As I was reading Mountains into Moleholes, I found the idea of small assignments very interesting. I think it is a very good idea to break essays down into smaller assignments. By doing this, the students can focus on areas of weakness. Their weaknesses would also be easier to identify because each assignment would focus on a different area, as opposed to an essay in which all areas are incorporated. I think smaller writing assignments can be very beneficial to the students; however, I do think it is still important to write large amounts of essays. While it is a burden for teachers, I think it is very important for students to practice in areas like flow and making everything relate to the thesis. Areas like that cannot necessarily be practiced in smaller assignments.
What I have decided is that a combination of the two approaches would most likely achieve the right balance and be most effective in improving students writing. While the smaller assignments will help the students see their weak areas and improve in those areas, the essays will help students with the overall strength and flow of their writing. Both are obviously very important areas to master. I think all of us should keep this in mind as we begin our first years of teaching.
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I also agree that smaller assignments and assignments "in steps" makes sense. It would seem that especially in writing assignments, the enormity of the task sometimes seem insurrmountable. Starting is the hardest part for many students so it would seem intuitive that taking a large assignment and breaking it into steps not only aids in teaching the process of writing but also aids in motivation.
I also agree that the more you write the easier the process seems/becomes, yet the process the student uses may stay static unless the instructional strategy changes. One of the nice things about the smaller chunk or sequencing strategy is that it almost forces the student to revamp their writing process in response to the teaching strategy.
I do think that once you have done multiple smaller step exercises/assignments that you can start combining steps and moving to more inclusive assignments.
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