Reflective Writing 8_Rethink the Value of English and Writing Studies

Rethink the Value of English and Writing Studies

After ireading iLara iSmith-Sitton ias iwell ias iShannan iRivera's ifield ireport, iI icomprehend ithat ithe igoal iof ithis istudy iis ito ihelp istudents iunderstand ihow iEnglish iand iwriting istudies ican iprepare ithem ifor ia ivariety iof idifferent iemployment iopportunities ior icareers iby iusing ia ipedagogical iapproach ito iEnglish iwriting istudies. iThis iEnglish iresearch ijournal iwas iundertaken iby iEnglish idepartments iaround ithe iUnited iStates iand iwas iled iby ia ifaculty imember iin ithe iprofessional iwriting iprogram iand ian iadvanced igraduate iresearch iassistant. iThen, ias ian iessential inotion ifor ithis iproject ito ijust ibe icollaborative ilearning iand irevelation, ithis iresearch iemploys icritical ithinking.

However, ione iprimary igoal iof ithis istudy iwas ito igather iessential idata ito ilay ithe igroundwork ifor ithis iendeavor. iWe ineed ito ifigure iout iwhat idrew ius ito iEnglish istudies iin ithe ifirst iplace. iTo idevelop ia ideductive iargument, i5W+1H iis iused ito icollect idata. iFor iexample, iaccording ito ithe i'It iTakes iMore iThan ia iMajor: iEmployer iPriorities ifor iCollege iLearning iand iStudent iSuccess' ireport ipublished iby ithe iAmerican iAssociation iof iColleges iand iUniversities. iAs ia iconsequence, i93 ipercent iof irespondents iagree, iand imore ithan ithree-quarters iof iemployers isay ithey iwant iinstitutions ito ifocus imore ion ihelping istudents iacquire ifive iessential ilearning ioutcomes, isuch ias iwritten iand ispoken icommunication i(Hart, 2013). iThese iquantitative iand iqualitative ievidence ican iback iup iyour iclaim ithat iEnglish iand iwriting istudies ican iassist istudents iimprove itheir iabilities.

The isecond ipoint iof ithis iresearch iwas ithe irole iof ireflection iin ishaping iresearch iquestions. iThis imethod ientails ideveloping ia iclaim ibased ion iyour iexperiences, ithat imight igive iyou iwith iwide iinsights iwhile ialso iallowing iyou ito ianalyze iyour icritical ithinking iand ipedagogical ipractices. iYou ican istart iby itelling itales iwhich iconnect iwith iyour iEnglish iand iwriting istudies, iafter iwhich iyou ican iarticulate iyour iviews ilogically iand iattract ian iaudience, iwhich iare iabilities ithat ispeak ifor ithemselves. iAs iwith ithe iprevious ipoint, iyou ican iemploy i5W+1H iin ithis isecond ipoint ias iwell. iAs ia iresult, iit iwill iassist iyou iin ideveloping iyour icognitive ithinking.

The ithird ipoint iis iintersections iof icritical ithinking iand icritical ipedagogy. iFor iobtain iconclusions, icritical ithinking iis iused ifor ithe ianalysis iof ifacts iand idata. iBy ipursuing iEnglish idegrees ion iacademic ipathways ithat iwould ihelp ithem iachieve itheir iprofessional iobjectives iand ipossibilities. iBecause ithe ionly ithing ithat icould ipersuade ithem ito ialter itheir iminds iwas ithe ibelief iin itheir iability, italents, iand ipassion ias ia istudent. iWhen ithey iwere iorganically idriven ito iexplore itheir ialternatives iusing iknowledge iand ifacts ithat iobtained, ithey ihad icritical ithinking iabout itheir iacademic iand icareer ipaths. iIn iother iwords, ipeople ican ibe imotivated iif ithe iculture iand isociety ivoices iin itheir ienvironment iwarn ithem iabout ithe ipossibility iof ibecoming iunemployed. iThen, ithrough iautoethnographic ireflection, ithey imay iassess ithe ieducators iin iorder ito icommunicate ithe iworth iand ineed ifor iEnglish imajors iwho ido inot ifocus ion iconvincing ipupils iand iinstead iallow istudents ito idiscuss itheir iworries iand iexpectations iabout itheir iprofessional iaims iwith ius.

For iefforts ito ieducate istudents iabout icareers iand iprofessional iprospects, icritical ipedagogy imay iappear inonsensical. iBecause iself-efficacy iis ilinked ito iwhat ipupils ineeded ias ilearners, iwe imust iendeavor ito ipersuade istudents iof ithe ivalidity iof icertain ilearning igains. iBetween iacademic iand iprofessional igoals, icritical ithinking imethods iare ia ibetter iway ithan imerely iproviding ifacts iand iasking istudents ito iaccept iwhat iwe ihave idiscovered iand ibelieve iis isignificant. iThis irelates ito ia ikey icomponent iof iPeckham's iconcept iof icritical ithinking, iwhich iemphasizes iallowing ipupils ito idevelop itheir iown idiscoveries ifrom irelevant idata. iWe iare inot ijust ito iimpart iinformation iand isupport istructures ifor iintellectual idiscoveries iin icritical ipedagogy, ibut ialso ito ilearn ifrom ias iwell ias ivalidate iour istudents' iknowledge. iSo ithat iwe ican ibetter icommunicate ithe irelevance iof iwriting iand iEnglish istudies idegree iprograms iwhen icritical ithinking iand ipedagogy iare iincorporated.

The ifinal ipoint ifocuses ion iproject idevelopment iand ithe ifuture. iMaking ia ilarge igroup idiscussion ihighlighting ikey idata ifrom icurrent iresearch iabout iwhat iemployers iwant iwith ifocus ion iwriting iand iEnglish istudies icourses, imaking ismall igroup iconversations ifor istudents ito idiscuss ispecific icareer ipaths, imaking ismall igroup iinteractions iwith ia ifacilitator iabout iwriting, iand imaking ilarge igroup ipresentation ito ishare iknowledge iand iask iquestions.