storytelling | pedablogical

Bits Flashback for May 2

May 2, 2011 by Traci Gardner

Did you stay up late last night watching the developing news (or maybe grading papers)? If so, it’s possible “Parts of your brain could be sleeping right now,” according to a recent study.

The NIH-funded study of the brain activity in rats found that “if you deprive them of sleep (aah, sleep), parts of their brains take a nap anyway. Even though they appear awake and active, brainwave measures show that scattered groups of neurons in the cortex are nodding off on their own.” Okay, so there may be questions about the research that readers bring up in the comments, but if you need an excuse for not getting enough done today, it’s a handy study to be able to mention.

Before you head off for a nap though, head on over to Bedford Bits for classroom activities and teaching strategies, which were posted last week:

What atmosphere do you establish in class? Andrea Lunsford discusses classroom ethos in Tips for New Teachers #1: Classroom Ethos.
Do you teach reading in writing courses? Blogger Doug Downs explains that Yes, We Should Teach Reading in Writing Courses.
Nedra Reynolds discusses resources that have helped her give style center stage in the writing and rhetoric classroom in her entry, In Honor of Enargeia and Polysyndeton.
Barclay Barrios asks what you do to push through to the end of the semester—either personally or in your classes in End of Semester Boost.
High School Bits Blogger Nathan Odell talks about narrative and shares TV Tropes and the Periodic Table of Storytelling.
Traci Gardner shares ways to manage and organize links for the classroom with Paper.li in the Classroom: Alternatives and Activities.

A Few Extra Links

Paranoid? You Must Be a Grad Student according to a recent article from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Sign up for email updates about what we do for teachers and request our free professional resources today.
How would you illustrate the “Language” section of The Everyday Writer? Submit your idea in the Idea Survey.
Do Adjunct Votes Count where you teach? Inside Higher Ed discusses efforts in change the system in Massachusetts.
Take a look at resources on How to Create Accessible Documents from Profhacker for tips you can use yourself and share with students in professional communications classes.

Let us know what you want to know about teaching writing or about using digital tools in the composition classroom by leaving a comment. Your response will help shape upcoming posts.

[Photo: Day 4: Truffle sleeping on the job again (and browsing dogster.com)! by star5112, on Flickr]

Filed under Bedford Bits Tagged with reading, storytelling, style, twitter, writing

Cake! Bits Flashback for April 3

April 3, 2011 by Traci Gardner

The solution to writer’s block is cake! A round-up of Tips for Fighting Writer’s Block, from the Inside Higher Ed’s University of Venus blog, includes everything from setting rigid deadlines to sitting down for some cake and coffee.

Cake may not be the answer to every problem, but it can’t hurt to give it a try. My suggestion for curing writer’s block? Why not take a break and read one of the new entries posted on Bedford Bits last week?

Holly Pappas discusses her techniques to foster a sense of curiosity, inquiry, and wonder in Learning to Ask the Questions.
A picture might be worth a thousand words. But words paired with pictures? That’s worth even more! Andrea Lunsford discusses Words . . . and Images, and teaching graphic novels.
What role does the Writing Center play in Writing-About-Writing? Blogger Doug Downs explores how tutors contribute to the pedagogical approach in WAWriting Center.
What kind of progress students can make in one semester? Barclay Barrios shares another student paper and his comments in More Sample Work: Student Progress.
High School Bits blogger Jodi Rice asks why people read literature and what reading will look like in the digital age in Storytelling 2.0.
Where does the military get names for their operations? Reflecting on the Operation Odyssey Dawn, Traci Gardner talks about Naming and the Rhetoric of War.
Susan Naomi Bernstein reflects on classroom assignments and her own writing in Writing for the Catastrophic Moment.

A Few Extra Reminders

National Poetry Month is here, and so is the Third Annual (TYCA) National Poetry Month Celebration!
Read the top intellectual property developments of 2010 in the CCCC IP Caucus Annual. The free document can be downloaded as a Word document or PDF from the CCCC web site.
A Comic Book Lover’s Guide to Going Digital has for resources and tips you can use when discussing comic books graphic novels.
If you’re heading to CCCC, check out C’s the Day! CCCC – the Game? Level up through a series of quests, earn special prizes and titles, and more. Follow the game on Twitter: @csthedaygame.
Don’t forget to tag your Tweets with #CCCC2011 or #CCCC11 so we can follow your comments on this year’s conference online.

We’re still looking for suggestions. Tell me what you want to know about teaching writing or about using digital tools in the composition classroom by leaving a comment. Your response will help shape upcoming posts.

[Photo: Chocolate cake slice by alexanderward12, on Flickr]

Filed under Bedford Bits Tagged with assessment, CCCC11, CCCC2011, comics, graphic novels, inquiry, naming, poetry, storytelling, trauma, TYCA, war, writer's block, writing