Blogging is writing. How do teachers get students to write? Prompts.
Faced with the blank page/screen/whatsit, I face the same obstacle that my students will. If I can write anything at all, then I don't know what to write. As an art teacher, I see the same problem. If someone is sitting around doing nothing, they may think of something and draw it, but if I say, "Take this 12 x 18 piece of paper and draw something." then the immediate response is: "What should I draw? I don't know what to draw."
So, I give drawing prompts. Draw the city of the future. Combine an animal with a mechanical object. Represent the concept "The End is Near." Invariably I get a huge range of different responses, despite the fact that everyone is following the same instruction. The one thing that I have learned NOT to do is provide an example. If I do one, student work looks like mine.
Blogging ought to work the same way, both for them and for me. I found blog prompts at:
http://www.creativity-portal.com/howto/writing/writing.prompts.html
http://www.successful-blog.com/1/10-prompts-to-start-a-blog-post-when-your-screen-is-blank/
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/100-blog-topics-i-hope-you-write/
All of these are intended to break "bloggers block."
Hi Robert,
ReplyDeleteI think providing examples is a great way to set the bar for students as well as demonstrate to them visually the expectation of the assignment or task. Working with middle schoolers, I find that the use of a sample aids in their ability to develop and create their own product. In addition, it's another way to reach all types of students by allowing them to visually see what is required of the task, not just read it off the paper.
~Chrissie :)