Clue Fourteen

At Lake Superior College, there are students from all over the world.  Many of them have a Primary Language that is not English, yet here, they must speak, listen, read, and write in English.  That they are successful, and they are, is absolutely amazing.  Kirsi Halonen, LSC English Instructor, was once one such student, and here she:  Explains ways that languages, like her native Finnish, are fundamentally different from English, and how she still struggles with some things today.  Recalls the things that helped her become a fluent English speaker.  Teaches us some basic Finnish so we're prepared for our next trip to Finland.  Kirsi also recommends certain soap operas that were key to her learning, and probably streaming today.  Listen in. 

All of this talk about writing. I think it's time to acknowledge reading. It's not rocket science that there's a connection between the two. LSC Reading faculty Keri Stimpson talks with us here about:  The literal relationship between these two critical acts.  How college reading – reading for content – is hard work, and our social media habits are not exactly helping.  Several strategies that writers and readers can use today to get the most out of their reading and writing.  Keri also mentions bears on campus.  Listen in. 

All of this stuff you've been learning in Comp class? You know, thesis statements, Intros, bodies, conclusions, transitions, citations? All good stuff, right? Well, LSC's Lindsy Mason O'Brien says sure. Fine. But wait?   She maintains that:  There are other ways of academic writing that are totally different and legit in other cultures and contexts.  That a clear thesis statement and cracker jack topic sentences might actually be insulting to some readers.  That our obsession with citing sources is exactly that. It's ours, meaning US academic culture's obsession. In other places, that's done differently, too.  Lindsy also recommends that we eat our broccoli.  Listen in. 

As we know from an earlier episode with Amy Jo Swing, this English language comes from...England. OK. Pretty obvious, but in this episode, British expatriate Nicola Scott from LSC's Tutoring and Learning Center unpacks for us what she learned about writing back in her school days. It's kind of surprising:  That what we would call high school (secondary school) ends much younger there.  That after secondary school, there is literally no parallel thing to our College Composition.   That Nicola really thinks College Composition courses are a great opportunity that develop even more than writing skills.  Pay attention, because once you hear Nicola speak, Bob's your uncle this episode will be over. We'll unpack that weirdness near the end. Listen in. 

Let me guess. You've been waiting and waiting for an episode on Thesis Statements. You are in luck, because Paul Richgruber and Jocelyn Pihlaja met me at Mexico Lindo one night to talk about just that. Paul, a writer and history faculty, was really there to get some insight into how to help his students arrive at better theses. And the three of us? Well, we dig into:  Analogies from the real world to help students picture theses in different ways.  How students who are struggling with the concept can discover a thesis. How a good title is the best friend of a good thesis, and why titles matter, too.  You may have noticed that the plural of thesis is, well, theses, which sounds strangely like things left by dogs on Duluth trails. Don't let that sidetrack you. Watch your step, and listen in. 

Our conversation with Liam Wright-Meier and Jocelyn Pihlaja resumes as we wrestle with AI writing and what it means for college students, teachers, and heck, the future of the human species. Yep. This is big stuff. In this episode, we investigate:  The temptation something like ChatGPT opens for students.  How instructor Jocelyn is already handling the issue on the fly and how she plans to address it in future syllabi.  How the workplace is already using AI writing, and our obligation to prepare students for that work.  I can't say we come to any concrete answers here, and we may never get there, but as Jocelyn notes, it's important to have the conversation, so listen in. 

Right before the Spring 2023 Semester started at LSC, something called ChatGPT suddenly became the buzz, at least for writing teachers. ChatGPT is an Artificial Intelligence, or AI, tool that can seemingly write just about anything a person could ask of it. Naturally, questions for said faculty became, if our students use it, are they learning anything about writing? About thinking? Can they say it's their writing? Or... Is this a tool that writers can use to become even better writers?  I asked LSC writing instructor Jocelyn Philaja to help me think about this, and she brought along a student, Liam Wright-Meier, since this is clearly a question for all of us.      In this episode, the three of us explore:  How ChapGPT or other AI tools actually "write"  How students might use AI  Whether such usage falls into the realm of cheating  There was more to explore, so be sure to tune into the follow up episode, "AI: OK. Now What?" but for now, we'll jump into the conversation mid-stream. Listen in. 

In this episode, LSC'S Gretchen Flaherty (she/her) investigates how writers use Pronouns.  Primarily, Gretchen uncovers:  What pronouns are and why we use them  How the 2nd person You/Your pronoun is problematic in college writing  How our growing understanding of gender – now much broader than she/her and he/him - is changing how we think and write  That's just scratching the surface.  Listen in.  

Poet Amy Jo Swing returns yet again, this time to discuss her true love, poetry. More accurately, Amy Jo shows that poetic language has a role in academic writing. She shows us:   That making use of metaphor and simile is powerful..  That idiom can also be powerful, but should be used with caution and an understanding of audience.  That the sounds of our language itself can subtly enhance academic writing as well.  Writers in college composition may not see themselves as poets, but paying attention to our language choices is really the essence of poetry. It could also be the heart of academic writing. Listen in. 

Our conversation with Blair Powless at the Dovetail concludes with a dive into something Blair calls The Continuous Conversation.  He makes references to Western Academic Tradition, and here, "Western" specifically refers to culture and tradition that originated in Europe and spread around the world, definitely to places like the U.S. As a person of Native heritage, Blair also argues that oral Storytelling practices of Native peoples are a largely unrecognized contribution to the Conversation. In this episode, Blair challenges us:   To consider ourselves, even as first year college students, to be entering that conversation.  To recognize that the oral traditions of Native peoples should also be considered part of that conversation.  To memorize a poem. Sometimes it can happen when we're not even trying.  You may notice that I botched my recitation of "The Red Wheelbarrow." Apologies to William Carlos Williams. My audio skills in repairing it are weak.   Except for that part, listen in.