinking skills and fulfill future career expectations. Alisa is another research assistant who has read this article and defends its credibility in the realm of the communication department. Alisa and I both agree that it is critical for students to learn how to effectively write in genres extending beyond the discourse of journalism because being able to write for multiple genres allows students to gain a set of well-rounded writing skills and reduce the impact of what Alisa calls a “psychological double bind” when they write for other classes. If your journalism and communication students read this article they will be able to understand the importance of writing outside of their discipline, and use this knowledge to draw on a variety of skills when writing. This technique will make them feel less alienated and limited in their writing. Dialectical contradiction is another topic discussed in the article which illustrates the significance of possessing the ability to write for many genres. Dialectical contradiction is a concept that essentially states that human activity is contradictory. However, through the contradictions, we have the ability and potential to change. Such potential can be revealed through writing for various genres. Journalism and communication students are efficient writers in journalism and communication courses. This is great, but in order for them to be successful journalists, they must be adequate writers in multiple disciplines. The article offers this adequacy.
Thank you,
Alison Heidt
Research Assistant
After reading “Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education” by David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez.I am encouraging the entire communication department to read the article, study its arguments and analyses and think about utilizing the information mentioned in the piece in your respective classrooms. Being a research assistant, I found this article extremely helpful and applicable to the staff of the journalism school and it is my hope that you will consider adopting and entwining Russell’s and Yañez’s analysis into your respective curriculum.
ReplyDeleteThe main reason I’m pushing to have this article acknowledged and implemented is because of its direct impact that its theories could have on the retention rate of students in the journalism school, as well as its ability to improve the writing skills of your students across all genres of work.
In short, Russell and Yañez comment on the Cultural Historical Activity Theory (AT for short) which focuses on the cultural psychology of learning and discuss how it can be utilized to combat a growing and established alienation of students regarding learning in “general” education courses. The authors argue that writing is the medium to effectively illustrate this change and provide for a more well-rounded education. They establish and argue a classroom/learning environment that incorporates shared meaning between students and a developing of skills and writing techniques through the use of tools, cooperation, participatory discussion and the in utilization of real-life examples.
The article also focuses on fixing the alienation created in “general” education writing assignments by encouraging writing in multiple genres, not just career-specific genres. In order to develop a broader understanding of communication and the ability to write intelligently about a wide array of topics in multiple formats, the authors stress combating the entrenched notion of dialectical contradiction in today’s classrooms by actively avoiding “specialized” assignments in “non-specialized” environments. To my knowledge, the authors are calling for a change in instruction to help change the “object” of activities. This, in theory, will ease the alienation between specialized classrooms and non-specialized students.
Not only will this article, if utilized in your classrooms, effectively improve your students’ abilities to analyze, synthesize and write more effectively on a wide variety of topics and in different formats (a skill crucial for journalism majors), it will also lay the seeds for a more friendly and discussion-driven classroom filled with student input and cooperation. Please consider incorporating the article.
Sincerely,
Jacob Bockhorst – Research Assistant
Dear the Communication Department,
ReplyDeleteI just read the article called “ ‘Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians’: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education” by David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez. I strongly suggest you read this article and add it to your curriculum. I believe that this article will add to your journalism program and make your students better writers. By providing these classes it will help create a broader since of knowledge to not only writing but their personal lives as well. Change is always good in writing and I think these new ideas will only benefit the students. Activity theory is a way to see change in students as they are learning new material. This technique has activity networks inside of this theory. These activity networks consist of tools and they have people engaging with each other. This helps writing because it can make new ideas and also expand on your own ideas. While creating new ideas this could create a whole new genre. This will also help on expanding on your wiring and making it say what you really want it to. Figure 3 on page 8 shows how all tools, object/motive, division of labor, community, rules/norms, and subject. This is a great figure to look at because it shows all of the connections. When people can link ideas together it makes the mind think more and lets your imagination expand. This makes it so students can connect and produce new idea by their old knowledge. When students started making contradictions “… and with the wider contradictions that the division of expert/lay labor in the wider culture creates and maintains.” In writing their needs to be contradictions and arguments to make the writing more appealing. It also proves your argument in your paper by showing both sides. By all of those reasons I strongly suggest that students read this article and this article is a part of the new curriculum.
Hello my name is Hyeju Baek. I am a research assistant at this university. The professor I work for believes that the article “Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education” by David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez has helpful ideas of writing and would like to recommend that the entire communication department read it. This article brings a theory of writing to teach to students. The way of teaching it supports is synthesizing different genres of writing and how to utilize the way of writing by expanding on what is learned.
ReplyDeleteThe main focus of this article is on a student named Beth. Beth is relatable to other students because she is an undergraduate student herself. She has a specific major, Journalism, which conflicted with other writing classes that require a different type of writing. They focused on her because she seemed to be the student who obtained both of her goals that were contradictory. She wanted an A, but also not give up on her type of writing, which focused on Journalism. She was able to utilize the new writing skills she had learned in her history class and incorporate it with her known skills from journalism and prior high school knowledge and vice versa. A possible problem from following different subject’s style of writing, the “new ways of getting involved with others, new ways of living, new identities, as students come to read and write similarly to some and differently than others, expanding their involvement with some activity systems and perhaps restricting their involvement with others.” (Russel & Yañez) This proves that the idea, “Good writing is the same no matter the discipline" (Russel &Yañez) Later the students realized that this saying was not true and had difficulty adjusting to the genre of writing the professor was asking for. The solution that the article service is to help students synthesize what they learn and had learned. Beth success proves that this type of writing is possible. Please consider this article. Thank you for your time.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMy name is James Flanagin and I am writing on the behalf of my professor to inform the entire department of a valuable asset that should be implemented in each one of our classrooms. The asset that I am talking about is “Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians': Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education,” a book written by David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez. Most students at most universities are thrown into a world of generalized courses. This forces students to take classes that they may have little interest in order to achieve some sort of credit quota. Yañez and Russell have shown us what happens in the beginning of these courses. They give examples of students discussing an Irish History course. At the beginning they feel alienated as most students do when thrown into this kind of specialization, as it seems so alien to them. They say, things like "It's just memorization. You can't apply it to other parts of your life. It was a waste of time, useless, just busy work, a painful chore." (Russel/Yañez) You would be hard pressed to find a single student in any of your classes that hasn’t at one time or another had these thoughts about a class they are enrolled in. The major problem we see here stems from the fact that “writing is so varied, it is hard to study (and teach). It tends to disappear into the activity it mediates.” (Russel/Yañez) In essence, what they are trying to express is that there is value in each specialized genre of writing however; the meaning becomes lost within the subject matter. If we can find a way to focus more on the way students can improve themselves as writers instead of intimidating the students with highly specific material we can improve our journalism program.
With all these things considered we cannot forget that the student’s autonomous desire to learn must be as highly stressed. This can be achieved through their perception of courses, as well as their openness to the subject matter. I think all of this can be achieved through an analytic read of Yañez and Russell’s book.
Cordially,
Jim Flanagin
To the Communication Department-
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article titled, “Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education” by David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez, I believe it would be an important addition to the student curriculum. This article allows students to gain a greater perspective on their writing and go beyond the alienation they feel in the classroom and embrace their subjectivity as writers. This article also helps clarify the different roles in the classroom through activity theory and helps show the development of students in the classroom. In Figure 3, the different activity modes are laid out. These include: tools, subject(s), Object/motive leading to outcome, Rules/norms, community, and division of labor. These modes help students in the classroom form their opinions and create dialogue with one another to contest their opinions. This outline the whole point of the activity system, which is to have students become more active and take sides and form arguments on different topics. By forming opinions and contradictions, this allows for students to have more substantial and profound writing. Conversely, for example in the article, Betty’s contradiction lead to alienation; “This contradiction, he says, produces alienation, as in many other activity systems in capitalist societies.”
This article clearly poses good arguments and backs up their information. Journalism and communication students must write daily and probably have come across dialectical contradictions meaning that they must implore writing for many genres. Journalism students who choose to write news stories must understand that human nature is a double-sided coin. The actions that human’s implore most of the time contradicts themselves, but on the other side of the coin, human’s have the ability to change and thus the journalists will be writing for different genres. They must take the information about activity and genre systems and allow that to help them work through their fields in writing. This article allows its readers to expand their knowledge of writing and genres, learn how to become involved with others in discourse, and outlines how to give stability through genre to human interactions mediated by writing.
I hope that the communication department seriously considers adding Russell and Yañez's article because of its profound points and important information on writing.
Thank you for your time and consideration-
Sincerely,
Taryn Kaufman
Research Assistant to a high profile professor
To Whom It May Concern:
ReplyDeleteI am writing on behalf of my professor to encourage you, as stewards of the Communications Department, to consider the inclusion of the article titled “Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education” by David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez in your curriculum.
The article supports the ending of a current means of teaching, the method of Transmission. As a basketball is dunked into a hoop, information in Transmission is simply passed from one point of interest to another. Professors lecture on a particular topic, students listen and absorb the information. Professors assign a particular topic, students write a paper on it, based upon their prior knowledge and understanding. The authors argue that this is simply not an effective means of education. Students in transmission often feel sentiments of alienation, and being unable to produce highly specific material.
As an alternative, the Activity Theory method "view communication and learning as social in origin, and human activity as collective. . . humans (subjects) act together with others humans and material tools to change something in our world, the object of our activity". The activity model allows us to view the world in a different, broader light. This concept of higher-order learning is unlike transmission because it emphasizes the use of tools, such as writing, to give students a greater understanding of what the material means overall. Through "systems of social activity", students learn how to express themselves in multiple genres, a skill that is imperative to the graduating journalism and communication students in our department.
The adoption of Activity Theory will allow students to become more competent readers and writers, as they are challenged to express themselves in a variety of ways to ensure they truly understand the material that they are presented with. The usual practice of utilizing highly specific material - syllabuses and the likes, particularly for writing assignments, is not allowing students to express themselves to their full potential. Being able to adapt but having free reign on assignments of varying purpose will allow students to learn to write and communicate in new ways.
I would highly encourage your consideration in the adoption of this piece in your own curriculum and in your own teaching methodology. It is our responsibility as faculty to provide a learning experience which will truly benefit our students upon their graduation, and this is a truly exceptional way of doing so.
Thank you for you time,
Alise Bailey
Research Assistant
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteAs a research assistant I try to help you to become better writers. My job is to provide you tools that will help you to benefit as well as to improve your writing techniques. I would like to share with you an article called “Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of Genera Education” by David R. Russell and Arturo Yanez. I strongly encourage the entire communication department to read it and to employ information that this piece of writing provides.
World supplies us with extraordinary chance to gain knowledge, and to improve our language skills. There is so much that it has to offer us in terms of writing that is full of contradictions which are exemplified in how people write. Communications is one of the key terms in understanding it. In the article Yanez and Russell focused on an example of a student named Beth. She struggled throughout the course, however she didn’t give up. She learned to maintain a relationship with her teacher who helped her by taking an Irish History to become a better journalist. Differences about writing styles led to conflicts between Beth and her professor. However the course allowed her to look at context of situation instead of just motive. She concluded that communication determined by the rhetorical situation shows us how limiting genre, which is usually made up by characteristics of participants, can be. Beth had to give up her individual writing style that she was comfortable with to learn new ways of writing. They showed her differences in motives of writing. Everyone has own, particular, comfortable style of writing. When someone tells us to write in a new to us technique we usually consider it as a waste of time, like Beth did. She had problems with getting out of her comfort zone as well as with opening up for something not only different, but also beneficial. Throughout the class she acquainted an ability to appraise news sources critically that will help her later in her career with writing news stories. Relation she had with the professor helped her to see genre pathways for mounting them into other places like journalism in Beth case. The theory that Yanez and Russell proposed explains that communication leads to knowledge, which can always go beyond as long as we will learn how to make the most of it.
I greatly urge the Department of Communication to include this article to current curriculum. I can assure you that it will precede many valuable discussions about journalism.
Sincerely,
Research Assistant
To whom it may concern,
ReplyDeleteWhile making the new curriculum for the year, we highly encourage the communications department to read and take into account David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez’s article “’Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians’: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education.” Often, students struggle with translating their knowledge of writing to different genres. They get stuck in their ways, and are unable to adapt in order to do well. This can pose an issue, as it is important that students learn and grow. Through employing something called activity theory, teacher’s can show their students how to do this. Activity theory involves the process of creating new methods and knowledge. Through looking deeply into why something is a certain way, it is possible to better adapt to write about it. Genres across classes and professions all have different characteristics and requirements. It is often difficult to learn how to adapt to new qualifications if you are stuck in a certain way. Activity theory changes this. It teaches students to look beyond what they already know in order to adapt to new things. Through incorporating this article into your curriculum, you will be able to teach students how to take on new styles. Learning that some genres require you to completely throw out all prior knowledge can be essential to learning how to adapt in the future. Russell and Yañez do a great job at explaining this. Students will encounter this in all future aspects of life, and teaching them about it now can help make them as successful as possible.
More specifically, the article focuses on the fact that writing is about learning and participating in new ways. It states that there is often much contradiction within the way students think when they learn of a new convention and genre. It is important to get out of these contradictions in order to better learn.
I believe that this is absolutely essential. Please take this article into consideration, for it has the great potential to see new point of views.
Thank you,
Carissa Land
Research Assistant
To Whom It May Concern:
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article, “'Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians': Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education” by David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez, I strongly recommend that the Department of Communication takes the time to read this article. Having read the article, it is clear to me that students will benefit both in the classroom and in their careers if the techniques discussed in the article are applied to their education. As students choose classes to be enrolled in, they look at specific classes that will help to fulfill their common curriculum requirements. However, many of these requirements do not pertain to ones major, or interests. In an effort to make these requirements serve a purpose that benefits the student’s long-term goals, the Cultural Historical Activity Theory has been created. Through the application of this theory, it has been seen to increase students retention rate and help them in their careers. Instead of simply using education as a bridge between communication and learning, AT (Activity Theory) uses education to provide students with tools they can then use in other areas of their lives. As a research assistant to a journalism professor, I find this new way of looking at education to be both important and interesting. As I have spoken to journalism students and have read their papers, I have learned that they base their writing off of their past experiences and interests. This often restricts their writing and inhibits them from going beyond what they believe to be their limits. However, with the use of AT, students will learn to write in different genres and expand upon their ideas. In their common curriculum classes, teachers will provide their students with the information to be able to write in the genre that pertains to the class. Students will then be able to take the tools they learn in these general classes and apply them to their own journalism writing and in their careers.
I truly believe that this concept will prove to be vital to the student’s success as they graduate and begin their careers. I strongly advise you to look into the article and theory so that the department can apply the Cultural Historical Activity Theory to the Universities curriculum. The application of this theory will help students to become well-rounded individuals and will help them to excel in and out of the classroom. I hope you take the time to consider this article and theory.
Thank you for your time,
Sarah Fischer
Research Assistant
It is with great pleasure that I urge the entire Communication Department to add a reading to their curriculum on behalf of Professor John Doe. After reading this article, Professor John Doe and I strongly encourage reading the “’Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians’: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education” by David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez. It is believed that this reading could tremendously improve the lives of students simply by understanding the basic principles of writing throughout general education courses. As Professor John Doe’s research assistant, I have also found this reading extremely useful in my own life after developing a better understanding through analysis of the Activity Theory. This theory that perceives learning as a simple human activity creates a clearer, but not concrete understanding of how a ‘subject’ or person could utilize the ‘tools’ such as writing in order to arrive at the ‘object’ or purpose of the activity. The authors plainly state that this Activity Theory is not a “neat way to predict outcomes, but rather offers tentative explanations” (David R. Russell and Arturo Yañez). Although there are many different angles on learning, Russell and Yañez have effectively described this idea that learning develops the context and writing is a way to provide the context in a way that everyone is able to analyze. This change in thought has provoked Professor John Doe to analyze the situation at this University. He has indeed become fond of this new way of thinking and analyzing the mere idea of learning and teaching. Throughout this reading, the authors suggest the importance of adapting to different types of writing and understanding the differences between them. Professor John Doe agrees that the only way to succeed is to employ knowledge gained by every class, including that knowledge that derives from general education courses. Rather than a student attending a course solely to fulfill a ‘requirement’, the Professor feels that the students at this University should embrace every class. This article assists with a new understanding and analysis of learning and teaching. Furthermore, Professor John Doe has requested I write this email in regards to the new upcoming curriculum and has urged every Professor to include at least the reading and analysis as a part of the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteThank You,
Monica Carrillo-Lovato-Segura
Research Assistant
To Whom It May Concern:
ReplyDeleteAs research assistant at our institute, I strive to help create a teaching curriculum that is accessible and useful to all students. In order to create a more productive and beneficial Journalism program, I suggest the addition of Russell and Yanez's article, "Big Picture People Rarely Become Historians: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education."
University students are required to take general education requirements. Oftentimes, students find many of these courses seemingly meaningless if they do not pertain to their major. However, it is necessary for them to understand the necessity of writing in all genres, not just journalism. Additionally, it is not the same to write as a journalist than it is as a historian. There are various ways of writing, and it is important to have experience in more than one.
The article explores how students can further their skills as writers and lessen their alienation by embracing different writing methods. The Activity Theory describes writing as a mediation, a way to share knowledge. Most teachers use the transmission model, where the knowledge is transferred simply between individuals. However, humans are social beings and the Activity Theory uses this concept. Activity Theory argues that we use tools, such as writing, to change something in our world. Writing actively shapes our thinking and activity together.
As a result, this article will help students become more diligent in learning different types of writing. Therefore, I urge the staff to not only read this article, but also to include it in the curriculum.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Joie Ha
Research Assistant
To Whom It May Concern:
ReplyDeleteI’m writing on the behalf of Professor Smith. He encourages you all to read this article entitled “Big Picture People Rarely become Historians: Genre Systems and the Contradictions of General Education” by David R. Russsell and Arturo Yanez.
It is a brilliant article that depicts how students can benefit from required classes that can be deemed tedious students’ eyes. As it is widely known our university requires our students to take a set of general required classes. These classes may not peek a student interest so therefore cause the student to dread and think it unimportant. According to this article, this feeling of dread towards required classes can be change if the proper steps are taken.
I believe we must make an effort to bridge the alienation between required classes and major related classes. Showing students that writing in different genres is beneficial can do this. By not just writing in major-specific genres one can develop a broader understandings of writing and develop different way to communicate. This article contains effective information that will improve your students writing skills immensely. They will be able to analyze and write more efficiently on a wide array of topics if they are able to branch out and reach these different formats of writing.
As journalism majors, our students should be very open-minded. By learning to write in a different style, perhaps our student can be more evenly prepared for their careers outside of the classroom, where they will come face to face with many different styles and perspectives in writing.
I know that not all of you may agree but please consider incorporating the article’s teachings within your curriculums. I believe it will prepare students for their majors even though the class may not directly related with the student’s choice.
Sincerely,
Sam Corea
Research Assistant