Often times I don’t understand how my students can simply not turn something in. It frustrates me that they lack the motivation to at least try. Going through this masters program, while working full-time, coaching and having a one-year-old has reinforced my frustrations. Through the first 10 classes, I have maintained an A+ turning in every assignment. This month was the first time I wasn’t able to turn something in.
I was just too busy to get to the Wimba sessions to review my publication report. I did send it to a couple of my critical friends and they gave me some good advice. All of them told me to simplify my article by creating subtopics and lumping information into manageable chunks.
Looking back, I realize that I wrote with a stream of consciousness approach. I knew I wanted to write in first person, but my colleagues pointed out that I allowed that to influence my article too much. My first draft of the article was very conversational and I did what I yell at my students for – talking to the reader. I went back and cleaned it up, but still feel unsure. It’s been hard for me to pull in everything I’ve done and all the different comments I have into 2000 words.
When I went back to edit it for the final time, I tried to take a scientific approach. I focused on what I would want the reader to know, rather than what I thought was interesting. I toned down my opinions and spoke more to the process and data – all ideas my critical friends told me to think about. Like I said, I don’t think it’s perfect, but it’s a lot better than what it was.
great re-assessment.
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