diy and developmental writing

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DIY and Developmental WritingConference on Basic Writing Listserv 19-22 April 2011

MESSAGE #1

Hello!

I have enjoyed lurking on this list for some time. Now, I am asking for your feedback.

I am working on material for a developmental writing class that I will be teaching in thefall and I am considering using DIY as a theme. Have any of you done this? I amthinking of using the book Making Stuff and Doing Things: A Collection of DIY Guidesto Doing Just About Everything as a text.(http://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/1400/)

We'd read the text, make some of the stuff in the book, write about making stuff, researchwhat people are making in the nearby area, and, in the end create our own DIY guide.The students are at a school devoted to environmentalism in an area with many local

artists and craftspeople.

So, I am interested in your thoughts, suggestions, concerns....

Thanks!

MESSAGE #2:

So much literacy, historically, has been DIY particularly for disadvantaged groups.What a great theme!

MESSAGE #3:

I've used this type of approach with good success. For example, topics might include"How to Tie a Shoe" or "How to Ride a Horse," etc. Some of the results that studentscreate are very imaginative and funny and they enjoy the creative process. I think writingabout enivronmental or artistic projects would help to really bring the focus into evensharper perspective and guide the students. Let us know how it works!

MESSAGE #4

i've done a similar course a number of times -- i think it's important to get beyond thehow to kinds of writing to the true ethic if that's the right word of diy -- which is how tobe self empowered, self sufficient and build community -- so we've talked about whatmight be examples of it in our area after i've modeled some examples like 924 gilman,indy media

then we've come up with larger writing projects like diy guide to our city...

diy zines (brought in a zinester to discuss her approach)diy media like pirate radio, community access..


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so many options

that book is good and it does support an independent publisher

i'd love to see the syllabus once you set it up..

MESSAGE #5:

Wow! I adore this! The DIY City Guide (smart!) and DIY as theme in BW! Howgenerative that could be/clearly is.

Sounds like PERFECT for CCCC 2012, too, especially if couched in something like whatJody Shipka does/argues (her book just out) or Geoffry Sirc (English Composition as aHappening). At least it seems to me--

DIY! How inspiring!

MESSAGE #6:

What a nifty idea! I've already ordered the book. (Thanks for the link.) The price, BTW,is sold on a sliding scale from $12 to $15, allowing the customer to pay what s/he canafford. The site also ties into Paypal.

And would you believe that my publisher thinks "the process essay" or any of itsiterations is no longer assigned.

Fun lies ahead . . .

MESSAGE #7:

What does your publisher thinks replaces "the process essay"? A different "process"genre or just "no process"?

MESSAGE #8:A writing assignment that involves giving instructions or explaining howsomething is done is a wonderful assignment. It is undeniably usefulwriting. It can be adapted to students at all levels of writingdevelopment. It can range from a numbered list of precise instructionswritten as commands to a delightful literary essay (my daughter justwrote a dandy a few weeks ago about making maple syrup). At whateverlevel, successfully completing such an assignment requires the writer tohave a clear understanding of what he or she is writing about (there isno way to BS). The writer has to master specific concepts and specificvocabularies. The writer clearly has to have a sense of how much thereader already knows. Instructions can be tested immediately on realreaders. It requires careful word choice and syntactic precision. It'sfun to do, and there are all kinds of preparatory social exercises thatcan make the demands of the assignment clear in hilarious ways. It can


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be used to help students understand the strategic use of diagrams anddrawings and how they interact with text. There are good and badexamples everywhere. Features of this kind of writing can be introducedinto other kinds--say, an argument about the best way to do X. Arhetorical treasure trove in a credible real world context.

MESSAGE #9:

Im mostly a lurker too, but I had an idea regarding your theme. Maybe at the end of thesemester, you could ask the students to work together to make a Xs Basic Writing ClassUsers Manual for your next semesters class. The students could brainstorm what sortof information a student new to your class would need to know and could divide up thework load to get different portions of it written. They could include advice they haveabout what to make or what they learned from trying to make something that didnt quitework out. It could be a way to sneak in some reflective writing and also show thestudents how much theyve learned, as well as show them that writing something is alsomaking something.

Good luck with the course!,

MESSAGE #10:

Hi All,

I'm new to the list, but I wanted to jump in on this one. One thing that has been successfulfor me is turning pre-writing/reflection assignments into DIY assignments. For instance, Iask students to research (using their textbook and the Internet), the genre that I am askingthem to write in, an informative essay, for instance. Then, they must write a DIYguide/"All About" article on that genre. (I've done some articles for Demand Studios, so I

generally point them to these as an example.) I encourage them to include not only basicfeatures, but also common challenges a writer faces when composing in this genre andmethods for overcoming these challenges. After the students complete the informativeessay, I ask them to go back and revise these guides as a means of reflection. I then postthem for next semester's class to see. I allow them to complete these assignments ingroups. When they revise their articles, it is clear what they have internalized from goingthrough the process on their own.

Do you think this could be a beneficial assignment in the course/themes you areconsidering? Any concerns?

MESSAGE #12:

so i like all these ideas but a word of caution -- the reason why for me incorporating thediy ethic into my basic skills class is that it provides opportunities to write back, to takeownership, to see themselves as the experts, or at least as in control...

which i think is the key to progressive authentic teaching at any level buy is so importantat the basic skills level since so many students have not been served by institutionalschooling


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bringing in the diy attitude is allowing them to explore how they might do it themselves -- differently

so using it as a framework to accomplish prescribed, department assignments or to make

them write about certain things or in certain ways might not be really genuine and moststudents pick up on that immediately...

MESSAGE #13:

I recently was given but haven't had time to read "DIYU: Edupunks,Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education" by AnyaKamenetz. Just from a glance through, the transformation suggested in thebook's title doesn't seem as imminent or plausible as the author mightthink, but it could be fun to include or excerpt in a dev. class focusing onDIY.

MESSAGE #14:

Thanks to all of you who offered feedback! I really appreciate it and I will let you knowhow the class goes.

Be well,

diy and developmental writing

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