Try Again
In the fall of 2006, I had another chance to tweak the multimedia
assignment and apply a more precise pedagogical method to the
rhetorical function of documentaries as texts within the composition
classroom.
This time I would be teaching English 1101, a course grounded
in the principles of analysis, production, and support of strong
arguments. This time I would be better equipped, having adopted Lester
Faigley and Jack Seltzer's textbook, Good Reasons: Designing and
Writing Effective Arguments, a text that, as stated in its preface, is
founded on the principle that
"people write arguments
because they want to change attitudes and beliefs about particular
issues, and they want things done about problems they identify" (xi).
This statement demonstrates the fundamental values of
teaching rhetoric, and the social impetus for creating argumentative
texts of any kind within a critical frame of reference.
Good Reasons provides a strong introduction to the scholarship
of rhetorical analysis and inquiry, and gives students the necessary
building blocks for exploring a variety of methods--to establish
arguments with sound claims that are supported by good reasons; to
identify problems, propose feasible solutions, and ultimately, invoke
social change through their compositions. It is a textbook that opens
the door for instructors to explore digital and visual literacy within
the realm of traditional rhetorical strategies.
I also had the benefit of teaching within themed learning
communities. This allowed me to structure my assignments around a loose
theme and ask students to seek out relevant issues, establish credible
claims, and identify problems and solutions that related to the
learning community's theme.
Again the documentary assignment would be offered as an
alternative to a traditional final paper, only this time students would
be ask to work within the framework of a proposal argument and
demonstrate the rhetorical skills developed within the course of the
semester.
This time the results were amazing. At the same time, this new
batch of student productions illuminated more problems and questions
concerning the integration of multimedia texts in first-year
composition classes.
In my learning community themed "Save the Planet, Now," two
documentaries were produced, one by a group of three girls, and one by
a girl who had experience producing video in high school who worked
alone on her project. A solo mission is a departure from the norm. I
give students the option of working in groups or alone, and have found
that a majority of the time they prefer working together in the
production of these documentaries. In their interview with Heather
Ross, Meeks and Illyasova point out that
Ross
finds that the most exciting aspect of the PSA (public service
announcement) video project is the group bonding students do around the
camer
and the computer. . . . The variety of tasks involved allows students
to specialize in an area of production that most interests them, so
that they can participate in the group on their own terms. (14)
In my experience, I have witnessed the same benefits of
community building and collaboration within groups producing
documentaries. I do have students complete group evaluations so they
are able express how members worked together, and explain if certain
members did not participate.
In this case, the student working alone tackled the environmental issue of the destruction of the corral reefs. >>
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