Quote: "Classic rhetoric presents a viable model for the electronic age precisely because it was not initially designed for print--because it was developed in an age when auditory forms of communication were supreme" (Palmeri 92).
Question: Palmeri mentions that an argument for multimodal teaching stems from students' fears of "the red pen" in their graded alphabetic work. How would that fear dissipate if students turned in multimodal assignments instead of linear alphabetic ones? Wouldn't professors still correct, grade, and criticize their videos, audio clips, images, etc.?
Your question is interesting, Madeleine, and I have thought about this on my own a lot. I feel a great deal of apprehension when I turn in an alphabetic text assignment, such as an essay; however, there is a similar feeling whenever I turn in a video project, a blog post, give a presentation, etc. Obviously, criticism of written work can actually result in red pen corrections while an audio clip assignment typically yields different written feedback; however, to this point, criticism is criticism regardless of the format it is in.
ReplyDeleteMy name is not showing up on my end -- this is Jenna Morgan.
DeleteYeah, this question is similar to my concern as well. I think the only way students can really get over the fear of the "red pen" is by being assigned more frequent, but lower-risk papers. Then, they can practice and experiment with their writing without being worried about turning in a paper which will dramatically affect their overall class grade.
ReplyDeleteI can't get it to say my name at the top, so for clarity's sake, this is Aidan :)
ReplyDeleteThis was what I was thinking, too! This part of Palmeri's piece sounded too much like those people who think that there is no discipline (in the arts) subject to critique -- basically, that we're all just free-styling and our work is soooo artistic that anyone who critiques it just "doesn't get it."
I certainly don't have the answers, but I think getting away from the "fear of the red pen" is partly the responsibility of the person holding it, or whoever is critiquing any work in question. There is a sensitivity that red-pen holders, in most cases, should adopt to both educate and encourage students. However, in regards to the extent to which that sensitivity should extend, I am not sure.
Taylor Ferd talking!
ReplyDeleteI think your question makes a good point. I feel like in my experience with multimodal projects, professors/teachers never really seem to make corrections or comments, and the projects are typically seen as "easy As" because they are so hard to grade objectively. We seem to still be at a point where we applaud students just for doing the multimodal project itself because it can seem like more effort, be more time consuming, or have a greater element of creativity than essays. I think it is a bit of problem and that those projects should be graded just as harshly as essays, but that's hard to do without there being a very clear rubric.
I have this concern as well with the ability to grade work that is not alphabetic. Already I feel as though alphabetic work is evaluated somewhat subjectively and I think that it may be even worse with the use of other mediums. I also think there has to be thought about how much time and effort is put into the assignments which would probably part of the criteria in grading such assignments.
ReplyDeleteStill, I feel as though it is easier to measure effort and interest in a purely alphabetic form (i.e. number of sources cited and pages written). However, like Taylor commented, we do "applaud students just for doing the project" probably because these projects are so hard to do when we were never trained or taught to do so.
I love this question! I personally have received papers covered in red ink and there is an overwhelming feeling of panic upon getting back a piece of work. This is mostly because writing is such a vulnerable process and it is often a reflection of who you are as a person. I feel the fear would still be present. Multi-modal projects still reflect a presenters thoughts, ideas and often emotions so that fear will not dissipate. However, I would say that grading videos, audio clips and images may be more difficult in terms of consistency. This is due in part to the fact that essays have been around longer than power point presentations have so the grading scales have had more time to develop. With a video, the rubrics will need to develop also.
ReplyDeleteIn response to your question, I believe professors would still critique and grade the multimodal assignments however, they would be graded on a rubric instead of on the work itself. This design in grading might make the critiques less personal and more objective as the professors are not crossing out writing on the page directly but rather, pinpointing aspects of the assignment that may need work; this could eliminate the fear of the "red pen".
ReplyDelete-Alexandra Cotroneo