An Experiment in Teaching Writing to College Freshmen (Voice Project)
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REPORT RESUMES ED 018 112 24 TE 500 064 AN EXPERIMENT IN TEACHING WRITING TO COLLEGE FRESHMEN (VOICE PROJECT). BY- HAWKES, JOHN STANFORD UNIV., CALIF. REPORT NUMBER BR -6 -2075 PUB DATE OCT 67 CONTRACT OEC-4-6062075-1160 EDRS PRICE MF -$1.50 HC- $14.20 353P. DESCRIPTORS-. *COMPOSITION SKILLS (LITERARY), *ENGLISH INSTRUCTION, *HIGHER EDUCATION, *COLLEGE FRESHMEN, *TEACHING TECHNIQUES, COMPOSITION (LITERARY), ENGLISH, COURSE CONTENT, WRITING SKILLS, ENGLISH CURRICULUM, READING SKILLS, DISADVANTAGED YOUTH, TAPE RECORDERS, SPEECH, TEACHING METHODS, INSTRUCTIONAL INNOVATION, EXPERIMENTAL TEACHING, LITERATURE, WRITING EXERCISES, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA, THIS EXPERIMENT WITH 100 STUDENT VOLUNTEERS WAS CONDUCTED WITHIN THE REGULAR FRESHMAN ENGLISH PROGRAM AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY BY A GROUP OF TEACHERS WHO WERE THEMSELVES WRITERS, AND BY AN EQUAL NUMBER OF GRADUATE STUDENTS. THE AIMS OF THE EXPERIMENT WERE (1) TO TEACH WRITING, NOT THROUGH RHETORICAL TECHNIQUES, BUT THROUGH HELPING THE STUDENT DISCOVER AND DEVELOP HIS OWN WRITING "VOICE" AND A PERSONAL OR IDENTIFIABLE PROSE, WHETHER THE WRITING BE CREATIVE OR EXPOSITORY, (2) TO INVOLVE IN SUCH TEACHING NOVELISTS, POETS, PLAYWRIGHTS, ESSAYISTS, AND PERSONS IN DIVERSE ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES, (3) TO WORK AT VARIOUS AGE LEVELS, THROUGH INVOLVING BOTH STUDENTS AND FACULTY IN EXPERIMENTS IN ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS, (4) TO WORK WITH STUDENTS FROM VARIOUS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS, AND (5) TO INVOLVE OTHER INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION THROUGH VISITS, EXCHANGES, SEMINARS, AND DEMONSTRATIONS. THE MATERIALS IN THIS REPORT DOCUMENT WHAT WENT ON IN THE CLASSROOM, HOW THE STUDENTS TAUGHT IN LOCAL SCHOOLS, HOW STUDENTS WERE ENCOURAGED TO WRITE AND REVISE THEIR WORK -- ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE USE OF THE TAPE RECORDERS- -AND THE KIND OF TEACHING THAT A GROUP OF STUDENTS UNDERTOOK IN A SPECIAL SUMMER PROGRAM FOR ENTERING NEGRO STUDENTS AT THE COLLEGE OF SAN MATEO. FOUR PAPERS WRITTEN AT THE TUFTS SEMINAR TO INDICATE NEW EXPERIMENTS IN UNDERGRADUATE INSTRUCTION (1965) ARE INCLUDED. ALSO INCLUDED ARE FOUR APPENDIXES CONTAINING LISTS OF CONSULTANTS AND VOICE PROJECT PARTICIPANTS AS WELL AS REPORTS ON THE VOICE PROJECT AT STANFORD AND IN THE LOCAL SCHOOLS. (AUTHOR/BN) FINAL REPORT Project No. 6-2075'/ Contract No.OEC-4-6-062075-1180 U.S. DEPARTMENT Of HEALTH,EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVEDFROM THE THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN IT.POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OFEDUCATION STATED DO NOT NECESSAIMY POSITION OR POLICY. AN EXPERIMENT INTEACHING WRITING TO COLLEGEFRESHMEN October 1967 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Office of Education Bureau of Research AN EXPERIMENT IN TEACHING WRITING TO COLLEGE FRESHMEN Final Report Project No. 6-2q75 Contract No. OEC-4-6-062075-1180 AN EXPERIMENT INTEACHING WRITING TO COLLEGEFRESHMEN (VOICE PROJECT) John Hawkes Stanford University Stanford, California October 1967 pursuant to a contract The research reportedherein was performed of Health, Education, with the Office ofEducation, U. S. Department such projects underGovernment and Welfare. Contractors undertaking sponsorship are encouragedto express freelytheir professional opihions judgment in the conductof the project. Points of view or official Office of stated do not, therefore,necessarily represent Education position orpolicy. U. S. DEPARTMENTOF HEALTH, EDUCATION,AND WELFARE Office of Education Bureau of Research Permission to reproduce copyrighted material herein has been granted to the Educational Research Informa- tion Center (ERIC) and to the organization operating under contract with the Office of Education to repro- duce ERIC documents by means of microfilm or facsimile hard copy, but this right is not conferred to any user of ERIC materials. Reproduction by users of any copy- righted material contained in documents disseminated through the ERIC system requires permission of the copyright owner. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page SUMMARY xix THE VOICE PROJECT ATSTANFORD, by John Hawkes 1 I. BACKGROUND: TUFTS SEMINAR "Report of the Working Committee onEnglish, Literature, and Arts," by Walter J. Ong, S J 3 "Last Try," by Benjamin DeMott 10 "Institutes for Literary Studies," by Albert J.Guerard 13 "The Voice Project," by John Hawkes 18 23 II. THE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE Section 51: John Hawkes and Zeese Papanikolas. Log by Zeese Papanikolas 24 October 3 24 In-class writing based on KatherineAnne Porter's recorded reading of the end of "The DownwardPath to Wisdom." October 10 28 Critical exercise matching anonymousstudents' taped voices with unidentified samples oftheir writing. * October 19 32 Problems of elaboration, literarymetaphor, and child's voice revealed in discussion,reading aloud and extempor- aneous writing --"impression/analysis" assignment. October 20 34 In-class writing --"impression/analysis" assignment. October 24 36 Reading and discussion of "A Tasteof Honey." Asterisks mark classes we considerunconventional or for which log entries have been amplified with student work,transcribed dialogue, etc. Page October 26 44 Discussion of student's monologue-- "childhood recollection" assignment. Focusing on problems of personal narrative versus fiction and of excessive detachment. November 7 46 Discussion of In Cold Blood, basedon a selection from Capote's reading of "Childrenon Their Birthdays." (Transcribed dialogue included.) * November 14 53 Student reports and discussion of In Cold Blood. In-class writing attempting to restore voice to voicelesspassage. (Transcribed dialogue included.) * November 23 56 Special reading exercise based onone line of dialogue from Faulkner's Old Man. November 28 59 Further discussion of Old Man and Faulkner recording. In-class writing inresponse to student poem. * January 9 62 Characteristics of elementary school student'svoice apparent in transcript as compared with characteristicsheard in his voice on tape. * January 16 64 Further discussion of child's language andpersonality with consultants Walter Ong and JeromeBruner. January 26 65 Students' reading and in-class writingbased on George MacBeth's "A Child's Garden." February 6 68 Taped reading and discussion of student'spoem with consultants Carolyn Fitchett and John Knoepfle. * February 8 69 Discussion of student's poem basedon stories about speaker and interpretive readings by the authorand other writers including John Barth. February 20 73 Comparison of tape-recorded dialogue of school children with passage from Dylan Thomas's UnderMilkwood. * March 6 74 Discussion of one student's emerging voice in severalprose passages. (Transcribed dialogue included.) vi Page 80 March 7 Class discussion ofchildren's poems; comparisonbetween paragraph written by childand voiceless versionof it. (Transcribed dialogue included.) 90 March 13 John Felstiner(visitor) reading aloud OldEnglish poetry while students write downemotional reactions to hisinto- nations and the sounds ofpartially familiar words. * 91 April 4 In-class writing anddiscussion based on tapedcomposition of sounds. Brief discussion oftall tale model. (Tran- scribed dialogue included.) 99 April 10 Discussion of TV productionof The Questions. (Tran- scribed dialogueincluded.) * 103 April 17 Readings and discussion ofstudents' tall tales with con- sultant John Hersey andvisitors Benson Snyderand Johnie Scott. (Transcribed dialogue included.) * 113 April 23 Discussion of series ofrevisions by one student. (Transcribed dialogue included.) 120 May 2 Ballad of the Sad Cafe -- readingexercises. 121 May 8 - 18 Student pairs working onrevisions by making taped readings, "talking out"materials, and re-writing in class. 129 June 6 Comparison of voices inthree critical essays onFlannery readings O'Connor. Final discussion based on anonymous of statements intended toshock parents, teachers, or classmates. Section 52. Jerome Charyn and RobertWeston. 131 Log by Robert Weston * 131 November 15 Consideration of "three basicvoices" in student's childhood recollection. * 135 November 21 Discussion of taperecording of elementaryschool student based on discrepancybetween taped speaking voiceand transcript. vii Page November 29 139 Continuation of work with elementary school student's tape. Section 54: Mark Mirsky and Francelia Mason. Log by Francelia Mason 142 January 12 142 Class discussion on shouting and primitive language. (Transcribed dialogue included.) * January 19 146 Consideration of insults and curses, and of reading as acting. (Transcribed dialogue included.) February 23 148 Class session on living folklore discovered, taped, edited and transcribed by students. Section 55: Clive Miller and Charlotte Morse. Log by Charlotte Morse 150 January 25 150 Discussion of high school student's essay comparing two schools (Ravenswood High School, a predominantly Negro school, and Gunn High School). January 27, 153 Dramatic reading of Cain and Abel. February 9 154 Class discussion of tapes made at De Anza Elementary School. III. WORK IN THE SCHOOLS 158 Section 51 at Cubberley High School: "Teaching at Cubberley" by Zeese Papanikolas 164 Section 51 at Gunn High School: Log Excerpts by Helene Zimnicki (Stanford Freshman) . 177 Section 54 at Terman Junior High School: Log Excerpts by Francelia Mason; Evaluations by Stanford Freshmen; Example of Revision . 187 IV. SUMMER PROGRAM 195 "The Black Voice: Teaching at the College of San Ilateo," by Thomas Grissom 196 viii Page V. ASSIGNMENTS AND STUDENTS' WRITING 227 Writing Assignments 228 Kathy Arbuckle 228 Helene Zimnicki 234