Web 2.0 for juandoming

As our students at all levels (and I teach higher ed comp) become more visually oriented we need to find ways to draw them from where they are toward the text, to get them to wrestle with that and to connect to the visual.  This site is a quick orientation toward reconsidering the visual in one's own thinking and in the thinking of our learners.

The idea of thinking routines and ideals fits perfectly into my own metaphors about learning as a set of personal repertoires that create their own 'rhizomatic' connections that reflect the cognitive ecologies in their heads.  The only way to see if a routine works is to try it.

Here are some of the routines they suggest, but as you might guess the whole of intellectual life around the planet has been towards adopting and adapting and creating new routines:

     What Makes You Say That? Interpretation with justification routine

     Think Puzzle Explore A routine that sets the stage for deeper inquiry

     Think Pair Share A routine for active reasoning and explanation

     Circle of Viewpoints A routine for exploring diverse perspectives

     I used to Think... Now I think... A routine for reflecting on how and why          our thinking has changed

     See Think Wonder A routine for exploring works of art and other
     interesting things

     Compass Points A routine for examining propositions

I created one this semester that was intended to subvert the idea behind 'quizzes' in a writing class.  I started the quiz as a standard whole class Q&A.  I divided the class into teams.  I then told them that we would be playing by 'Calvinball Rules'.  These rules were originally promoted by Bill Waterson's eponymous character in the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes" and represent classic chaotic thinking.  In other words, the rules exist but are whim-generated.  And I changed the rules in outrageous ways that would ultimately lead to a tie between all the teams.  The tie-breaker inevitably led to some random person (leafblower dude outside the classroom window was my favorite choice) who won.  Of course, they had to be present to win so I declared myself the default winner.  This probably only works once a semester although they begged me to play Calvinball Quizzes on a regular basis.  This was an extremely rich and valuable routine.  It was fun, subversive, and memorable.  A great routine.  What did they learn? To open up and explore.  To ease off of the strategic, 'how do I get me my A?" student rat race.  It provided a clean break with high school and gave them a clear anti-routine to help them get outside their own pre-built boxes.

We need all kinds of routines, but it is the learners who need to come up with the ones that fit their peculiar puzzles and their unique personalities.  This is a great place to start.