The Individual
Presentation
We are all highly
literate in at least one other context—even those writers who struggle in
contexts demanding Standard Written English. It is thus important to
understand, articulate, and negotiate the” points of contact” and “points of dissonance” between a community
of practice with which you have much familiarity and another, less familiar
one. Rhetorical Dexterity encourages writers to use their own
lives and interests—what they know and really care about—to make sense of what
they don’t yet understand.
Purpose:
Preparation for WA6, an
essay that compares and contrasts a community of practice seemingly unrelated
to school with those literacies required of writers at the college level.
Directions: (1) I would like for you to research a
very familiar literacy that is not school-based. (2) I would like for you to
develop a list of at least five “strategies” literate users employ in that
particular community of practice (in order to be considered “literate). From
these, (3) articulate at least three “points of contact” between the literate
practices of the discourse community studied and those considered typical of
the academic community of practice. (4)
Finally, identify at least one area of conflict between these two literacies
(“points of dissonance”).
Suggestions: You should review WA3, WA4, and/or WA5 settling on one specific community of practice
and developing a list of at least five “strategies” literate users employ in
that particular community (in order to be considered “literate”). Next, review WA2 and your Field Research Project to generate a list of
possible similarities and dissimilarities between these two communities of
practice (a school-related community and one less closely associated with
school). Finally, develop a handout that
contains the following information:
- A brief summary of the community of
practice you are comparing and contrasting with a school-related community.
In no more than three sentences, define this community of practice for us.
- A list of at least five “strategies”
literate users employ in that community of practice in order to be
considered “literate” insiders.
- A list of at least three
commonalities (“points of contact”) between the strategies required of
members in this community and those required of members of an academic community
of practice.
- A list of at least one area of
conflict (“point of dissonance”) between the strategies required of members
of this community of practice and those required of members of an academic
community. That is, at least one strategy (or tool, value, etc) that is
required of literate members of one community of practice yet will not
work at all in an academic community (and/or vice versa).
You will develop
enough copies of this handout to share with the rest of us. We will use these
handouts to generate ideas for WA6.
Preparing
for the Individual Presentation
What might the “rules”
for literacy in spaces associated with leisure activities (“play”) and work
have to do with the rules for writing in school?
Activity 1
(Individually): In preparation for WA6,
you were asked to respond to the following questions. Go back to your responses
to these questions and use them to come up with (a) the community of practice you
will be comparing with an academic community, (b) five strategies literate
users (insiders) make use of in this community
of practice (those that distinguish insiders from outsiders), (c) at least
three ways in which these strategies compare with those required of literate
members of an academic community, and (d)
at least one way in which the strategies required in this community of
practice are unlike those required of users in an academic community.
- What did you write
about in WA5 (“Literacies at Play”)? What did you say separates “insiders”
from “outsiders” in this community of practice? What strategies must one
use to be heard, understood, and taken seriously within the rhetorical
spaces of this community? What “rules” do literate members of this community
know and follow? How did you learn them? Where did these rules come from?
- What did you write
about in WA4 (“Literacies at Work”)? What did you say separates “insiders”
from “outsiders” in this community of practice? What strategies must one
use to be heard, understood, and taken seriously within the rhetorical
spaces of this community? What “rules” do literate members of this community
know and follow? How did you learn them? Where did these rules come from?
- What did you write about
in WA3 (“Literacies Beyond the School”)? What did
you say separates “insiders” from “outsiders” in this community of
practice? What strategies must one use to be heard, understood, and taken
seriously within the rhetorical spaces of this community? What “rules” do
literate members of this community know and follow? How did you learn
them? Where did these rules come from?
- How might the rules
and expectations for literate behavior in school relate to that in other communities
of practice, especially those about which you wrote in WA3-WA5?
- Are these rules and
expectations the same in every class at every level? Why not? Consider
your Field Research Project in determining
the answer to this question.
- Choose a class and
talk about the rules and expectations for literate behavior within that
class. How’d you learn these rules? How do they differ from other classes?
Why do they differ? How are they the same? Why might they be somewhat
similar?
- What special
knowledge do you have to know in order to meet the rules and expectations
of school literacies? Is this knowledge always the same, regardless of for
whom you are writing (in school)? Why not?
- What special
terminology do you have to know in order to meet the rules and
expectations of school literacies? Is this knowledge always the same,
regardless of for whom you are writing (in school)? Why not?
- What tools do
literate users know how to use in the discourse communities associated
with school?
- Choose a class
and/or a high-stakes writing situation like TASP/TAAS/TAKS and answer the
following questions: What would you say separates “insiders” from
“outsiders” in this community of practice? What strategies must one use to
be heard, understood, and taken seriously within the rhetorical spaces of
this community of practice? What “rules” do literate members of this community
know and follow? How did you learn them? Where did these rules come from?
Activity 2
(in pairs): When
you are ready, discourse your responses to the above ten questions and
(together) generate the data you need to develop your handout for the
Individual Presentation. At the end of
class today, you should both have the information required for your handout. I
offer these requirements here (again) for your convenience—
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Your handout
should include the following information:
- A brief summary of the community of
practice you are comparing and contrasting with a school-related community
of practice. In no more than three sentences, define this community for
us.
- A list of at least five
“strategies” literate users employ in that community of practice in
order to be considered “literate” insiders.
- A list of at least three
commonalities (“points of contact”) between the strategies required of
members in this community and those required of members of an academic community
of practice.
- A list of at least one area of
conflict (“point of dissonance”) between the strategies required of
members of this community of practice and those required of members of
an academic community. That is, at least one strategy (or tool, value,
etc) that is required of literate members of one community of practice yet
will not work at all in an academic community (and/or vice versa).
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Activity 3
(individually): Generate
the handout (1-page) you will use in your Individual Presentation.
Activity 4
(conference with instructor): You will meet with me 1-on-1 to discuss your
handout and your presentation ideas. After our conference, you should revise
your handout accordingly. Presentations will follow soon after.
Activity 5:
Following
the Individual Presentations, you should be in a much better position to develop
an effective draft of WA6 (comparing out-of-school literacies with academic
ones). Much more on this essay very
soon.