Over the course of this semester, you will write 7 informal blog posts on your own educational blog (via WordPress.com). “Informal” in this context means that each post should be thoughtful and reflect your careful consideration of the week’s readings; yet, it is perfectly acceptable to pose ideas or ask questions that are unresolved and to make personal connections with the readings. As you write each post, you should respond to at least one of the weekly questions written in the course schedule. It is encouraged that you address both Tuesday’s and Thursday’s readings in your posts. As such I recommend having all weekly readings completed by Monday night.
Your weekly writing has two parts.
1) Blog post [to be posted by Tuesday @ 9:00AM].In your weekly post, you should seek to articulate how the readings affirm, challenge, or extend your thinking. You should strive to articulate well-reasoned claims and you should strive to avoid simply stating opinions or preferences that are not supported by course readings or education research more broadly.
2) Comment on a classmate’s blog post [to be posted by Thursday @ 9:00AM]. In addition to posting a reflection, you should also substantively respond to the blog post of a fellow classmate in your writing group. Substantive response includes drawing new connections about the posts of others, raising questions about the claims, evidence, and reasoning of others, and striving to generate “class-level” understandings based on the contributions of multiple people. The best online conversations are those that invite and celebrate divergent ways of thinking, so you should seek to “carry the ball” somewhere new when you pick it up. When drawing from the ideas of others, its good practice to acknowledge their contribution to your thinking.
All initial posts will be due by the day before Tuesday class meetings (Tuesday 9:00AM). All responses will be due the day before Thursday class meetings (Thursday 9:00AM). Most of your posts and responses will be graded for completion (credit/no credit), but you should consider the rubric below as a helpful measure for the quality of your writing.
Keep in mind that your blog is a reflection of your professional persona. Your intended-audience ought to extend beyond our classroom context to include the writers listed in this syllabus. As such, you are encouraged to take responsibility to ensure that all posts on your blog (graded or not) reflect your best work. Specifically, take care that your writing is coherent and error-free, respectful of diverse perspectives, and reflective of academic rigor and emerging expertise. Also, if you wish to draw on your field experience in your writing, be especially careful to protect the confidentiality of partnering schools, teachers and students by omitting all identifying information (names and locations). You are encouraged to edit and revise posts even after you’ve posted them.
Estimated length per post: 250-500 words (1-2 double-spaced pages)
Total possible points per week: 10
Blog Post Rubric:
| Meets (5 pts) | Approaching (2 pts) | Needs improvement (0 points) | |
| Quality of blog post | Initial post includes well-reasoned claims based in course readings. It is evident that the writer is carefully reading and synthesizing important ideas. | Initial post is focused on ideas of course readings. It appears that the writer has not read as carefully because the post mostly summarizes content, it leans too heavily on direct quotations, and/or it does not refer to all of the readings assigned that week. | Initial post does not engage with ideas from weekly readings or post is not completed on time. |
| Quality of engagement with classmates | Student substantively and directly engages with the ideas, questions, or reflections of classmates. | Student refers to a classmate’s post. However, the interaction is not substantive. | Student does not engage with the ideas, questions, or reflections of classmates. |
Content Area Reading 2019 